Book Descriptions
for Hey Batta Batta Swing! by Sally Cook, James Charlton, and Ross MacDonald
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Baseball has always been an enjoyable pastime to play and watch. However, it has not always been the game it is today. Turning back the clock to baseball’s beginnings, the authors explore what made early baseball so different. Old-time watercolor and pencil crayon illustrations complement the candid descriptions of baseball uniforms, team names, equipment, and game rules. Fluid explanations offer humorous and interesting insights into the way the sport has changed over the years. Early on, teams selected their uniform colors, but leagues determined the color of players’ stockings, which is the origin of both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox names. Important vocabulary and colorful lingo is written in bold and defined in sidebars. A “fly chaser” is an outfielder while a “can of corn” is an easy fly ball. Tales of trading a player for a turkey and trading a uniform number for a set of golf clubs are just a couple of the unusual stories that put this history book in a field of its own. (Ages 10–14)
CCBC Choices 2008. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2008. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE OF BASEBALL IN THIS FUNNY, FASCINATING JOURNEY FROM THE EARLIEST GAMES TO TODAY.
Discover what it was like before there was a pitching mound or players had numbers on their jerseys. Learn how Babe Ruth got his nickname, why Brooklyn's team was called the Dodgers, and what Roger Clemens gave to keep his lucky number 21 when he switched teams. See what clever ways players have found to win -- even ways to cheat! Sprinkled throughout are definitions of baseball's weird and wacky vocabulary, from a meatball to Uncle Charlie.
Find out which player was traded for a bag of prunes, but don't trade this book for anything! Ross MacDonald's lively pictures bring fans close to the action with plenty of mischievous fun in this free-swinging tribute to the boys of summer.
Discover what it was like before there was a pitching mound or players had numbers on their jerseys. Learn how Babe Ruth got his nickname, why Brooklyn's team was called the Dodgers, and what Roger Clemens gave to keep his lucky number 21 when he switched teams. See what clever ways players have found to win -- even ways to cheat! Sprinkled throughout are definitions of baseball's weird and wacky vocabulary, from a meatball to Uncle Charlie.
Find out which player was traded for a bag of prunes, but don't trade this book for anything! Ross MacDonald's lively pictures bring fans close to the action with plenty of mischievous fun in this free-swinging tribute to the boys of summer.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.