Baseball Books

We received this book as a gift when my son was about 6 months old. It was immediately a favorite and now that he is 15 months old he still loves it and we read it nearly every day. We also regularly say the lines from the book while acting it out anytime we have a ball on hand. So much fun! The pictures of the children and the simple activity will draw any young child in.

This is a perfect book for a young child. The bright, bold photographs of children playing in the park brought smiles and giggles to my 18-month-old son. There's just the right amount of text on each page to keep a toddler interested, and the rhythmic prose allowed us to act it out as we read.

THIS LITTLE STORY IS A BRIGHT AND ENGAGING EXPERIENCE FOR VERY YOUNG CHILDREN. THE HAPPY, ACTIVE BOYS AND GIRLS ON ITS PAGES, THE CHARMING 'STORY' LINE, AND THE VIBRANT COLORS USED, MAKE IT A BOOK THAT YOUNG CHILDREN WILL LOVE. AND,IT IS A BOOK THEY WILL BE ABLE TO 'READ' BY THEMSELVES AGAIN AND AGAIN. THIS DEFINITELY IS A BOOK TO GIVE ALONG WITH A GIFT FOR A NEW BABY, OR FOR A GRANDMOTHER TO HAVE FOR VISITORS WHO LOVE TO BE READ TO.

THIS LITTLE STORY IS A BRIGHT AND ENGAGING EXPERIENCE FOR VERY YOUNG CHILDREN. THE HAPPY, ACTIVE BOYS AND GIRLS ON ITS PAGES, THE CHARMING 'STORY' LINE, AND THE VIBRANT COLORS USED, MAKE IT A BOOK THAT YOUNG CHILDREN WILL LOVE. AND,IT IS A BOOK THEY WILL BE ABLE TO 'READ' BY THEMSELVES AGAIN AND AGAIN. THIS DEFINITELY IS A BOOK TO GIVE ALONG WITH A GIFT FOR A NEW BABY, OR FOR A GRANDMOTHER TO HAVE FOR VISITORS WHO LOVES TO BE READ TO.

I enjoyed this book so much. Coincidently I finished it just before seeing a ceremony in honor of Roberto Clemente with his widow Vera present at the 2006 MLB All-Star game. From reading this book I understand why the word "Pride" is always used when discussing Roberto Clemente. This book carres the theme of Roberto's pride from beginning to end. Pride not only in himself but in his family and country. Many may say this is not a book about baseball, but those who know the magic of baseball understand that you can't seperate the game from the players. It is the great person in the player that makes the game of baseball so wonderful. Roberto was a great baseball player and an even greater man. Puerto Rico should feel honored in having him as one of their native sons.

My 12-yr old son read this book for a report.
He didn't complain too much and finished pretty quickly so I guess he liked it.

He palyed for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the youngest in his family, just like me. His dad made alot of money compared to the others that lived around them. Roberto rode his bike to another town to try out for a softball team. It was only a couple of miles from his home. His school was trying to teach him to speak English, and he didn't do very good, but he tried.

It was so good that when I received it, I could not put it down till the end. That night I went to bed at 4:33AM. Mr.Robert Walker, 2 thumbs up to a well documented piece of art. Again THANK YOU for this biography.

David Deal is a terrific photographer; you've seen his work in most major national magazines. He's not flashy, just good. He works with a 4x5" sheet-film view camera, in the eye of the digital capture storm. Prospects, however, was shot with a medium format Hasselblad 2-1/4 X 2-1/4" square-format SLR, handheld. Baseball is a great subject for B&W and Deal delivers the goods. If you love baseball and/or black-and-white photography, you should own this book. Also, if you love B&W, visit www.bwphotopro.com.

I bought this book for two reasons. First and foremost, my undying love for the game that, as a girl, I was forced to give up at the age of 15. Secondly, my love of black and white photography. Not only does David Deal capture the essence of the sport itself, but he captures the character of the "boys" who play it. Throughout the book, between pictures, are his personal accounts of travelling with the team, the interactions between teams and between teammates and more importantly of life at the minor league level. But I think the pictures tell more than the words, capturing a catcher's throw to second, the dirty ball in the hands of a player that could be anyone at any level, the joking between teammates, the pride on the face of the rookie and the catcher sitting in the dugout after a tough game. The pictures are phenomenal, all captivating in their own way. It's amazing how well Deal has captured the true nature of the game.

You may not have heard of David Deal, but you will. Prospects: A Portrait of Minor League Baseball, cements him as one of the great photographic geniuses of our time. In this powerful, moving book Mr. Deal captures the bygone allure and glory of what was once America's favorite sport. His original photographs take us back to a day when sandlots all over America were teaming with kids dreaming of the big leagues. What's amazing is that this is not an anthology of old photographs - just the opposite. In this wholly original work, Mr. Deal captures tomorrow's big leaguers...today. His lens invites us into the world of minor league baseball and does so with ease and brilliance. These players are seldom noticed, rarely acknowledged. Mr. Deal does more than notice and acknowledge - he celebrates, elevates and glorifies them. And you will be moved to do the same. But this is more than a baseball book - it's a book about life, about dreams, about hope. Buy this book. Read this book. Share this book.

