Take Me Out to the Yakyu (PBOW)

A Picture Book of the Week (PBOW) feature

Take Me Out to the Yakyu
Aaron Meshon
Atheneum, 2013

This was one of my favorite new reads this summer. Such a fun little book and one that works equally well as a baseball story as it does an informational text on cultural differences between the U.S. and Japan--not to mention a sweet reflection of a terrific grandpa/kid relationship! So let's unpack this gem a bit.

Cover/Endpapers: The astute viewer will notice right away that the cover image is symmetrical with the boy smack in the center. He's the star of our show, to be sure, but the background shows us the world he straddles--literally. Everything on the left is U.S.A. Everything on the right is Japan. The jaunty colors and simple, bold images tell us this book is for younger folks--ages 4-6 or so (and that's pretty accurate, although I think the book can go up or down a bit). What is a "Yakyu"? Glad you asked--the cover tells us that, too, with lots of baseball imagery. This is definitely going to have some baseball game action in it, even if we still don't know exactly what a Yakyu is. Endpapers: baseball again!

Title Page: More of the same left/right juxtaposition of U.S.A. and Japan--and this will continue on most pages that have both countries/cultures represented simultaneously. American scenes are first, followed by Japanese.

Design: This book is wonderfully designed. Without spelling out, "this is a book about American baseball and culture compared to Japanese baseball and culture," it shows us this comparison quite clearly. Even young children will pick up on it as the boy goes to a baseball game with his American grandfather and with his Japanese grandfather. Most double spreads are mirror images of each other, reflecting both cultures. The similarities in layout and composition of each spread help the reader see right away what is different between the two countries. Since this book is being published in America, to an American audience, it makes sense that American scenes are the touchpoint--we know these images. The Japanese reflections stand out in stark contrast sometimes (such as sleeping on the floor in Japan) while others images show us just how similar we really are (celebrating the seventh inning, even if we do it differently).

Palette: Bright, bold, saturated colors fill this book. But there is more to it than just "fun" colors. The American side is consistently blue--background, player jerseys, shades of blue. The Japanese side is consistently red in the same way. This starts on the cover with the foam hand and plastic horn the boy is holding up, and even his clothes reflect both main colors. I used this book to introduce the concept of palette to my children (twin boys, aged 6, and a daughter, age 8). THEY pointed out to me that on the cover, the American (English) words are in blue and the Japanese word is in red!

Text: Picture books aren't just about the pictures! The text in this book nicely mirrors the symmetry of the illustrations which helps the reader know what Ji Ji means or that kilometers-per-hour is similar to miles-per-hour as a measurement tool. Just enough information given to us in the text so that we know what is going on but aren't overwhelmed with commentary on the two cultures.

End Matter: But wait! There's more! The final pages of the book have all sorts of information about baseball in the two countries. Incidentally, the informational pages continue the same blue/red palette. There's a glossary complete with the Japanese characters for words (one page of baseball-related words and one of "other fun words"). The next two pages give a short history of baseball in both countries and some other information related to baseball in both countries. And don't miss the final yin-yang illustration!

Have you seen this book? What did you think? 

What did I miss?

Next week's PBOW: Journey (I'd said I wouldn't do one the week of T'giving, but I couldn't resist!)
Cover image from publisher's website; book from local library

Hoop Genius and Trashket Ball

Hoop Genius: How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball
John Coy, author
Joe Morse, illustrator
Lerner Books, 2013

Teachers are under-rated. If you've never been in charge of the education of a group of squirrely youngsters during the month of February, then you have NO idea of the level of inventiveness going on in the classroom. I'm not surprised in the least that a gym teacher invented one of America's favorite sports! Nor that it was with his students' help and based on a childhood game he seemed to have invented with his neighbors.

