A family’s love and devotion to each other and to the game of baseball, depicted lovingly.
At a time when local baseball was part of the American landscape, one family fielded its own team.
The Acerra family numbered 16 children, 12 of whom were brothers who all loved to play baseball. The boys played in high school and later formed their own semi-pro team. They played wherever they could get a good game and were known as highly skilled players and crowd pleasers. They shared a special closeness and loyalty, joking and teasing, but always looking out for one another. That loyalty extended to a love of country as six of them fought in World War II, which was the first time they had been separated. After the war they continued to play in local leagues, with younger brothers taking over when big brothers aged out. In 1997 they were recognized by the Baseball Hall of Fame as the all-time longest playing all-brother team. Employing descriptive, conversational language in a matter-of-fact tone that doesn’t sentimentalize, Vernick tells of a remarkable family, part of what has come to be known as "the greatest generation." Salerno’s lively drawings, rendered in black crayon, gouache, watercolor and pastel with digital color added, complement the action, striking a balance between detail and expansiveness.
A family’s love and devotion to each other and to the game of baseball, depicted lovingly. (author’s note; artist’s note) (Picture book/biography. 5-10)Pub Date: April 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-38557-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
Though her daughter thinks she’s too old to do anything interesting, Nana takes it into her head to ride a bull when the rodeo comes to Lettuceberg. But first, she and grandchildren Eufala and Bog have to get her 1948 Dusty Drifter repaired. And before that, they must outsmart Tuff and his seven Ruffies, larger-than-life adult bullies rumored to eat house pets. The tangled lariat on the endpapers reflects the twists and turns of this episodic nonsense tale in which Nana finds the key to Tuff’s heart. An intrusive third-person narrator describes Nana’s adventures in short chapters with intriguing titles, such as “One Undeniable Silver Lining” and “Mister Tasty Toes,” and plenty of dialogue. Occasionally readers are addressed directly, especially in the beginning as characters are introduced. Sometimes the narrator interrupts herself with an “oh dear,” or, “perhaps you’re wondering.” This companion to Nana Cracks the Case! (2010) stands alone; the static characters distinguished by a single trait (zany Nana, candy-loving Bog, bossy big sister Eufala and the soft-hearted bullies). Horne’s pop-eyed cartoon characters, in vignettes and some full-page gray-scale illustrations, add to the humor. Like Nana’s elderly car, this story hops along. The sheer randomness of the plot may keep readers fixed: What could possibly happen next? But in the end they are left with something less sticky than even mind-candy. (Fiction. 7-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8118-6260-8
Page Count: 142
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
Knowledge of Virginia Woolf and her painter-sister Vanessa Bell is unnecessary; this works beautifully as a bad-day/bad-mood...
In the literary bounty of books about bad moods and bad days, this one goes deeper than most, poignantly showing literal and metaphorical glimpses of real depression.
“One day my sister Virginia woke up feeling wolfish. She made wolf sounds and did strange things,” begins narrator Vanessa. Huddled in bed, only pointy ears showing, is a wolf. Virginia’s unable to bear the bright-yellow gingham of Vanessa’s dress or the sound of Vanessa brushing her own teeth. This is potent misery: “The whole house sank. Up became down. Bright became dim.” Vanessa creeps into bed to comfort her sister, but what finally helps is painting. At the wolf’s suggestion, Vanessa paints a whimsical, expanding world called “Bloomsberry,” bursting with blossoms, birds and magic. Arsenault reproduces the earlier “Up became down” spread but inverts its position and hue: Now objects waft upwards and the mood is buoyant. The wolf—previously a black near-silhouette with snout and tail, wearing a dress—morphs back into a girl. Wolf ears, silhouetted from behind, become a hair bow. Ink, pencil and paint deftly divide color from black-and-white as emotional symbolism. Lettering is carefully handwritten.
Knowledge of Virginia Woolf and her painter-sister Vanessa Bell is unnecessary; this works beautifully as a bad-day/bad-mood or animal-transformation tale, while readers who know actual depression will find it handled with tenderly forceful aplomb. (Picture book. 5-10)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-55453-649-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