This is a beautiful book, a celebration of baseball and a tribute to those who strive and struggle in any this or any other endeavor. What amazes me about Mr. Deal's portraits is his ability to capture his subjects with such vigor and HONESTY. These young ballplayers seem to meet the camera in all their raw self-hood. They don't pose for the camera. Rather, the camera seems to draw out of them something true and strong and wonderful. It's hard to describe. Unless you are holding the book in your hands it probably won't make much sense. But this is an extraordinary celebration of baseball, a remarkable and powerful tribute to those who play the game. Wish I could say it better. There is something very moving in this work.

This book is fabulous! i strongly advise you read this! it is a mother-kids bond like no other! it just touched my heart! and i know martha payne personnally, we are very close! anyway, this book is soo AMAZING! you should definately read this for the crisp writing and SPECTACULAR baseball..(and gymnastics/soccer)!!!!!!

In "Put Him in Coach" every word has been carefully weighed, every line polished. I'm not a fan of baseball, but I am a fan of fine writing and devoted mothers. Sam is a character you won't soon forget, and Martha Payne is nothing short of legendary. These characters breathe.

A book that just about anyone (mothers, fathers, coaches, grandparents) who has ever spent a Saturday in April sweating or shivering on a metal bleacher will relate to. The author's observations and experiences as an "over-the-top" little league mom are often hilarious and always honest. Her love for her son and family is evident on every page, and the book is a refreshing look at a real American family that most of us will recognize and appreciate. I can't wait to give this book as a gift to all of the coaches and little league parents in my life!

Martha Payne hit a home run with this book. The tongue-in-cheek approach to the world of little league through the eyes of a competitive mother blinded by love rings crystal clear to anyone who's ever had a child in sports, been a child in sports, or known a child in sports. Mrs. Payne is vulnerable, hysterical, and fresh. Her dry wit compliments the underlying tenderness of a devoted mother's heart to create an endearing glimpse into the uncharted waters of young parenthood. I sniggered, smiled, and laughed out loud at the perceptions and predicaments played out between the pages of this book. I only wish it had gone into extra innings.

No longer a dusty realm occupied solely by the Southern male, NASCAR has exploded over the last decade into a full-throttle national obsession. That said, it's only fitting that Mark McCarter, a homegrown Tennessee boy who's become a nationally recognized sportswriter, should be at the wheel of this tribute to America's newest past time. McCarter's evocative prose flawlessly blends a professional's dizzying knowledge of the sport with a race fan's tender passion. The heart-pounding, full-color photographs of Talladega, Daytona, and other racetracks around the U.S. are so vivid you'll swear you can smell the motor oil rising off the page! The Racetracks Book is a must-have for any red-blooded American who calls himself-or herself-a NASCAR fan.

I love NASCAR and I'm so excited about this book. The pictures are amazing, but there's so much I didn't really know about the racetracks. This is a very well-written book and the author did a fantastic job!

This book is a gem. Mark McCarter, a gifted and nationally recognized newspaper sports columnist, has done for stock car racing what Jack London did for dogs and James Joyce once did for drunk Irishmen. This book is the ultimate compliment to a fan's love of NASCAR. Grown fans will love this book for the access it gives them to some of America's premier tracks. But children will also love the pictures and stories. So parents, listen up: put down those boring Fairy Tales and pick up "The Racetracks Book" when your kids demand a bedtime story.

Mark McCarter is simply one of the most prolific sportswriters of our time. His poignant and powerful memoirs of life around the culturally diverse venues of NASCAR is spellbinding and makes any fan heady with excitement for his or her next visit to the track.

Johnny Pesky says this book is for "real Red Sox fans". I say it's for everyone. I learned some fascinating things from this book that give me a whole new perspective on the team. Herb Crehan's talent for telling a story makes the experience all the more enjoyable.

Herb Crehan has put together a magnificant collection of interviews and through his eyes/prose has made a Red Sox fan out of me. I began reading the book to my seven year old son in an attempt to relate to his young boy's passion for the team. What a wonderful way to spend time together and I highly recommend this interesting and insightful read to those of any age.

Of all the baseball books on the market, this one is a gem. For Red Sox fans in particular and all baseball fans, this book gives an inside view of the players on and off the field. Herb Crehan has done an outstanding job of showing the reader the real world of baseball.

This is wonderful reading. The book is a collection of articles on former Red Sox players that should interest both Red Sox fans and baseball fans in general. Mr. Crehan obviously loves baseball and this love is evident in his writing.

