Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Take me out to the ball game!

Smarty Marty's Got Game by Amy Gutierrez
Marty and her brother have tickets to see Marty's favorite team against their biggest, meanest competitors!  Mickey knows very little about baseball, but luckily he is attending the game with Marty, the team's biggest fan and an expert in the ins and outs of baseball- she explains it all and makes Mickey love the game as much as she does. With this book, sports journalist and San Francisco Giants fan, Amy G. explains the sometimes confusing rules of baseball in a fun and easy way and even teaches score keeping.  Baseball is America's past-time but its also a great family tradition.  Colorful and fun illustrations by Adam McCauley are a beautiful finishing touch!




Take Me Out to the Yakyu by Aaron Meshon 
While we commonly think of baseball as the great American pastime, Take me out to the Yakyu nicely demonstrates how baseball transcends both American and Japanese cultures.  Two little boys each attend a game with their grandfather and through them, we see the many differences and similarities of this beloved game in each country.  A great book for a young person interested in Japanese culture.