From Publishers Weekly
In this imaginative cartoon caper, time machines, looking like a jazzed-up cross between spaceships and bumper cars, are as common as Game Boys: all the kids have them. To the frustration of baseball-obsessed Roger, his teammates are too busy helping Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel or entertaining Catherine the Great to practice for the baseball championship. Roger himself has no interest in his time machineAuntil his father suggests that he look up Babe Ruth. After the boy and his hero throw a discus in ancient Athens ("Oh, heck! They're just playing Frisbee!" complains Roger), Babe shares some power-hitting tips with the protagonist. Roger goes on to win the championship pretty much single-handedly ("We're the best!" "And we didn't even need to practice!" his teammates exult). Stamaty (Minnie Maloney and Macaroni, and creator of the nationally syndicated comic strip "Washingtoon") combines a healthy irreverence for history ("I'm late for my lunch date with Julius Caesar!" rages Cleopatra at one point) with plenty of affection for baseball and Babe Ruth. He mixes up a comic-strip format of panel art and dialog boxes with a more traditional picturebook format, so the text and the detailed black-and-white artwork interact in a variety of ways. Roger's picture-perfect suburban town of sidewalks and front porches offers an excellent foil for the ludicrous events. A droll, far-out story. Ages 8-up. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6-Roger is angry because his teammates would rather gallivant off in their personal time machines than practice for the upcoming championship game. The boy's low opinion of time travel changes, however, when his father suggests that Roger go back to get some tips from Babe Ruth. As it turns out, the Babe is willing, in exchange for a trip to ancient Greece, and after a week's hitting and fielding instruction, Roger carries his rusty team to glory. Naturally, all of the players want to buckle down after that, except for Roger, who's off with Ruth to visit Leonardo da Vinci. Yes, it's trite, and all of the time machines in this graphic novel look like crosses between old-fashioned helicopters and elaborately decorated eggs. Stamaty's uncolored panels create a visual monotony that is reinforced by the peg-toothed sameness of his people. Still, the Babe comes across as an engagingly huge, friendly kid, and variations both in page design and text placement, plus the sheer zaniness of the premise, may keep readers turning the pages.
John Peters, New York Public Library Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
