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Summary
Summary
Like most boys, he spent his summers playing ball on a dirt lot, but George Herman Ruth, Jr. followed his dreams to become a legend. He is the Babe--Babe Ruth--and baseball is his game.
Powerful oil paintings and spare, dramatic text draw readers into the mind of this larger-than-life sports hero. Reproductions of vintage-style baseball cards throughout the book detail Babe Ruth's career highlights.
Home Run is a compelling portrait of a man, and of a time when baseball was truly America's game.
Author Notes
Robert Burleigh is a longtime baseball fan and the author of many books for children. His previous collaboration with Mike Wimmer, Flight: The Journey of Charles Lindbergh, received the Orbis Pictus Award for the best nonfiction book of the year. His book Hoops (Silver Whistle, 1997), illustrated by Stephen T. Johnson, was a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and a Booklist Editors' Choice. Mr. Burleigh lives in Chicago, Illinois.
Mike Wimmer is the illustrator of Train Song by Diane Siebert, Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt by Jean Fritz, All the Places to Love by Patricia Machlachlan, and Flight: The Journey of Charles Lindbergh by Robert Burleigh, which received the Orbis Pictus Award for the best nonfiction book of the year. The Chicago Sun-Times has described his artwork as "reminiscent of some of Norman Rockwell's best." Mr. Wimmer lives in Norman, Oklahoma.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4This lyrical picture-book account is a success on a couple of levels. With a flowing minimal text, Burleigh brings the Babe to life through the moment of one at bat. The focus is on Ruth's fluid swing, which remained true from his young years on the sandlots through the waning days of his stellar career with the New York Yankees. Wimmer's sprawling, photorealistic oil paintings depict the larger-than-life figure and his surroundings with folksy Norman Rockwell-like charm. Older readers will appreciate the replicas of vintage baseball cards that appear on almost every other page. While such contemporary stars as Mark McGwire and Ken Griffey, Jr. have been hitting home runs at a near record pace during this, and in recent, seasons, any comparison with Ruth can be dismissed when considering: "...in 1921, with 59 home runs, the Babe hit more than all other American League players put together!" The fine melding of text and art will be pure pleasure for young hardball fans and may spark interest in one of the many Ruth biographies available, or in other fiction titles about the legendary King of Clout such as Donald Hall's When Willard Met Babe Ruth (Browndeer Press, 1996).Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
"In a series of poetic, present-tense images, readers see Babe at play, while a congruent series of baseball cards provides aficionados with detailed information about the man, his statistics and his life," wrote PW in a starred review. "A superb tribute, and most definitely a grand slam for this talented duo." Ages 6-9. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Rockwell-esque oil paintings and a reverent poem combine to pay tribute to Babe Ruth, baseball's renowned Sultan of Swat. Children are likely to find the straightforward, though still enthusiastic, informational text block on each spread of more interest than the poem, although a tiny typeface makes for difficult reading. From HORN BOOK Spring 1999, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Burleigh (Hoops, 1998) takes the same over-the-top tone in paying tribute to one of the country's most famous athletes: ``He is the Babe. And he has changed baseball. Forever.'' Burleigh also spells out some Ruthian accomplishments and legends in a series of baseball-card-sized essays, presenting not so much a career summary as a set of awed and awesome anecdotes. As rendered by Wimmer in Norman Rockwelllike detail, the Sultan of Swat looms heroically, stepping to the plate, launching a ball into orbit as wide-eyed fans watch, then circling the bags as the pitcher stands disconsolately on the moundan archetypal at-bat, captured with memorable verve and drama. (Picture book. 6-8)
Booklist Review
Gr. 3^-6, younger for reading aloud. In this picture book for older readers, Burleigh uses poetry to introduce the legendary George Herman "Babe" Ruth. His brief poem celebrates Babe's love for the game and his amazing swing before taking readers and listeners through one at-bat and one mighty home run. Wimmer's large, realistic illustrations, done in oil paint on canvas, capture not only the essence of the man on the field but also his adoring fans. On each recto page, Wimmer has included a reproduction of the back of a baseball card, which provides lots of information--how Babe got his name, his life off the field ("I swing big--and I live big, too"), and the ways in which he changed the game. The type on the cards, which are authentic in size, is very small, but that's the only drawback to this beautiful book, which will have baseball fans of many ages cheering for Babe Ruth all over again. A wonderful selection to share across generations. --Helen Rosenberg
