Friday, April 8, 2016

Children's Book Review: Sports Illustrated Kids Baseball Books

BASEBALL: Then to WOW!

By: Editors of Sports Illustrated for Kids

Published: April 5, 2016

Publisher: Sports Illustrated

NonFiction

With the official baseball season starting this week, this offers the perfect opportunity to share some great baseball books perfect for baseball fans of any age.  Our family has been rooting for the Chicago Cubs, but love watching all levels of baseball from our own kids playing, our high school team, our local AAA league and to the pros. My husband grew up in Norway, Iowa (think the movie THE FINAL SEASON) and baseball has been part of his life since he can remember.

This book covers all aspects of baseball and its evolution from the 1800's to the present. Whether you played baseball in your back yard or on a meticulously cared for diamond, this book is for you. The pages are full-color and offer awesome statistics and little-known facts about baseball.

I loved the evolution of the uniforms, the gloves, and the catcher masks.  Did you know the Chicago White Sox experimented with wearing shorts in the 70's? That obviously didn't work out. But the uniform pages are hilarious to look at and see the evolution of style as well as the different hairstyles of the players.




Even the umpires of baseball have a section, noting their changes in protection behind the plate to how many were used in a game. These images show examples of the captivating photos on each and every page.



My sons would have loved this book when they were younger. They were all about stats and knowing particular statistics of all the top athletes. Even now, they found the milestone section very interesting. This section lists all the players with 300 Wins, 3,000 Strikeouts, 500 Home Runs, and 3,000 Hits. When I set out the books, my oldest son grabbed this one right away and started looking through it.

All the information is presented in an easy to understand and concise format and isn't overwhelming. The pictures are fun to look at whether you are a child or an adult.

Our sons and even my husband have been collectors of baseball cards and I found that section interesting as well. I learned that Topps is the only brand that has the contract to actually print the league logos on the cards. All the other brands can only use player images on their cards. So, if that is important to you, be sure you buy Topps baseball cards.

If you are a family that loves baseball, this book of interesting facts and history is perfect. It's a nice hardcover for use as a display/coffee table book or to add to your library. Covering a section at night at the supper table would offer lots of great discussion for a baseball loving family.

To purchase a copy of BASEBALL: Then to WOW!, click the photo below:



MY FIRST BOOK OF BASEBALL: A Rookie Book
Mostly Everything Explained About the Game

By: The Editors of Sports Illustrated Kids - Beth Bugler and Mark Bechtel

Illustrated by: Bill Hinds

Published: April 5, 2016

NonFiction

For the youngest generation of baseball fans, this book offers a way to introduce your child to the sport and all the fun that goes along with it. 

This book takes your child through the basics of baseball with interactive text and fun, accurate images. I love that the players are smiling in many of the pictures showing kids that baseball is fun!





I love how bright and colorful each of the pages are and basically walk you through all nine innings of the game. It even includes the important 7th inning stretch! 


If your child is just starting out playing on his neighborhood t-ball team or wanting to understand the game while you watch it on TV, this is the book for you. The explanations are very well-written and simple, yet make the game exciting. The hardcover of the book and thicker pages will hold up to many readings by the youngest baseball fans.

If you would like to purchase MY FIRST BOOK OF BASEBALL, click the photo below:



I will be linking up with Booking Mama for her Saturday Kid Konnection feature. Click HERE to see other posts related to children and YA books. 



A post from today, 6 years ago - Plate and Heart are Full
A post from today, 4 years ago - Do You Feel HIM in Your Soul?
A post from today, 3 years ago - A Little Monday Inspiration 
A post from today, 2 years ago - Book Review: Silent Impact By Joe Schmit




Thanks to the publisher for sending copies of these books for the purpose of this review. This review is my honest opinion. I was not compensated in any way for this review. If you choose to purchase these books through the above links, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase. sin

2 comments:

bermudaonion said...

These look like terrific books for young sports enthusiasts. I'm sure my nephew would have loved them.

Julie P. said...

That is hilarious that we both covered the same books. You were much more thorough! I thought these books were fantastic!