Hoop Genius is a terrific read, especially if you have young basketball fans in your home (as I do!). What makes this a strong informational picture book?
*Vibrant, active illustrations--Morse packs this book with energy in art form
*An insight into the origins of sports: all sports we play today were invented at some point--and many are no doubt based on the games children invent and creative adults recreate
*Some things never change: a group of bored students is always a party waiting to happen (whether that party is on their terms or the teacher's!)
*the mash-up of text and pictures works quite well in this book

Look for Hoop Genius on shelves come March 1. In the meantime, you might consider playing "Trashket Ball" in your classroom or in your home as a review game. This is a game my students taught me when I taught high school English.

Group Play:
Two teams. Teacher asks a player on each team in turn a review question. If the student answers correctly, his or her team gets a point. If they answer correctly, they also get the chance to shoot the "ball" (a wadded up piece of paper) into the "basket" (trash can works nicely) for an extra point. I need hardly tell you the motivation this gave some of my students to work hard at the review game.

Small Group/Individual Play:
At home with just one or two students? Teams are not necessary. Score each child as an individual and ask whatever level questions each child needs (this allows you to mix and match grade/ability levels). A laundry basket and nerf ball work just as well as wadded up paper and a trash can!

Enjoy! And share with us some of YOUR favorite February games and activities!

Book from Lerner Press via Netgalley (thanks!); cover image from goodreads.

Weekly Round-up: Baseball Bios in Picture Book Form

I like to do weekly round-ups on Wednesdays, but I just couldn't get this one done by Wednesday this week. However, I don't want to wait until next week because we're in the middle of the World Series!! A great time to mention these recent baseball picture books.

You may have heard of the new Common Core State Standards for education. If you haven't, don't worry--I plan to discuss them in more detail in the coming weeks. Whether or not your children are in public schools, these standards will affect you; after all, standardized tests are based on things exactly like this! One of the big distinctives of the new standards is the increased emphasis on "informational texts." So far, it's been hard to determine if that includes narrative nonfiction (think: biographies) as well as more information nonfiction.

At any rate, there has been a real boon of well done information picture books as of late. Three of the ones published recently center around a famous person (or persons) in baseball. Check these titles out if you have children interested in baseball, sports in general, or just for some fun "informational" reading.

There Goes Ted Williams: the Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived
Matt Tavares
Candlewick
2012

Ted Williams could hit a ball...consistently into home run territory. His story is one of hard work, determination to be the best, consistent practice, and service to his country (WWII and Korea). The author provides a bibliography at the end as well as a note which mentions some of Williams's less-than-stellar attributes. It's a terrific story,  nicely illustrated, and a great one to read with a young, aspiring baseball player. Recommended for elementary, particularly those with some prior baseball knowledge.

Brothers at Bat: the True Story of an Amazing All-Brother Baseball Team
Audrey Vernick, author
Stephen Salerno, illustrator
Clarion
2012

Well told and wonderfully illustrated, Brothers at Bat tells the story of 12 brothers who formed an all-brother baseball team (the longest playing all-brother team in history). Terrific family dynamics (they also had 4 sisters!), a nice slice of American history (early 20th century, including WWII), and interesting details about particular brothers make this a winner. Recommended for elementary (or earlier if they have some baseball background).

She Loved Baseball: the Effa Manley Story
Audrey Vernick, author
Don Tate, illustrator
Collins
2010

Did you know that there is a woman in the Baseball Hall of Fame? Just one actually: Effa Manley. She was an amazing woman, loved baseball, ended up owning a baseball team, and just had such an interesting life. This one's for those girls in the family who are out in the backyard hitting balls with their brothers! Recommended for elementary.

Weekly Round-Up: Some Olympics Themed Reading!

The Olympics are just around the corner!! In honor of this favorite sporting event of mine, here are some reading ideas--some are about Olympians and some are about London (past or present). Enjoy these last few weeks of summer with some non-school reading ☺. With the exception of the Dodsworth title, all are middle school friendly and up.

Rush for the Gold: Mystery at the Olympics by John Feinstein is a mystery set at, you guessed it, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. A very fun read.

Speed to Glory: the Cullen Jones Story is a short, readable biography of Olympian swimmer Cullen Jones. He is on the U.S.A. 2012 Olympics Team, too, and will be racing with his college teammate, the famous Michael Phelps.

