Baseball: Then to WOW! (Sports Illustrated Kids Then to WOW!) - Hardcover

Gr 1–3—Every aspect of our national pastime is covered in this attractive title. Using a time line format to tackle various decades, the editors provide details on players, umpires, dynasties, minor league teams, and even marketing. Readers learn about equipment, the evolution of many of the game's techniques and strategies, stadiums, and the best fielders, pitchers, and sluggers. Especially appealing are the lists of milestones for home runs, hits, and strikeouts. Though books such as Janet Wyman Coleman's Baseball for Everyone and Howard Bryant's Legends: The Best Players, Games, and Teams in Baseball contain more in-depth chapters, this title covers more ground. For instance, in addition to presenting a discussion of the first African Americans into the major leagues, this work offers information on Latin American players' influence on the sport. The chapter entitled "Fan-tastic" covers the fan experience and describes everything from baseball cards to ballpark foods. The text is complemented by well-placed photographs of teams and players as well as pencil drawings. VERDICT The comprehensiveness of this book combined with an appealing format and colorful photographs makes this a smart purchase for libraries needing updated works on this perennially favorite topic.—Margaret Nunes, Gwinnett County Public Library, GA

"Your child will learn something about history, strategy, and most importantly, how the game changed throughout its existence."- Baseball Musings  "Fact-filled and informative. A fantastic read."- Literary Hoots  "If you could have only one baseball book, this would be the book to purchase! This is a complete overview of just about every facet of the game of baseball, from uniforms and equipment to players, teams and even ballpark food."- Ms. Yingling Reads  "A smart purchase for libraries needing updated works on this perennially favorite topic."- School Library Journal

"This is the kind of book that baseball loving kids will pour over, reading all the facts and sharing the illustrations and stats with friends."- Imagination Soup