This book was given to me as a gift before my road trip to the quaint village of Cooperstown!!! My partner & I were going to Holy Grounds of baseball immortals for a few days, and as we were road tripping it from Ohio to New York, we took turns reading aloud to eachother this book. I have to tell you (having been to Cooperstown before - and being a HUGE baseball fan all my life) I could vizualize everything that was being described - page by page in Mr. Stanton's book! The personal trip for him, and hearing/reading it from his perspective was refreshing, and heartwarming! Strongly recommend this book for ANYONE who enjoys the sport of baseball...great read, and made my "Road to Cooperstown" a memorable one as well!!!
A side note, I had the privelage of meeting the Author at a recent book signing event promoting his new book Ty & The Babe (which I purchased and I am reading now)...he is as warm, and personable as I imagine from reading the pages of his book! Thank You for a wonderful book, and sharing your personal experiences and memories ----

Like Tom Stanton's first book about Tiger Stadium's final season, this book combines great baseball stories into a family pilgramage. We learn not only about Cooperstown, but what it means to Stanton and his family. We get to know the Stantons in the same intimate way we come to know Cooperstown.

You will very much enjoy this book.

Great subject and wonderful execution. Even veteran Cooperstown-goers will learn things about the town and the Hall of Fame. No one has ever repeated as a CASEY Award winner. Will Stanton be the first?

I loved this book, and I think most baseball fans will, too. If "Field of Dreams" is your favorite baseball film, if you believe in baseball as poetry, baseball as religion, baseball as the glue binding fathers to sons, then this book is definitely for you.

The dream of visiting Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame first took hold of author Tom Stanton in the summer of 1972. His mother's illness prevented the trip from happening then, but an invitation to speak at the shrine after publication of his first book ("The Final Season") finally made it happen. He asked his father and older brother to join him, the men who first awakened in him the love of the game.

Chapters about their trip and the hall itself are interspersed with chapters looking back to 1972. Baseball memories, and the theme of the game as a metaphor for life, provide the interconnecting thread. It's a journey across the miles for the Stantons, but also a journey through the years. I'm glad to have been able to share it with them, and I hope you will, too.

This is a terrific book for any early teen baseball fan. Something that I thought was really interesting about this story is that the robbery portion of it is completely based off of an event that occurred to Houston Astros third basemen, Morgan Ensberg. There was a story done on ESPN in which he explained the entire event.

GREAT!!! Road To The Majors is an amazing book about a boy with a dream. It is about a boy named Jimmy Hanks, he is from California, he surfs like a lot of the people from his town but he wants to play soccer, until someone changes his life. Nick Erickson was one of Jimmy friends in high school. One day Nick was at Jimmy's house and convinced him that baseball was his sport. Jimmy always liked baseball but never wanted to be in the MLB (Major League Baseball). From then it is a great book about his struggles to make it to the MLB.

If you read this book I would love to hear if you liked it or not. I hope you find my review helpful and if you like baseball this is the book for you.

In this book The Road to the Majors, Jimmyis trying to make the baseball team. When he was younger,he always liked the bag of the double AA baseball team, the Lonestars. He thought the bags were neat and always wanted one, so he decided to try out for the Lonestars with his friend Nick Erickson. He wotked out in the summer and tried to get good enough to make triple AAA baseball that's one step under the majors. At tryouts, he either could get sent down to a league or he could get to play in double AA baseball. That's were Jimmy Hanks was playing. As Jimmy was trying to get better and better, he was learning the tricks or trades of being a baseball player. He went to tryouts with a high level of confidence, meaning he was full of hope and prayers to make the team. That talent meant he made the Amarillo Dusters, the triple AAA team. So he went out there and showed what he had. They were playing catch when the coach said "Jimmy Hanks"(here comes the moment of truth) "hey Jimmy, come in and set down please. We want to congradulate you on making the triple AAA Amarillo Dusters.

Great storyline about a young man chasing his passion of baseball and remembering just how it became his passion in the first place. Brought back some memories of my own childhood and how I dreamed of a Major League career. A good book for children in search of heroes and good read for us older "children" who can still remember what it was like to chase a dream.

Does anyone know where I can find more from these two authors or who these guys are?

This book is all about finding your own way in your own time - everyone has something that they are good at - sometimes it just takes a bit of time to figure out what it is.

I bought this book when I met my nephew Jackson for the first time and I cannot wait to read it to him when he gets older.

I love this story about Sam and Jackson. I originally bought this book for my nephew as a birthday present since he loves baseball, but after reading it, I had to buy a copy for my own library. Both children and adults should love this story!

Sam and Jackson are best friends. They both love baseball. They decide to try out for the team. Sam makes it but Jackson doesn't. Sam feels sad that he is playing without his friend. Then things change for the better when Jackson decides to be a peanut vendor at the games. Now they can both enjoy their favorite sport!

