An ebullient collection of stunning comebacks, awesome athletes, and achievements both grand and dubious.
A fizzy compendium of baseball feats, firsts, and lore from Newbery Honoree and Kirkus Prize winner Barnes (Crown, illustrated by Gordon C. James, 2017).
Although Barnes doesn’t really stick to the “unheralded figures and untold stories” he says he’ll highlight, still he does tuck some less-heralded hijinks and heroes into an anecdotal rush that captures the “joy and wonderment that is baseball.” So, along with tributes to the likes of Satchel Paige and Negro Leagues founder Rube Foster, he tips a cap to Ozzie Vergil, the first Dominican major leaguer; slugger Hank Greenberg, the “Hebrew Hammer”; “Tommy John” surgeon Dr. Frank Jobe; and four African Americans who played professionally before Jackie Robinson. Not to mention a nine-inning, 49-run game and another that went 33 innings. In formal, neatly drawn cartoons, Bajet tones down some of the wilder incidents, giving his subjects—even mascots—dignified presences and, usually, welcoming smiles. Fans budding or confirmed will need to look elsewhere for an organized baseball history or highlights reel, but they will come away feeling as if they’d sat in the bleachers with a true enthusiast who’s helped them earn “some idea of how much of a challenge it was for players of color, players from outside the United States, and for women to be part of this beautiful game.”
An ebullient collection of stunning comebacks, awesome athletes, and achievements both grand and dubious. (bibliography, glossary) (Nonfiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5235-0553-1
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
“Bizarre” barely covers some of the wacky incidents Tocher gathers from baseball history. A trainer inserted a severed ear into “Sweet Lou” Johnson’s abdomen after a bus accident (for temporary safekeeping), and it was never removed. Mets outfielder Joe Christopher was able to move his cap around by wriggling his ears. Ineffective Giants hurler Cliff Melton tipped off batters to his pitches during his delivery because his ears were so big they blocked out the stands behind his head. And that’s just “All Ears,” the first of nine thematic “Innings,” each presented as a set of simply drawn cartoon panels threaded with terse commentary and the occasional punchline. Though a little knowledge of the game will make it easier to appreciate some of these feats and mishaps, even nonfans will wince at the account of a fan who was hit by a foul ball twice during the same at-bat, marvel at the achievements of one-handed pitcher Jim Abbott and laugh at the generally futile attempts to catch balls (or in one messy case, a grapefruit) dropped from the top of the Washington Monument, a passing stunt plane and other high points. An easy pitch, particularly to reluctant or inexpert readers. (Nonfiction browsing item. 9-11)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7614-5813-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Should attract aspiring adventurers.
After showcasing risk-taking gals in Women Daredevils (2007), Cummins introduces 10 “dauntless” women born before 1900 whose little-known deeds “contribut[ed] to science, geography, history, and cultural understanding” at a time when “proper ladies simply did not go gallivanting around the world to explore new territories.”
Starting with Louise Boyd, who traded stylish dresses for boots and breeches to explore the Arctic, and closing with Daisy Bates, who studied Australian Aborigines for 35 years, Cummins presents breezy three-to-four–page biographies of her unconventional females. The variety of their endeavors astound. Nellie Cashman “rushed” for gold in British Columbia, the Klondike and Alaska; botanist Ynes Mexia collected thousands of plants in the wilderness of Mexico, the United States and the Amazon; Lucy Cheesman sojourned with cannibals while studying insects in the South Pacific. Suffragist Annie Peck scaled Europe and South America’s highest peaks. Dutch heiress Alexandrine Tinné searched for the Nile’s source and was murdered traversing the Sahara. Delia Akeley became the first woman to cross Africa. Violet Cressy-Marcks made eight trips around the world, and Freya Stark traveled throughout the Middle East. In an engaging, informative style, Cummins highlights fascinating facts about these feisty females “who conquered the unknown.” Dramatic watercolor illustrations memorialize each.
Should attract aspiring adventurers. (author’s note and list of additional female explorers; selected bibliography, websites) (Collective biography. 9-11)Pub Date: Feb. 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3713-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
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