Customer Reviews

Casey at the Bat

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

NOTE: This review is on the Raintree Childrens Books 1985 Edition. Amazon, bless their hearts, has mixed up their Casey books and mixed all kinds of different reviews of different versions of this book. There is a very big difference you know!

This particular edition and rendition of the poem Casey at the Bat, first published in 1888 by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, has been illustrated by KEN BACHAUS. It is probably one of the finest versions of this poem or ballad in print. Most reading this review are probably quite familiar with the story as told in the poem, so needless to say, it is about as an American of a poem as you can get. It is one of those that have been memorized by school children for several generations now. Movies and cartoons have been made of it and the poem has been published in uncountable anthologies, as well as stands a lone works.

What makes this work so unique is the art work by Ken Bachaus. The artist has captured the mood of the poem perfectly. Facial expressions of players are an absolute delight as is the body language and background settings. Vivid watercolor like paintings fit the words to the text perfectly. Bachaus' use of his brush to show motion is quite unique and perfectly executed. (this technique is actually quite difficult to pull off and the artist has mastered it). Details of uniforms, skin texture, equipment and, well, dirt, is rather amazing.

I cannot think of a better version of this beloved story to read to the young ones. Not only do they get the words of a wonderful, truly American poem, but they are exposed to some wonderful art work at the same time.

If you purchase this work, be sure you check it out closely as there seems to be a terrible mix up here. Note that Publishers Weekly has gotten it wrong (no surprise here), and School Library Journal is even further off. They don't even address the correct artist. And while I am at it; where on earth did they come up with "Aristotelean catharsis" on a review for a book like this? I sat through over a dozen classes in classical literature in college, and for the life of me never made the connection between Aristotle and Casey...Duh on me, I suppose. Anyway, I think it is suppose to be (Thank you for allowing me to rant)

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

This is by far the best rendition/publication of this poem that I've ever seen. The combination of the real-life looking people, but have their legs look like pencils, is quite humerous. Our particular favorite is the smoke coming from Casey's ears when he has struck out twice. The pictures in this book greatly enhance the story. Especially when Casey is standing there examining his fingernails on the first strike. Pretty cute and funny stuff.

Grab this book for all the young ball players you know - it really tells a nice tale of always doing your best, no matter how good you get at whatever you do. It made my little guy pretty sad to read this book/poem, but it definitely opens the door to emphasizing the importance of always doing your best. Highly recommend!

One of many titles in the popular Raintree Stories series of classic tales, both fiction and nonfiction, from around the world, "Casey at the Bat" also appears in many anthologies of children's literature. This well-traveled 116-line poem is about a baseball team, the Mudville Nine, on the verge of losing a game, and an overweening batter -- their star -- who refuses to swing at the first two pitches, both strikes. On the third pitch he digs in, looks fierce, and, much to everyone's surprise, including his own, swings and misses.

The Baseball Almanac calls the piece "a baseball poem so well-written that it is simply classic poetry." But the poem is not just about baseball; it is part of baseball history. Ernest Thayer initially published the poem anonymously, because he considered it doggerel, a throwaway set of lines. But as time passed and it grew in popularity, more and more people claimed to have written it, and so he "came out" as the author, so to speak. The poem's subtitle, "A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888," is rarely included with it, but indicates the mock seriousness of the work. Despite the technological changes of the past 120 years, the Mudville Nine's situation is sweetly familiar. Anyone attending a baseball game in a stadium today could identify with the hyped-up crowd in the poem. And as for gifted but arrogant players? Plenty of those still around.

The text is illustrated by Ken Bachus with sharp attention to the clothing and facial hair typical of the late 1880s. His ink drawings are detailed and accurate, from the players' uniforms and floppy baseball gloves to their drooping moustaches. Bachus indicates Casey's physical superiority in two ways: Casey hefts three bats in the on-deck circle rather than the usual two, and his moustache ends are longer than anyone else's. But he isn't perfect: his ears stick out, and he's beady-eyed.

In a liberal interpretation of the text, the illustrator shows Casey taking the first two pitches while leaning on his bat rather than holding the bat in ready position. This choice underscores Casey's arrogance: it's not just that he didn't swing; he couldn't swing. The last drawing is a treasure. Casey sits alone and bent over on a rough-hewn plank bench, his bat and the elusive ball at his side. His posture says "learned a hard lesson" better than any words could. This Casey will never again lean on his bat and watch a pitch go by.

A perfect read-aloud poem for pre-teens. The last lines should be read with a slow and exaggerated seriousness: "There is no joy in Mudville -- mighty Casey has struck out."

The book was listed as used, in good condition, but it appeared to be brand new. It arrived ahead of time and in very good condition. Excellent service.

This modern rendition of the classic ballad altered to appeal to modern young people retains the charm of the original. In this case the game is in a little league and Casey is an arrogant young man. He believes himself infallible and in the spirit of the original Casey ends up getting a lesson in humility. There is an excellent surprise at the end that reinforces the theme of the story.
The images strongly reinforce the wording of the poem, illustrating the knocking of the cover off the ball as well as the runner hugging third. Rooters for the home team are adamant, even the goat mascot has an expression of anger at the calls of the umpire. The surprise ending brings it to a level that all children can relate too, making it a very good book for young people.
This modern rendition of the classic ballad altered to appeal to modern young people retains the charm of the original. In this case the game is in a little league and Casey is an arrogant young man. He believes himself infallible and in the spirit of the original Casey ends up getting a lesson in humility. There is an excellent surprise at the end that reinforces the theme of the story.
The images strongly reinforce the wording of the poem, illustrating the knocking of the cover off the ball as well as the runner hugging third. Rooters for the home team are adamant, even the goat mascot has an expression of anger at the calls of the umpire. The surprise ending brings it to a level that all children can relate too, making it a very good book for young people.

I truly love Patricia Polacco's books, and it so convenient to be able to purchase them at Amazon. She is a gifted writer, and they are a gifted company. Thanks!!

As an elementary school librarian looking for a narrative poem to share with students, one couldn't do better than Polacco's version which adds a fine twist at the poem's ending.
Sadly, out of print... though purchased through an excellent reseller.