Say-Hey and the Babe: Two Mostly True Baseball Stories [Hardcover]

Neil Waldman (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

In Say-Hey and the Babe: Two Mostly True Baseball Stories, a young girl and a stickball team from the Bronx come face-to-face with two of the biggest baseball legends of all time, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4–Two loosely connected tales evoke the days when baseball legends interacted with ordinary fans. A prologue describes a boy and his friends retrieving a foul-smelling object from a sewer in 1951. In the first story, which harks back to 1927, Babe Ruth hits a ball into the stands and strikes a young spectator. As Mona Finkel recovers after the game, Ruth presents her with a ball signed by the entire Yankee team. It is a cherished family heirloom, until her brother, Harry, loses it down a sewer hole while playing stickball. The second tale is set in 1951 and concerns Harry's son, Peter, who loves playing stickball and watching Giants great Willie Mays. When Peter hears that Mays is playing stickball in Harlem, he goes to watch and ends up rediscovering his family's missing treasure. Sidebars provide some baseball facts; explain the equipment, rules, and history of stickball; and include anecdotes from players. Waldman's stylized watercolor illustrations do a fine job of detailing the action and supporting the nostalgic mood. There's a lot going on in this brief picture book, but the slight stories and characters fail to come to life. Nor do readers gain any insight into the personalities of Ruth and Mays. The main audience for this title will be adults looking to share their memories with youngsters.–Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA
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From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. In this picture book for middle-grade readers, Waldman retells two factual baseball stories and posits a fictional connection between them. In the first, Babe Ruth gives a baseball, autographed by the entire 1927 Yankees team, to a girl hit by one of his mighty swings; the ball is later lost. The second tale begins 14 years later, when a young stickball fan watches Say-Hey Willie Mays in a historic game, then retrieves the earlier ball upon losing his own "spauldeen" down a sewer grate. Many sidebars help to separate "fact from fancy" in this unusual narrative, and offer perspective on topics such as period slang, stickball rules, and urban culture. Waldman's varied illustrations use stippled effects, sepia tones, and soft colors to reinforce the book's nostalgic tone. Children will need to come to this with a love of baseball or an interest in city life; there are likely to be fewer limits on its appeal to adult readers, though, whose own enthusiasm may rub off on younger generations. Pair this with Dan Gutman's Babe and Me (2000). GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House (March 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082341857X
• ISBN-13: 978-0823418572
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,936,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Say-Hey and the Babe, August 6, 2007

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Jewish Book World Magazine (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Say-Hey and the Babe: Two Mostly True Baseball Stories (Hardcover)

Two connected stories about a group of boys growing up in New York and their love for stickball and baseball is complemented by text-boxes and sidebars that provide interesting tidbits and historical background. Heavy on nostalgia, the audience is limited to baseball fans who grew up in New York in the 1950's and possibly their grandchildren. And while all of the characters have Jewish names and the Yiddish word mensch is defined, the Jewish content is limited. For ages 7 - 10.