S IS FOR SLUGGER

A quirky baseball-based ABC provides the format for this offbeat homage to the game and its players.

Shoeless Joe Jackson, Babe Ruth, and Mamie “Peanut” Johnson are the only representatives of baseball’s long-ago past, with admiring nods to many 20th-century players, such as Jackie Robinson, Henry Aaron, Nolan Ryan, and Cal Ripken Jr., but the book has a very contemporary feel, also shining the spotlight on players active in the 21st century. “C is for Captain Clutch,” Derek Jeter; “Z is for ZZZZZZZ,” closer Mariano “Sandman” Rivera; “D is for Dugout,” where the bench players (a dream team of sorts including Roger Clemens, Bo Jackson, and Mike Piazza) wait to play while cheering for their teammates. The author seems to have applied some personal algorithm to his choice of players, who were or are respected in their positions and include several Hall of Famers. In single- and double-page spreads, the players are either directly named in a brief, pithy alphabetic blurb or identified in bright white uppercase letters within the illustration. Shipley’s deeply hued depictions carefully and creatively enhance the text. Many of the players are nearly faceless, shown in nonproportional, exaggerated, elongated form with legs that stretch forever. A few others are quite accurate character studies. The most intense baseball fans among young readers and their grown-ups will, inevitably, have the great pleasure of arguing and discussing the pros and cons of the inclusion or omission of their favorite players.

Win, win all the way.