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Gr. 4-7. This title is poised to become the ultimate source for kids on the history and construction of balls used in sports. Covered here are the balls used in basketball, soccer, football, tennis, handball, golf, volleyball, and table tennis. The final two pages consider balls used in bingo, Chinese health balls, and animals that can make themselves into balls when in danger. These somewhat eccentric inclusions fit right in with the book's light, comic tone, which prevents the package from becoming merely a dry recitation of facts about respective weights, structure, and dimpling. Illustrations on the well-designed pages are an effective mix of photographs, cartoons, and shots of athletes in action. Slightly off-topic sidebars, such as an explanation of hang time in professional basketball, also add interest, although why the author says that Michael Jordan is still an active player is a mystery. Relevant Web sites are included in the final three pages. Facts about balls used in other sports, such as baseball and bowling, are promised for a future volume. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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More About the Author
Greetings and thanks for welcoming me into your home. Since I write books for both young readers and adults, I've cooked up two long-winded paragraphs.
Kids first: So, I'm the author of some four dozen books for children of all ages. The fall of 2011 brings four new titles: MY DOG! A Kid's Guide to Keeping a Happy & Healthy Dog (the idea go-to dog guide for families); a pop-up book with Robert Sabuda, Chanukah Lights, which just received a starred review in Publisher's Weekly: "A stunning achievement"; The Hound Dog's Haiku and Other Poems for Dog Lovers, illustrated with Mary Azarian's woodcuts; and Night of the Pumpkinheads, illustrated entirely with extraordinary jack-o'-lanterns.
Other favorites are The Cuckoo's Haiku and Other Poems for Birders; Our Farm: Four Seasons with Five Kids on One Family's Farm (which I both wrote and illustrated with some 400 photographs); A Drive in the Country; Don't Shoot!; A School for Pompey Walker, and Elijah's Angel. (And, yes, there's the Britiish Michael--no "J."--Rosen whose many books are often confused with mine.) For over 35 years, ever since working as a counselor, water-safety instructor, and art teacher at local community centers, I've been engaged with young children, their parents and teachers. As a visiting author, in-service speaker, and workshop leader, I frequently travel to schools and conferences around the nation, sharing stories, poems, creativity, and humor.
Several of my books here show my work as editor/anthologist or illustrator. It has been my privilege to have enlisted hundreds of other authors and artists to create 15 philanthropic books that aid in the fight to end childhood hunger through Share Our Strength's national efforts, or that offer care to less fortunate companion animals through The Company of Animals Fund, a granting program I administered for a dozen years.
Now, for adults. I can start by saying I'm a poet. I went to Columbia from 1979-1981, and received my MFA there. Poems are now collected in three volumes, which are all featured here at Amazon. Moving home to Ohio, I worked as an illustrator (while in NYC, I began selling spot illustrations to The New Yorker and Gourmet magazines); one of my first real clients was The Thurber House, the soon-to-be-restored home of Columbus's native son, James Thurber. For almost twenty years, I helped to restore the home, develop the programs there, and edit much of Thurber's uncollected work. (Those volumes are also featured here.) It was there, I began to edit short story anthologies, commission great writers to contribute to books about dogs, horses, and even VW Beetles. That's also where I started Mirth of a Nation, a three-volume humor biennial that constitutes almost 2,000 pages of the best contemporary humor.
Most recently, I've been working in humorous nonfiction. No Dribbling the Squid features profiles of 70-some of the world's most wayward competitions. (You can see the Web site and Facebook pages, as well.) And, most recently, there's Any Body's Guess: Quirky Quizzes About What Makes You Tick.
Otherwise, my Website has a good deal about my life on the 100-acre farm I share in Central Ohio. Thanks again for reading along with me.
www.fidosopher.com
for lots more about MY DOG!, including recipes, training tips, cool projects, games, and so forth: www.workman.com/mydog
Kids first: So, I'm the author of some four dozen books for children of all ages. The fall of 2011 brings four new titles: MY DOG! A Kid's Guide to Keeping a Happy & Healthy Dog (the idea go-to dog guide for families); a pop-up book with Robert Sabuda, Chanukah Lights, which just received a starred review in Publisher's Weekly: "A stunning achievement"; The Hound Dog's Haiku and Other Poems for Dog Lovers, illustrated with Mary Azarian's woodcuts; and Night of the Pumpkinheads, illustrated entirely with extraordinary jack-o'-lanterns.
