Macmillan Book of Baseball Stories [Hardcover]

Terry Egan (Author), Stan Friedmann (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

A collection of true baseball stories featuring players from different eras, teams, and leagues and focusing on human interest and character.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The authors' crisp, animated style easily conveys the crack of the bat and the cheering from the bleachers in these true tales about baseball's renowned and lesser-known players. Included are spirited retellings of some legendary moments in the sport's history, including the home run 42-year-old Red Sox veteran Ted Williams hit in 1960 in his very last time at bat; Roger Maris's 61st home run in 1961, which broke Babe Ruth's single-season record; and an ailing Lou Gehrig's touching farewell to 70,000 fans at Yankee Stadium in 1939. Emphasis is on the individuals beneath the uniforms, among them Larry "Moose" Stubing, who may not be remembered for his batting average, but whose perseverance and leadership as a coach have influenced many. Averaging three pages in length, the neatly condensed stories are ideal for kids who would rather fling a ball than flip the pages of a book. Ages 8-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8-- With a minor flaw or two, this collection of stories, more about people who have been influenced by the sport than the game itself, is refreshingly different from the great games and star players often written about for this reading level. The successes and trials of major stars, average players, and even baseball fans are detailed in the 19 chapters, which vary from 2-to-5 pages in length. The subjects range from Bruce Nelson, an average baseball fan who draws courage from former Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax's religious conviction; to New York governor Mario Cuomo, who chose college and eventually politics over a possible baseball career; to current Oakland Athletics pitcher Dave Stewart, whose diligent efforts on helping earthquake victims during the 1989 World Series are chronicled. The most appealing aspect of this title is that major baseball stars are not put on pedestals. The liberal use of fictionalized quotes and the lack of any documentation on how the material was obtained are drawbacks, but shouldn't keep libraries from making room for this title in their collections. --Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 127 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (November 30, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0027332802
• ISBN-13: 978-0027332803
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,303,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Stories that entertain and are great fodder for conversations, February 4, 2009

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Macmillan Book of Baseball Stories (Hardcover)

For over a century, baseball has remained the great American game, it has a delightful history full of colorful characters. This book contains several stories of success, where the history of some people that we remember as stars is retold. Most are also stories of struggle, all but the most natural of players worked extremely hard to improve their skills so that they could excel at the major league level. Sometimes, as was the case with Mike Schmidt, it was the inability to hit the curveball and in other cases, such as that of Ernie Banks, it was a society that repressed the black player.
Baseball is a great game and stories about it entertain you and make great fodder for conversation. The stories in this book, written at the level of the early-teen reader, will do both.