"For my birthday I was hoping my parents would give me a bicycle. They only gave me a dime." So begins David Adler's inspired tale of the challenges and magic--yes, magic--of a depression-era childhood spent in the Bronx, New York. Disappointed, but not surprised by his present, the young narrator in The Babe & I spends his birthday afternoon wandering neighborhood streets with his best friend Jacob, discussing--as always--the New York Yankees and the world's greatest baseball player, Babe Ruth. The boys may have little in the way of monetary goods, but they do live within walking distance of Yankee stadium. They get a special lift from their proximity to this golden team of graced athletes, even if they can never go inside the gate. On this day, however, the stakes are raised significantly when the narrator discovers a difficult, saddening secret about his father. In response, he decides to join Jacob and become a newspaper boy--a decision that helps his family through these tough years and leads the narrator into the best, most unbelievable encounter of his life--better than any bike or birthday or anything.
Adler's honest, vivid reflection of 1930s life is perfectly complemented by Terry Widener's evocative, earth-toned illustrations. Reminiscent of WPA murals, Widener's images help Adler transport the reader to another time and place in a symbiotic pairing that makes this tender book a true work of art. (Ages 5 and older) --Jean Lenihan
In the Bronx in 1932, a boy out walking with his friend discovers that his ostensibly employed father is actually selling apples on the street. Shocked, the boy numbly follows the friend, a "newsie," to work and ends up learning a great strategy for selling papers: go to Yankee Stadium and shout the latest about Babe Ruth. Adler, previously paired with Widener for Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man, creates an empathic but unsentimental portrait of life during the Depression. He conveys the father's humiliation and pride, but the boy's satisfaction in his own job and the family's general happiness keep their lot from seeming pitiful. After selling a paper to the Babe himself, the boy feels new kinship with him: "He and I were a team.... His home runs helped me sell newspapers." But baseball isn't really what drives the bookAmore importantly, "I knew Dad and I were also a team. We were both working to get our family through hard times." Widener's acrylics have a striking presence: their massy forms and jaunty, exaggerated perspectives achieve a look that's both nostalgic and edgy. Adler and Widener score bigAtheir book reads like a labor of love. Ages 5-9.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 1-4-A moving story about how the famous Yankee unknowingly affects a young fan and his family. In the summer of 1932, a boy spots his father dressed in a suit and tie selling apples on the street, and he realizes that his dad, like so many other men, has lost his job. To help out their families, the youngster and a friend start selling newspapers outside Yankee Stadium, calling out the headlines from Babe Ruth's latest game. Their efforts earn some money, but the narrator is worried that his dad's feelings will be hurt if he finds out. Eventually, father and son come to a tender and silent understanding about their money-making activities. The tone brightens considerably when the boy sells a paper to the Babe himself and gets to see a real Yankee game, thanks to the slugger's generosity. Adler does a good job of balancing the personal relationship between father and son with a vivid portrait of the Depression and the positive impact of a true sports hero. Widener's stylized acrylic illustrations bring the city streets to life in an appealing way. The varied perspectives and exaggerated figures add excitement to the setting and the images and use of color perfectly reinforce the story's changing moods and emotions. A powerful picture book that's sure to be popular.
Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library, OR
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Adler (also with Widener, Lou Gehrig, 1997, etc.) sets his fictional story during the week of July 14, 1932, in the Bronx, when the news items that figure in this tale happened. A boy gets a dime for his birthday, instead of the bicycle he longs for, because it is the Great Depression, and everyone who lives in his neighborhood is poor. While helping his friend Jacob sell newspapers, he discovers that his own father, who leaves the house with a briefcase each day, is selling apples on Webster Avenue along with the other unemployed folk. Jacob takes the narrator to Yankee Stadium with the papers, and people don't want to hear about the Coney Island fire or the boy who stole so he could get something to eat in jail. They want to hear about Babe Ruth and his 25th homer. As days pass, the narrator keeps selling papers, until the astonishing day when Ruth himself buys a paper from the boy with a five-dollar bill and tells him to keep the change. The acrylic paintings bask in the glow of a storied time, where even row houses and the elevated train have a warm, solid presence. The stadium and Webster Avenue are monuments of memory rather than reality in a style that echoes Thomas Hart Benton's strong color and exaggerated figures. (Picture book. 5-9) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
About the Author
DAVID ADLER has written more than a hundred books, including Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man and Mama Played Baseball. He lives on Long Island, New York.
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