The Funniest Man in Baseball

The True Story of

Max Patkin

Clarion Books
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
(pub. 4.3.2018)
40 pages

A True Tale with
A Cherry On Top   

A uthor:  Audrey Vernick
    and illustrator: Jennifer Bower

C haracters: Max Patkin

O verview from the jacket flap: 
     "Max Patkin was in the minor leagues when an injury sidelined him. He left his dreams behind and joined the navy, where eventually he was able to play ball again. And this time he got to pitch against superstar Joe DiMaggio! When Joe hit one out of the park, Max threw down his glove, left the pitcher's mound, and chased Joe around the bases, making faces and imitating his every move. The crowd loved it! A baseball clown was born.
     This inspiring and comical biography about a professional ballplayer turned legendary funnyman carries an important message: Dreams don't usually turn out exactly as you'd hoped... but moving in a new direction can sometimes bring happy surprises."

T antalizing taste: 
      "Did you hear the one about the pitcher who walked into a ballpark? He turned into a clown!

     No, seriously!
     TRUE STORY!
     The pitcher's name was Max Patkin and when he was growing up in Philadelphia, he slept with his baseball glove and cap under his pillow every night.
     He worked to become a high-kicking fastball pitcher, playing in sandlot games and then straight through high school and into the minor leagues.
     He was a funny guy, a goofy guy, always looking for a laugh, but serious about becoming a major-league player."

    

and something more:  Audrey Vernick's Author's Note explains: "He loved talking about the long afternoons and evenings at ballparks all over the country, the players he met, the publicity stunts he'd witnessed, the amazing firsts and lasts and never-agains. Some of the stories sounded unbelievable, even to Max, and he was there when they happened. That's why he'd often add 'true story' at the end. It was Max's version of 'happily ever after.'"

Martin de Porres

The Rose in the Desert

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by a curious thing
and joins It's Monday! What are you Reading? at Teacher Mentor Texts

Clarion Books

(pub. 6.26.2012) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Gary D. Schmidt

     and Illustrator:  David Diaz

C haracter: Martin de Porres -- patron saint of brotherhood, interracial relations, social justice, those of mixed race, public education, and animal shelters

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "The illegitimate child of a Spanish nobleman and a former slave, Martin de Porres was born into extreme poverty. Barred from the priesthood, he joined the Dominican Order as a servant instead. Soon he was performing miracles and healing nobles and beggars alike. As a celebration of his selflessness, he was canonized into the sainthood.

      Journey with this gentle friar as he calmly confronts racial and economic prejudice in seventeenth-century Peru..."

        

T antalizing taste: 

   "Anna Velazquez hurried out of the barrios of Lima and onto the plaza. She carried a quiet baby, wrapped closely so that no one could see him - but no one was looking.

     The slave boys sweeping the plaza saw only the dusty cobblestones.

     The Spanish royals sipping lemon ices saw only their ruby rings.

     And the priests standing on the cathedral steps saw only another beggar, and turned away." 

          

and something more: What a lovely dedication written by David Diaz: "For Lin Oliver and Stephen Mooser, the lamp, lifeboat, and ladder to so many." I echo that sentiment. In 1971, Lin and Stephen co-founded SCBWI, the organization for children's book writers and illustrators. SCBWI now has over 18,000 members! I've heard both of them speak several times at various conferences, including the national conference in Los Angeles the past two summers, and they are wonderful -- inspiring, encouraging, entertaining.  Not only are Lin and Stephen the Executive Director and President of SCBWI, respectively, they are also prolific authors. I can't wait to hear them speak again at this year's SCBWI conference. A heartfelt thank you to Lin Oliver and Stephen Mooser and everyone who works and volunteers for SCBWI! You've made such a difference in so many lives and careers, including mine.

Brothers At Bat

The True Story of 

An Amazing All-Brothers Baseball Team

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by The Swimmer Writer

Clarion Books

(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

(pub. 4.3.2012) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Audrey Vernick

     and Illustrator:  Steven Salerno

C haracters: The Acerra brothers 

O verview from the jacket flap: 

       "12 Brothers

         1 Baseball

         The Acerra family had sixteen children. Twelve of them were boys, and they all played baseball.

         It was the 1930s, and many families had lots of kids. But only one had enough to field a baseball team ... with three on the bench!

