Casey At the Bat [Hardcover]

Ernest L. Thayer (Author), Gerald Fitzgerald (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

Baseball fans of all ages will love a dramatically illustrated version of the classic 1888 poem that chronicles the joys and ultimate sorrows of Mudville and its star baseball player.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Penned in 1888, Thayer's classic ballad is still as fresh as a rookie pitcher; it has earned its place in the Read-Aloud Hall of Fame. Though the style is slightly formal and young audiences may not catch every word ("upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat"), no one will miss the gist of the tale. With a few brief strokes of his brush, Fitzgerald captures an era-a hat of a certain style, a pair of glasses, the cut of a suit-and his light-dappled acrylics seem aged by a fine patina. He manipulates perspective to wonderful advantage, bringing a sense of movement to the pages: readers are now in the stands, now at third base, now behind the catcher as the mighty Casey prepares to swing at the ball. A home-run effort. Ages 6-10.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3?Thayer's famous poem, presented here in picture-book format, is still fresh and still filled with excitement and suspense. Fitzgerald's colorful, double-spread acrylic illustrations pit the greens and yellows of the field against the bright blue sky. The scenes are softened and blurred by the brushwork, which, along with the players' loose-fitting striped uniforms, infuses the book with the atmosphere of an old-fashioned, hometown game. Casey swaggers through the verses, a Babe Ruth-like figure in command of the crowd until the last terrible moment when he swings and misses. In his illustrations for Jack Norworth's multilayered Take Me Out to the Ballgame (Four Winds, 1992), Alex Gillman uses interesting facts from the history of the sport to add meaning to the poem. This new offering simply illustrates an old bit of popular culture, but it captures the thrill of the game, and baseball fans will enjoy it. It's pure entertainment.?Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River,
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (April 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689319452
• ISBN-13: 978-0689319457
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,197,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Casey Strikes Out; Polacco Hits a Homer!, June 18, 2000

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Casey at the Bat (Paperback)

Thayer's classic ballad, `Casey at the Bat,' is greatly enhanced by Patricia Polacco's brilliantly achieved, big-hearted illustrations. Ms. Polacco captures emotion, action, and character through wittily exaggerated, slightly loopy pictures, and through lots of uncrowded background shenanigans. It's very cinematic: She effectively isolates action through extreme close-ups, and extends time through a montage of events occurring within a single picture. Like the auteur she is, she even adds some opening and closing story elements (while leaving the poem intact) that augment the poem's appeal to the younger reader.

This book is simply great fun to read aloud; you'll find yourself wanting to memorize its evocative imagery and epic aspirations:

"Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt; Five thousand tongue applauded when he wiped them on his shirt. Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip, Defiance flashed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip."

You and your youngsters will love the humor and the drama in this a classic rendition of Thayer's beloved poem. Infants and toddlers will enjoy the bright pictures, and all readers will appreciate the perfect teaming of Thayer and Polacco.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a beautiful version of this classic poem., April 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Casey at the Bat (Paperback)

This is a beautifully illustrated version of this 1888 classic ballad about baseball. The beautiful watercolor illustrations for this centennial edition were rendered from historic photographs and drawings from the archives of the National Baseball Library in Cooperstown, New York. Finally, an illustrated versions whose pictures match the beauty of the language of this timeless ballad. Young and old, lovers of baseball and language will all cherish this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Casey at the Bat Book Review, February 26, 2002

By 

Alison VanWasshnova (Kalamazoo) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Casey at the Bat (Paperback)

I thought this was a wonderful book. I enjoyed Thayers use of poetry to exrpress the emotion in the story. The language used in the text is of very high quality and when read by an adult to a child, the child is able to thourghly understand. The illustrations play an important role with the text. They not only enrich the text, but they tell a story in itself. We can feel the emotion of the players and the crowd through Polacco's work. Overall I thought this was a wonderful book and reccomend it to a child of any age.