If You Like... Baseball

To celebrate Major League Baseball's opening day, here are some books to read about the American pastime.

Written by Lisa Bowes

Illustrated by James Hearne

British Columbia: Orca Book Publishers, 2023. Picture Book.

Lucy is learning to play catch with her dad when Coach Al invites her to play with his team instead. She learns the basics of baseball, like hitting and fielding, then joins in on the first practice. At first, Lucy is scared that she is going to get hit by a pitch and is afraid to be up to bat. But, eventually Lucy learns to love the game. This book would be a great resource to prepare kids for their first practice and will be relatable to anyone who's tried a new sport.

Hoggy at Bat

By Ethan Long

New York: Holiday House, 2023. Easy Reader.

Hoggy knows he will be good at baseball. He doesn't have any basis for that knowledge, but he firmly believes it anyway. So when he gets two strikes during his first at bat, he doesn't know how to respond to the pressure of wanting to hit a home run with one ball left. This easy reader, which uses few words per page in its comic format, will give encouragement to any child who has ever been afraid to strike out.

My First Book of Baseball

By Beth Bulger

Chicago, IL: Triumph Books LLC, 2023. Easy Informational.

If you are looking for a great book with simple explanations for someone who doesn't have any background knowledge of baseball, this is a great choice! It explains the rules of the game, the format of baseball, and terms you'll need to know. It also has pictures of real MLB players interspersed throughout, so even kids who know baseball will enjoy trying to spot their favorites!

Warrior on the Mound

By Sandra W. Headen

New York: Holiday House, 2024. Fiction.

In 1939 North Carolina, Cato and his teammates want nothing more than to play on the new field that was just erected in his city. Unfortunately, it's a whites-only field. When they sneak onto the field anyway and get caught, they propose that their team compete with the white team to see who the winner would be in a series of head-to-head battles. As the forthcoming game spurs episodes of racial violence, Cato's black community must rally around each other to stay safe. Mixing in historical context with the love of the game, this book is a great choice for those who want to learn more about the history of baseball.

Comments

Funny Farm by Mark Teague 2009

There are things I liked about Mark Teague's newest book, Funny Farm , and things I didn't like. Where should I start? I'll do the "didn'ts" first. The illustrations show animals personified. Well, some of the animals are. The main characters, Edward, and his farm family relatives, all dogs, are humanized. They stand upright, do farm chores, eat at a table, wear clothes, knit (yes, with paws) and sleep in beds. Most everybody else on and around the farm, who are also animals, act like animals. They are outside, roll in mud, live in the barn, and require care from their owners. It struck me the most on the page spread where there are pigs playing in puddle in the rain and Edward, a black and white boxer, watches from inside the house. I thought "You're a dog! Go play with them!" But, alas, he can't, seeing as how he goes through his entire visit to the farm wearing a suit and red bow tie. Another picture that bothered me was the maple syrup pa...

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester 2008

J Fiction 328 pages I almost didn't finish this book. I got to Chapter 4, and was just about ready to quit (a kind of slow story about a girl, name of Piper McCloud, who discovers she can fly, parents freak out, she becomes a social outcast, yadda, yadda) but suddenly, right there in Chapter 4, the story takes a sharp turn and becomes really interesting . Piper finds herself in the company of others like her, but not "fliers", and under the care and authority of Dr. Hellion. I won't even tell you any more. Read this book. Forester does a great job of keeping you wondering who's the good guy and who's the bad? Piper is a likeable, strong, endearing character that girl readers will enjoy. But don't NOT give it to boys! The main male character is an extremely intelligent young man who is one of the ones you wonder about . . . good or bad? This is a good one, well worth your time.

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages. Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Search This Blog