It happens every spring....

Reading selections for young baseball lovers

Baseball Fiction for Independent Readers

JPBK K About the B'nai Bagels / E.L. Koningsburg: In this light-hearted tale, Mark Setzer tells about his troubles in general and in particular his misfortunes on the little league team managed by his mother and coached by his older brother.
JPBK C All-Star Fever / Matt Christopher: Bus Mercer is desperate to make the all-star team but guilty feelings about disobeying his parents are ruining his game and affecting his chances of making the team! [JF C467 68] and [JF CHRISTOPHER, Matt All]
JPBK H Baseball Fever / Johanna Hurwitz: Ezra & his father have nothing in common to begin with but baseball season and Ezra's extreme love of the game widen the divide. Can they ever find common ground?
JF SOTO,GARY Baseball in April & Other Stories / Gary Soto: This collection of short stories about everyday common experiences of growing up features a story about two boys trying out for the Little League Team for the third year in a row.
JF CHRISTOPHER, MATT Baseball Turnaround / Matt Christopher: Trouble off the field seriously threatens Sandy's Little League career. Can Sandy set things right and get back into the game?
JF S641.3 Bobby Baseball / Robert Kimmel Smith: Baseball is Bobby's life and this year is super special because he is finally old enough to be on his dad's team. Things on the team are going great until Bobby has an off day on the mound. Can Bobby get his game back on track?
JF RITTER, JOHN T The Boy Who Saved Baseball / John Ritter: The fate of a small town rests on the outcome of one baseball game. Tom Gallagher hopes to lead his team to victory with the help of a mysterious former Major League player.
JF CHRISTOPHER, MATT The Catcher's Mask / Matt Christopher: Catcher Ruddy Calhoun's game is off and has been for sometime. Ruddy can't help but wonder if his recent string of mistakes is inextricably tied to the ill-fitting catcher's mask the team supplies. Will his game improve with the new mask he purchased at a yard sale?
F S641.3 Brad & Butter Play Ball / Dean Hughes: Brad and his friend Butter have been looking forward to baseball season as long as they can remember and it is finally here! Brad, armed with advice from his father and coach, is ready to play. BUT Brad is the worst kid on the team. Can a little help from his buddy Butter improve Brad's game?
JPBK C Catcher with a Glass Arm / Matt Christopher: Jody is plagued by his inability to throw the ball and have it reach its target: a real problem because he is the only catcher on his team and his mistakes keep costing the team games. Things only get worse when Jody is pegged by a wild pitch and suddenly he is having trouble hitting as well as throwing. Will Judy ever work the kinks out of his game.
JF C467.59 Centerfield Ballhawk / Matt Christopher: Jose is bummed out about his poor performance at the plate recently. Despite making game saving catches in centerfield, Jose worries that he is disappointing his father with his sub-par batting average.
JF STRASSER, TODD Close Call / Todd Strasser: A group of 5 th and 6 th graders must find a way to deal with personal differences, family problems, and some rock-throwing high school boys if they want to continue playing baseball after school.
JPBK C The Diamond Champs / Matt Christopher: Coach Stag is obsessed with the idea of turning a team full of players new to baseball into league champions in just one season. Can this team of novice players go all the way?
JF CHRISTOPHER Matt The Dog That Called the Pitch / Matt Christopher: Mike and his dog communicate with E.S.P. They are shocked to discover that Mr. Grimley can also hear their mental conversations. Will their telepathic connection save the day at the ballpark?
JF C467.54 The Dog That Pitched a No-Hitter/ Matt Christopher: Mike is set to pitch against the best team in the league and he is a bundle of nerves. Will a little help from his dog Harry help him get through the game?
JF C467 60 The Dog That Stole Home / Matt Christopher: When his telepathic dog Harry is grounded for nipping another dog, Mike wonders how he will ever make it through the baseball game without his advice and encouragement.
JF C467 67 Double Play at Short / Matt Christopher: Twelve-year-old Danny thinks that there is something very familiar about the girl who plays shortstop on the team he faces during the championship series, and his curiosity leads him to a surprising discover about his own adoption.
JF S63458 Finding Buck McHenry / Alfred Slote: Eleven-year-old Jason believes the school's janitor is the famous pitcher Buck McHenry from the old Negro League. Are Jason's suspicions correct? And can Jason get Mr. McHenry to coach his Little League Team?
JF C467 34 The Fox Steals Home / Matt Christopher: Bobby, with his dad's help, has become the team's best base stealer. But when Bobby, who is already having a difficult time with his parent's divorce, learns his dad is moving away Bobby has a difficult time on and off the field.
JPBK S Hang Tough, Paul Mather / Alfred Slote: A baseball pitcher with an incurable blood disease is determined to get in as much time on the mound as possible.
JF K685.12 Herbie Jones and the Monster Ball / Suzy Kline: Strike-out-king Herbie Jones feels that the summer is ruined when his Uncle arrives to coach a baseball team and asks Herbie to join up. With enough practice will Herbie be good enough to play?
JPBK C The Hit-Away Kid / Matt Christopher: Barry is a ballplayer with a bad attitude: he doesn't mind breaking the rules a little to help himself out. Will Barry ever develop a sense of good sportsmanship?
JPBK G Joey Pigza Loses Control / Jack Gantos: While spending the summer with his dad, Joey, our hyperactive hero with ADD, discovers he is a great baseball pitcher. He also learns a lot about his family and himself.
JPBK C The Kid Who Only Hit Homers / Matt Christopher: Sylvester becomes a phenomenal baseball player one summer when a mysterious stranger resembling Babe Ruth befriends him. Will Sylvester be able to handle his newfound celebrity? Will his great batting streak end when his mystery friend leaves town?
JF GUTMAN, Dan Shoeless Joe & Me / Dan Gutman: Joe Stoshack travels back to 1919, where he meets Shoeless Joe Jackson. Will he arrive in time to prevent Shoeless Joe from throwing the World Series?
JF CARLSON, ron The Speed of Light / Ron Carlson: Larry, Witt, and Rafferty spend the summer before junior high school playing baseball and discovering what makes the world tick.
JF W153 22 The Sluggers Club / Paul Robert Walker: BJ's Little League Team is on an amazing winning strike but when their baseball equipment begins disappearing so does their luck. Can the ‘sluggers club' solve the mystery of the missing equipment and regain their winning streak!