I like Tim Egan's kids' books. They aren't spectacular. They aren't a delight to read (not the way books by Dr. Seuss or Maurice Sendak are). What they are is literate. They are, in fact, the most "literate" kids' books I've ever come across.

Most kids' books assume kids can't assimilate a mature storyline. The characters have to have one main trait, and that's it. Relationships are straightforward. Conflicts are fully resolved. There's a moral to the story...generalities, true, but true for most of the lackluster kids' books I've had to read over the years.

Anyway, Roasted Peanuts is the story of two friends, Sam and Jackson, who love baseball. Sam is a natural. Jackson can throw far and accurately, but not fast or hard enough to excel as a pitcher. Sam makes the town's minor league team. Jackson doesn't. "At least one of us will be a legend," Jackson says. At first, Jackson sulks and won't go to Sam's games, but Sam's playing sucks so bad Jackson takes a job as a peanut vendor, so he can heckle his friend during the games. (Great picture of a quietly grinning horse in a baseball uniform here.) Sam's playing improves magnificently, and Jackson establishes himself as a legend, throwing bags of peanuts a hundred rows away and continuing to work at the ball park even after Sam's seven-year run with the Grazers is over. The end.

See? No daring rescues, no bad guys turned into good guys by the application of virtue, no adults stepping in with overblown advice, etc. Just a nice little literate story. I've also read Friday Night at Hodges' Cafe, Serious Farm, Metropolitan Cow, and Burnt Toast on Davenport Street. I think Burnt Toast has been my favorite so far.

The previous reviewers did a great job! I just want to suggest you pair this book with Carole Boston Weatherfords "A Negro League Scrapbook" and you will be giving a great gift for a boy aged 10 - 16.
Enjoy!

Sharon Robinson's SAFE AT HOME (0439671973, $16.99) tells of Jumper, still reeling from his father's sudden death when his mother decides they should move back to her childhood home - in New York's Harlem. Jumper doesn't know anything about living in a city, and his mother signs him up for a city baseball camp, further complicating his life. He quickly makes an enemy of the team's bullying captain: can life get any worse, or can he make something of his problems? A fine story of handling bad odds.

I liked Safe At Home. This book is about making new friends and how important it is to try to overcome the obstacles in life. I liked this book because the story is just like mine. When I moved to CA, I had to make new friends and so did the main character, Jumper Breeze.

When Jumper moved to Harlem, he had no friends and was bad at baseball. Instead of basketball camp, like he wanted, he had to go to baseball camp. Jumper didn't like it at first, because it was too hard for him. But he kept working on his skills and got better and now, Jumper doesn't want to stop.

When he started camp he met Nia, Dakota, and Sabrina. He also saw Kelvin and Marcus who he met at the arcade. Kelvin was nice to him, but Jumper had a few confrontations with Marcus.
Unfortunately, Jumper became co-captains with Marcus on their baseball team. It was hard at first because they weren't friends. But the coach forced them to cooperate with each other. Jumper learned the importance of working hard as a team even if not all your teammates are your friends.

I give this book five stars. It was so good, I read it twice!

Ames
Age 8

Ten-year-old Elijah Breeze, aka Jumper, is going through a very tough time in his life. His dad just died, totally unexpectedly from a heart attack. Instead of staying in their Connecticut home with all the painful memories, raw reminders and empty rooms, Jumper's mom decides they'll move to Harlem in New York to live with Jumper's grandmother. So now Jumper faces a lonely summer in an unfamiliar place.

But that's not all. His mom and grandmother sign him up for baseball camp, even though Jumper despises baseball. Basketball is his game; he loves to play and he has a lot of talent. The only time he even attempted baseball turned out to be a disaster; he couldn't hit, was unable to catch, and even sprained his ankle. And to top it off, he felt bored. Jumper ended up quitting the sport, and that really upset his dad, who despised quitters. Jumper is all for skipping out on the four-week camp, but his mom finds a new job and doesn't want him staying home alone. Unfortunately, Jumper has no choice in the matter.

When Jumper arrives at baseball camp, he finds that it's even worse than he feared. Marcus is there. Jumper met Marcus briefly at the neighborhood arcade and found him to be rude, insulting and intimidating --- definitely not friend material. And as camp progresses, Jumper learns that Marcus is quite talented at baseball and not very patient with those who aren't. But their coach sees a lot of potential in Jumper, and pushes the two boys to work together. As Jumper slowly learns the sport and eventually starts to make some friends, he realizes that quitting something that's difficult isn't always the answer.

SAFE AT HOME is Sharon Robinson's first novel, though she is no novice at either writing or baseball. She proves her talent for both in this book that entertains as it touches the heart. She really captures the spirit of Harlem and her people, and especially young Jumper, who is dealing with the impossible situation of losing a parent and moving to a different place.

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND