Yogi

The Life, Loves, 
and Language of
Baseball Legend
Yogi Berra

Calkins Creek
(Boyds Mill & Kane)
(pub. 2.5.2019) 
 48 pages

A True Tale with
A Cherry On Top   

A uthor:  Barbara Rosenstock

 and illustrator: Terry Widener
 
C haracter: Yogi Berra
O verview: 
     "Lawrence 'Yogi' Berra loved his family, his neighborhood, his friends, and, most of all, baseball. He was crazy about it.
      But baseball didn't love him back - at least not right away. Yogi didn't look like other players. When he finally made it to the Major Leagues, Yogi endured pranks and harassment from players, sportswriters, and fans. Their words hurt but they didn't stop him. Yogi soon became known for playing exceptional ball and talking a good game. Yogi's quirky sayings - his 'Yogi-isms'- became the stuff of legend.
     Barb Rosenstock's dynamic text and Terry Widener's powerful illustrations celebrate the talents, loves, and inspirational words of Yogi Berra who earned a World Series ring for each finger, and who made baseball love him back."

T antalizing taste: 
     "Lawdie loved his coaches. But coaches didn't always love him back. Wait for a good pitch! Don't slide like that! You're gonna fall over, Berra! He took a lot of teasing for his squat body, long arms, and waddling walk. When he wasn't on the field, Lawdie studied the game from the sidelines with his arms and legs crossed. After his friends saw a movie where a yogi sat cross-legged and charmed snakes, Lawdie was called 'Yogi.'

And something more: The back matter includes a wealth of information about Yogi Berra, including a discussion of Yogi's sayings: "Yogi Berra's quotations, or Yogi-isms, are legendary. Original sources for his sayings are notoriously difficult to pin down. Many Yogi-isms seem to be original, but others may have been used by someone else first, then popularized by Berra... Yogi's own memories of what and why he made some remarks changed over time."
      But, as explained in Barbara Rosenstock's Author's Note, "He's the most quoted athlete in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations and among the most quoted Americans of all time."

"You've got to be careful if you don't know where you're  going because you might not get there." - Yogi
 

You Never Heard of Willie Mays?!

This post joins other
Nonfiction Monday blogs
hosted today by Sally's Bookshelf

and joins It's Monday!

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at Teacher Mentor Texts

Schwartz & Wade Books
(Random House)
(pub.1.8.2013) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Jonah Winter
      and Illustrator: Terry Widener

    

C haracter: Willie Mays

O verview from the publisher's website: 

      "He hit 660 home runs (fourth best of all time), had a lifetime batting average of .302, and is second only to Babe Ruth on The Sporting News's list of 'Baseball's 100 Greatest Players.' Many believe him to be the best baseball player that ever lived. His name is Willie Mays. In Jonah Winter and Terry Widener's fascinating picture book biography, young readers can follow Mays's unparalleled career from growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, to playing awe-inspiring ball in the Negro Leagues and then the Majors, where he was center fielder for the New York (later San Francisco) Giants. Complete with sidebars filled with stats, and a cool lenticular cover, here is a book for all baseball lovers, young and old."

T antalizing taste: 

     "You could fill a whole book with all the jaw-droppin' plays Willie made, all the homers he hit, all the bases he stole. But what made 'the Catch' in '54 so special was that millions of people all over America had seen it on TV ... 
      Just look at him: Even as he falls to his knees after makin' that play, his eyes still takin' in the path of the ball - even then, you could see he was mentally still in the game, wantin' to win, never givin' up, ready for more.
     Yessir, in that one moment when Willie made the Catch, he showed the world a new way of playing the game. He changed how people saw his skin. In his own way, he changed the world."

and something more: Today's feature of yet another baseball player biography picture book was inspired by fellow kidlit blogger, Jeff Barger at NC Teacher Stuff. Jeff asked if I knew of any picture book about Willie Mays. Voila! Jeff had recently visited my favorite and local baseball stadium, AT&T Park in San Francisco, and I had mentioned the sculpture of Willie Mays in front of the ballpark.
     I learned that WIllie Mays joined the SF Giants in 1958. Just this past May, Willie Mays celebrated his 82nd birthday and the San Francisco Chronicle posted photos from his career. A living legend and amazing role model!