My Dad's Baseball [Library Binding]

Ron Cohen (Author)

Book Description

An illustrated tale full of humor and delight, capturing the experience of a boy's first baseball game, tells how the discovery of an old baseball in Grandma's attic leads a father to recount the story of his own first professional baseball game.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The appeal of both '50s nostalgia and baseball will make Cohen's first children's book a hit with Little Leaguers as well as their parents. After a yellowed baseball rolls out of a box in his mother's attic, a man tells his seven-year-old son exactly where it came from. "Some days stay in your mind forever, Max. June 4, 1955, is one of them," he explains. On that day, it develops, the boy's father went with his father and brother to Yankee Stadium to see his very first baseball game. An extended flashback presents the father as a youngster (a diehard Milwaukee Braves fan nonetheless thrilled to watch the likes of Mickey Mantle) attending a game between the Yanks and the Detroit Tigers. The big moment arrives when the boy grabs a ball that Yogi Berra has hit into the stands; when he has it autographed the next day, his Braves cap falls out of his pocket, but Berra lets him know that his allegiance to that team is okay ("You should always be who you are"). When the story returns to the present, the father gives the ball to his delighted son. There are no surprises or unexpected twists, just a thoroughly warm tale, simply told. Effectively grainy pastels ably depict the period and convey the timeless allure of baseball. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-Stumbling upon an old, autographed baseball in a box in his mother's attic, a father relates to his seven-year-old son the story of how he got it. The man's first-person account describes his thoughts and feelings when, as a seven-year-old, he went to Yankee Stadium to see his first professional game. He is thrilled with the whole experience, but his day is made when he retrieves a ball hit by Yogi Berra. Arrangements are made to have it signed by Berra the following day, and the great catcher is amused to find out that the boy is really a Braves fan. Cohen's dark, grainy paintings adequately capture the surroundings of the story, but depict the subjects with rather surreal-looking facial expressions. The baseball players mentioned are legends, such as Mays, Mantle, and Mathews, and their names might not be familiar to the intended audience. Adults, on the other hand, might have their own memories sparked by the book's setting and style.
Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Library Binding: 1 pages
• Publisher: Lothrop Lee & Shepard; F edition (March 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688123910
• ISBN-13: 978-0688123918
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,464,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars home run, May 19, 2011

By 

d.hilbert - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Dad's Baseball (Hardcover)

this is a great story, with warmly composed illustrations and text, that capture real feellings events and dialogue. that bring you into the events of the day/ few books, deliver you into their space, with the strength that this one does.....