Baseball Children's Books Recommendation

T-ball season has come and gone at my house but the love for the game isn't going anywhere!  In fact, on a recent trip to the library Will's only request was for me to find baseball books to bring home.  I won't bore you with the how-to books I found (though they are fascinating for a 7 year old who dreams of becoming a pitcher).  Instead I'll share 3 really cute picture books about baseball.

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Hey Batta Batta Swing!  The Wild Old Days of Baseball by Sally Cook and James Charlton.  Illustrated by Ross MacDonald.  Simon & Schuster, 2007.

Think you know what a "can of corn" is?  What about "tweeners?"  I doubt you know their meanings in the context of baseball history!!

My 7 year old was fascinated by all he learned about baseball from this book, especially one old rule that allowed you to get a runner out by SOAKING him.  (That means hitting him with the ball if he was off base.)  Can we say OUCH?!!

From players to teams to strange vocabulary, Hey Batta Batta Swing! covers it all.  If you have a budding baseball fanatic in your home, I highly recommend this book!!!! 

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The Babe & I by David A. Adler.  Illustrated by Terry Widener.  Harcourt Brace and Company, 1999.

In order to help his family during the Great Depression, a boy works as a newsie selling newspapers on the streets of New York City.  His friend, Jacob, who got him the job, shows him where to stand outside Yankee Stadium and yell out headlines about Babe Ruth.  It doesn't take long for this budding entrepreneur to learn the ropes of selling papers and using Babe's fame to his advantage.

Though the story itself is fiction, the Great Depression, newsie job, and headlines about Babe Ruth are historical facts which lend this book a true-to-life feeling.  As Red Sox fans, we chose to ignore the fact that this book promotes the Yankees and focus on the hard work of the boy and his excitement at running into Babe Ruth.

Over all, a really cute baseball book that my young fans have enjoyed.

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Zachary's Ball by Matt Tavares.  Candlewick Press, 2000.

A boy watches his first game at Fenway Park with his dad.  After his dad catches a ball in the stands and hands it to him the boy proclaims, " This baseball is magic!"  

I can just imagine how excited my 7 year old Red Sox fan would be if he attended a game at Fenway Park and came home with a ball!  He wouldn't stop talking about it for months!!

Tavares does a great job of capturing the magic that baseball holds for young fans, as well as the transfer of that magic from one generation to the next.  

We all enjoyed this book at our house hope to one day visit Fenway Park and watch the Red Sox play.

What baseball books do you recommend for my young baseball fans?