         The Acerras loved the game, but more important, they cared for and supported one another and stayed together as a team. Nothing life threw their way could stop them.

         This is their amazing story." 

T antalizing taste: 

        "In 1997, the Baseball Hall of Fame held a special ceremony to honor them ... After such a thrilling day, you could picture them driving off into the sunset, happily ever after.

        But their bus broke down.

        They could have sat on the curb, grumbling in the summer heat. But someone found a bat and a ball, and as three generations of Acerras waited for a new bus, they played ball.

        That ball soared from grandfather to granddaughter, from father to son.

        From brother to brother."         

and something more: I'm enamored by this wonderful new picture book biography, Brothers at Bat, by Audrey Vernick with "period illustrations" by Steven Salerno. Reading it reminded me of warm summer evenings watching baseball games with my dad. We would pull the TV out into the backyard and stretch out on lounge chairs. I also went to oodles of my brother's baseball games who pitched through high school and college.
        I like that although the text explains that "the [Acerra] sisters didn't play [because back] then, most people thought sports were just for boys," the illustration shows a sister pitching a mean fastball with a ball of yarn to another sister, poised at a dustpan/home plate, ready to swing her broom in hand.  And the Author's note ends with a quote, from a daughter of one of the players, saying, "We were all raised to be team players, no matter what situation we were in - at work, at play, at war, in relationships - you carry that spirit with you. And it's part of you. That spirit was inspired in everyone who knew the Acerra brothers."  And now that circle of influence (or should I say "diamond" of influence) has expanded to us, the lucky readers.  It's a grand slam!

Jimi Sounds Like A Rainbow

A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix

* This post is part of Nonfiction Monday
hosted today by Rasco From RIF *

Clarion Books (pub. 10.4.2010)
32 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top 

A uthor: GARY GOLIO

              and Illustrator:  JAVAKA STEPTOE

C haracter: Jimi Hendrix, rock 'n' roll guitar player

O verview from the back cover:
     "Jimi Hendrix was a superstar, a rebel, a hero, an innovator. He was bold as love, and colorful as a rainbow. He was one of the greatest guitar players of all time. 
     But before he was all these things, he was a boy named Jimmy who loved to draw and paint and listen to records. A boy who played air guitar with a broomstick and longed for a real guitar of his own. A boy who asked himself an unusual question: Could someone paint pictures with sound?
     Told in vivid language and stunningly illustrated, this is a story of a talented child ... a determined kid with a vision, who worked hard to become a devoted and masterful artist. Jimi Hendrix - a groundbreaking performer whose music shook the very foundations of rock 'n' roll... and set the world on fire."

T antalizing taste:
     "He had a rainbow of sounds at his fingertips, and he wanted to paint the world with them...
     Like no one before him, Jimmy Hendrix taught his guitar to sing, scream, laugh, and cry.  He learned to use it as an artist uses paint, creating new worlds with the colors of sound.
     To the heart and soul of the blues he added the restless energy of rock 'n' roll...
Dressed in the colors of the rainbow, he played for audiences far and wide, joining fiery sounds with tender feelings and painting the world with his songs."


and something more:  The picture book biography, Jimi Sounds Like A Rainbow recently received the 2011 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book award.  I enjoyed reading how illustrator Javaka Steptoe sought to reflect Jim Hendrix in his vibrant illustrations: "I thought about guitars - their sound, their vibrations, their look and feel - so I used plywood I found at The RE Store [in Seattle]. I thought about how Jimi saw the world and how that differed from other people's views, so I painted Jimi one way and his surroundings another way.  I thought about the depth and texture of his music, so I layered and used bright colors ... rainbow colors."

     As Javaka Steptoe also wrote in the Illustrator's Note, "To really know about a person, you have to do things that they did, and see the things they saw."  And that makes sense, given that he views himself as an observer.  When asked "What inspired you to draw?" (as posted by The Brooklyn Children's Museum), Javaka Steptoe answered with a wonderful anecdote about observing, "...I like observing things.  I like observing people ... and I find normal things interesting.  Maybe something is a particular color. Let me give you an example.  One day I was on a bus and I had a purple jacket on and khaki pants. A woman sat next to me, and she had a khaki jacket and purple pants ... I don't think she noticed. I don't think anyone else on the bus noticed. I just had to tap her on the shoulder, and she just laughed. So that's me."          
     And, that's why his art rings true with Gary Golio's lyrical text.