Baseball Greats: A Selected List of Biographies About Your Favorite Ball Players

Hank Aaron , Brave in Every Way
The Amazing Life of Moe Berg : catcher, scholar, spy
Roberto Clemente
Nomar Garciaparra : a Non-stop Shortstop
Lou Gehrig : the Luckiest Man
Ken Griffey Jr.
Juan Gonzalez : Homerun Hero
Shoeless Joe Jackson
On the Field with Derek Jeter
A Strong Right Arm: the story of "Peanut" Johnson
Greg Maddux : a Pitching Ace
Mickey Mantle
Pedro Martinez
Ramon Martinez
Willie Mays
Rafeal Palmeiro
Cal Ripken Jr.: My Story
First in the Field: Baseball Hero Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Line
Alex Rodriguez : a Slugging Shotsop.
Babe Ruth the Sultan of Swat
Nolan Ryan
Dion Sanders
At the Plate with Sammy Sosa (JPBK S)
At the Plate with Ichiro (JPBK S)
Ted Williams
Carl Yastrzemski

Baseball Nonfiction

J 796.357 STEWART Baseball: a History of the National Pastime: A comprehensive history of baseball focusing on its evolution, momentous events, and key baseball personalities.
J 796.357 BRIAND The Baseball Book: a Young Player's Guide to Baseball: Everything kids need to know to play, practice, and perfect America's favorite sport. A short history of the game, tips on warming up, proper fielding, hitting, pitching, and base running techniques, and tips on selecting the right equipment are covered.
J 796.357 F76b Baseball Brain Teasers: Major League Puzzlers: Think you know baseball? Puzzling and ambiguous baseball questions from situations that really happened test every fan's knowledge of the game. For example, Did a runner ever steal first base? Can an outfielder leave the playing field to make a catch?
J 796.357 WILL Baseball is for Fun: The basic rules, skills, and important people and events in baseball are covered in this 48-page introduction to the game.
J 796.357 STEWART Baseball Oddities: Bizarre Plays & Other Funny Stuff: Over 100 of baseball's weirdest happenings are covered in this laugh-out-loud book. Read about the ball player who got the ball stuck in his glove and threw both to first to beat the runner or the player whose first name is actually his father's spelled backward.
J 796.357 McKISSAC Black Diamond: Story of the Negro Baseball Leagues: The history of the Negro Leagues is presented through photographs retrospectives, oral histories, player rosters, and timelines.
J 699.7 T385t Take Me Out to the Bat and Ball Factory: Readers are taken on a behind the scenes tour at the manufacturer of baseball bats and balls. Tons of information is presented in this book including the materials and steps necessary for equipment production, bits of baseball history, terminology, and baseball trivia.
J 796.357 G139w Up to the Plate: the All American Girls Professional Baseball League: A personal look at the league and its players based on interviews, correspondences, and the players personal photographs.
Main Nonfict. 796.35764 A Whole New Ball Game: The activities, experiences of the players, and social history of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League is discussed in this book. Interesting photographs and appendixes support the text.
J 796.357 STEWART The World Series: A year-by-year account of World Series games from the 1800s through the twentieth century.

Baseball Picturebooks

JJ HOPKINSO, DEBORAH Girl Wonder / Deborah Hopkinson: A young girl living in the early 1900s loves baseball and eventually finds a way to show that she can play, even though she's a girl.
JJ BURLEIGH, ROBERT Home Run / Robert Burleigh: The combination of prose, oil paintings, and vintage-style baseball cards which highlight the Bambino's career without intruding on the story Babe Ruth, baseball, and the home run.
JJ ADLER, DAVID Mama Played Baseball / David Adler: While Amy's father is away fighting in World War II, her mother gets a job as a professional baseball player.
JJ YOLEN, JANE Moon Ball / Jane Yolen: Danny always strikes out at the plate but when he plays ball with the moon and stars in a dream things are wildly different.
JJ COREY, SHANA Players in Pigtails / Shana Corey: The story about how one determined girl finally gets to play baseball.
JJ W446P Playing Right Field / Willy Welch: Although he is always chosen last and sent to play right field, a young player quickly discovers the importance of the position.
JJ TAVARES, MATT Zachary's Ball / Matt Tavares: Zachary goes to his first Boston Red Sox game with his dad. When he catches a fly ball something magical happens.