Other favorites are The Cuckoo's Haiku and Other Poems for Birders; Our Farm: Four Seasons with Five Kids on One Family's Farm (which I both wrote and illustrated with some 400 photographs); A Drive in the Country; Don't Shoot!; A School for Pompey Walker, and Elijah's Angel. (And, yes, there's the Britiish Michael--no "J."--Rosen whose many books are often confused with mine.) For over 35 years, ever since working as a counselor, water-safety instructor, and art teacher at local community centers, I've been engaged with young children, their parents and teachers. As a visiting author, in-service speaker, and workshop leader, I frequently travel to schools and conferences around the nation, sharing stories, poems, creativity, and humor.
Several of my books here show my work as editor/anthologist or illustrator. It has been my privilege to have enlisted hundreds of other authors and artists to create 15 philanthropic books that aid in the fight to end childhood hunger through Share Our Strength's national efforts, or that offer care to less fortunate companion animals through The Company of Animals Fund, a granting program I administered for a dozen years.
Now, for adults. I can start by saying I'm a poet. I went to Columbia from 1979-1981, and received my MFA there. Poems are now collected in three volumes, which are all featured here at Amazon. Moving home to Ohio, I worked as an illustrator (while in NYC, I began selling spot illustrations to The New Yorker and Gourmet magazines); one of my first real clients was The Thurber House, the soon-to-be-restored home of Columbus's native son, James Thurber. For almost twenty years, I helped to restore the home, develop the programs there, and edit much of Thurber's uncollected work. (Those volumes are also featured here.) It was there, I began to edit short story anthologies, commission great writers to contribute to books about dogs, horses, and even VW Beetles. That's also where I started Mirth of a Nation, a three-volume humor biennial that constitutes almost 2,000 pages of the best contemporary humor.
Most recently, I've been working in humorous nonfiction. No Dribbling the Squid features profiles of 70-some of the world's most wayward competitions. (You can see the Web site and Facebook pages, as well.) And, most recently, there's Any Body's Guess: Quirky Quizzes About What Makes You Tick.
Otherwise, my Website has a good deal about my life on the 100-acre farm I share in Central Ohio. Thanks again for reading along with me.
www.fidosopher.com
for lots more about MY DOG!, including recipes, training tips, cool projects, games, and so forth: www.workman.com/mydog
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Not-So-Secret Life of 8 Favorite Sport Balls,
By 2ManyCooks "avid reader, avid cook...just an ... (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Balls! (Hardcover)
A great mix of facts and fun. While offering a comprehensive and well researched overview of the actual balls used in soccer, basketball, volleyball, handball, tennis, table tennis, football, and golf, Rosen manages to do two other crucial things: he choses just those facts that kids of all ages (and all interest levels) would find fascinating, AND he delivers the material in a lively, funny, quirky manner. The book includes equal parts archival photos and information diagrams (such as the composition of each ball) and witty illustrations by a great illustrator, John Margeson. (You can see 5 of his images that I've shared on this site.)Overall, it's a book not only for kids--or parents--who are nuts about sports, but also for kids who just love "cool" information. I can't think of another book on sports that can include pangolins, puffball mushrooms, Ping Pong, astronaunt John Glenn, the New Year's Eve ball in Times Square...and so many other "oddball" and entertaining facts. A great reference book, but also the sort of book kids would be eager to share with friends. I'd say for ages 8 to 14, easily.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book for ball-obsessed toddlers!,
By arc212 (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Balls! (Hardcover)
While this book may be geared for older kids, I got it for my son when he was about 18 months. It is by far his favorite book ever! Granted, he has an obsession with balls in general, but through this book and its great illustrations and photos, I was able to teach him the names of different balls, how to play different sports, the different equipment used, and a host of other information. He is now 2 years old and the book is so dog eared, I'll have to buy him another copy. I highly recommend it for parents who have children who love balls!
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding,
By
This review is from: Balls! (Hardcover)
Baseballs, basketballs soccer balls, footballs, tennis balls, hand balls, golf balls, volley balls ping pong (er..table tennis) balls and odd balls are all described, dissected, and detailed. Do you know how footballs are made? Do you want to understand the dynamics of a golf ball?This book is terrific. It is well written with an easy to read and well designed layout. Many of the chapters have a "Ball of Fame" section. "Wilson" from the movie Cast Away is featured in the volleyball section. Did you know there are three types of tennis balls that may be used in a tennis match? The book invites browsing and the large clear photos invite the reader into the book. This is a nonfiction gotta-have-it!
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