Batter Up!
Take me out to the ball game, please!!
Say hello to Good Night Baseball ($14.95, Capstone Young Readers, ages 4-7), a new Sports Illustrated Kids picture book from prolific children’s book author Michael Dahl with illustrations by Christina Forshay.
As spring training kicks off, Good Night Baseball provides the perfect play by play to introduce young fans and potential fans to this beloved American sport. I got excited reading the rhyming text in anticipation of my family’s annual outing to see our favorite minor league team, the Quakes, based in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Their home opener’s on April 4th. Be prepared for your kids to get in the mood for some serious snacking, too, when they see the tempting artwork. “We eat popcorn and hot dogs and hold drinks in our laps … with the names of our favorite teams bright on our caps.” Don’t forget the pretzels, peanuts and fries!
While the whole book is a lot of fun, my favorite part was when the little boy who is attending a ball game gets to go down on the field along with his dad and say, “Goodnight, diamond. Goodnight, grass. Goodnight, home plate where each runner ran past.” Towards the end, in this quasi homage to Goodnight, Moon, Dahl’s book really shines as he describes the boy getting tired and ready to call it a night. We all know how exhausting watching a nine inning baseball game can be for youngsters and Forshay’s illustrations capture that mood with both the color changes on the last few pages and the look of pure contentment on the baseball fan’s sleepy face. Goodnight, baseball. Goodnight, baseball fan!
– Reviewed by Ronna Mandel