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Poem Runs: Baseball Poems and Paintings



Poem Runs: Baseball Poems and Paintings
by Douglas Florian
Harcourt, 2012. Unpaged. Poetry.

Just in time for Opening Day and National Poetry Month, the inimitable Douglas Florian rounds the bases with a new book of baseball poems. Players, umpires, and the ball itself find voice in these delightful--and delightfully illustrated poems. The pictured catcher has an enormous mitt filled with baseballs and ballerina-sized cleats: "I can catch curve balls./I can catch heat./I can catch sliders/With glove or with feet." My favorite is the umpire whose called third strike shows itself in a wildly exaggerated pose that perfectly illustrates the final "Steee-rike!" of the hapless player's at-bat. Baseball players and fans will love this book; fans of lesser sports should have a look and get their heads back into the National Pastime.

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