Heart of a Champion: the Dominique Dawes Story is a short, readable biography of former Olympian gymnast, part of the famous Magnificent 7 U.S.A. team who won gold in the 2000 Olympics here on U.S. soil.

The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd is a part adventure, part mystery set in, of course, London! Nothing to do with the Olympics, per se, but lots to do with London itself and very contemporary.

Dodsworth in London by Tim Egan is an Easy Reader book featuring the intrepid Dodsworth and his faithful duck companion. Nothing to do with the Olympics, but young readers will see lots of familiar London landmarks in the quirky illustrations.

The Official London 2012 Olympics Website also features LOTS of information on the upcoming events in London as well as some great information on past medalists and Olympics history (plus a slew of ever changing photos!).

The Official Olympics Website is also a treasure trove of Olympics-related information to explore. Check it out!

Cover images for books from goodreads and Zondervan; Olympics flag found on Olympic Website; London Image from London2012 Website.

Speed to Glory: the Cullen Jones Story

Speed to Glory: the Cullen Jones Story
Natalie Davis Miller
Zonderkidz
2012


As I mentioned in my review of a Dominique Dawes biography, one of the Olympic sports I really enjoy watching is the swimming. Cullen Jones is just that: an Olympic swimmer. In fact, he's on the 2012 U.S.A. Olympic team for the upcoming London Olympics! You might consider this, then, a partial biography of Cullen Jones since his career is very much in progress.

I like what Zondervan seems to be doing in these middle grade biographies: profiling famous people who claim that their faith is important to them. If Jones' and Dawes' biographies are any indication, they are fairly well researched, easy to read, full of extra information on the sport (or career) in question--including nice bibliographies, and seem to cover a wide variety of interests (sports, politics, etc.). Jones, like Dawes, is now involved in reaching out to communities, trying to encourage kids to be more active physically. He is trying to use his gifts for good. He had a unique start to his swimming career (a near drowning at a water park at age 5), but once he got started swimming, he kept it up.

What I am less pleased about in these biographies is the generic quality of the faith of the person in question. There are occasional references to how much the person's "faith" means to them, and in both Dawes' and Jones' backgrounds, there was frequent church attendance, perhaps mention of a conversion experience, and parents who seemed to place a priority on going to church. But there was no mention of Christ nor much text devoted to object of the person's faith.

All in all, this Cullen Jones biography will be an interesting read for those kids interested in swimming (and/or professional athletes), and it will be a "safe" read and a mildly inspiring one. But it will not be terribly inspiring in terms of Christian faith.

Book is on sale now.

Thanks to Zonderkidz (via Netgalley) for the ARC of the book; cover image from Zondervan

Heart of a Champion: the Dominique Dawes Story

Heart of a Champion: the Dominique Dawes Story
Kim Washburn
Zonderkidz
2012


The Summer Olympics are just around the corner! Sports enthusiasts everywhere are marking their calendars. One of my favorite events to watch in the Summer Olympics is the gymnastics competition (my other favorites are track-and-field and swimming, just for the record). The gymnasts, though, really seem to defy gravity and the normal bounds of the human body. Dominique Dawes is a gymnast I remember well; she is my age, and she was a remarkable athlete on so many levels.

Rush for the Gold: Mystery at the Olympics

Rush for the Gold: Mystery at the Olympics
John Feinstein
Random House
2012



Apparently this is a "Final Four Mystery," number 6 to be exact. I read this particular one first, and, if it's like the earlier ones in this series, I've made a nice little discovery!

Mysteries are often a touch formulaic, but that's part of their charm. We know the kid sleuths will solve the mystery and save the day (remember Nancy Drew?). We know there will be a tad bit of danger, some intrigue, an action-heavy plot, and some slimy bad guys. This is what makes these books fun. And Rush for the Gold delivers nicely. The "story" qualities in mysteries are usually not as heavily crafted; these aren't books to savor--they're books to swim through, enjoying the fast pace.