Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
H is for Home Run: A Baseball Alphabet
Illustrator: Melanie Rose-Popp
Nonfiction Picture Book Series
For ages 4 to 8
Sleeping Bear Press, 2004 ISBN: 978-1585362196
For some, baseball is more than just a game and in this exceptional book it is possible to see how the game has become a part of American life and culture. The heroes of the past are still revered and talked about. Among others we read about Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Ty Cobb. Their stories appear in the text and their faces look out at us from the paintings which illustrate each page.
Then there are the terms that are a part of every game; curveball, error, ERA, full count, and many more. Each one is explained and often illustrated.
Readers will also find themselves becoming acquainted with the history of the game, how African-Americans were not allowed to play major league baseball and how that changed after Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier.
Each page gives us a picture of baseball with an illustration, a stanza of rhyming poetry, and in a side bar, readers will also find more information about elements of this game which is so much a part of American life.
