Baseball Books for Kids-according to AP

In yesterday's paper (May 21, 2006) the Associated Press had an article that discussed a number of books that would help inspire kids to become lifelong fans of baseball. Well, there are a lot of lifelong fans, but not as many as there use to be and I am one of those former fans. I use to love baseball until there were just too many strikes to get me back to watching or think about going to a game. So, maybe the current youth who do not have memories of the strikes can start out with fresh new look on this sport. The books the AP listed are as follows.

"Let's Play Baseball" (ages 1-3), by Charles R. Smith Jr. and illustrated by Terry Widener. - Consider this as baby's first baseball book. The sturdy-page primer highlights the key words and images of the game. There's a big white ball, a glove and lots of kids having fun.
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (ages 3-6), by Jim Burke. - This book offers the backstory of the song-turned-anthem "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," by Jack Norwith. The year was 1908, and the New York Giants were playing the Chicago Cubs at Central Park. Entertainer Norwith was riding the subway, passing the Giants' baseball field. He found inspiration in a poster: "Base Ball Today -- Polo Grounds." He'd never been to a game, but he tapped into fans' excitement with the now-famous lyrics that popped into his head. The book is sprinkled with baseball folklore and facts, and both the words and music to the song."
"Hit the Ball Duck" (ages 4-6), by Jez Alborough. - Duck actually has no problem hitting the ball, but it flies so high it ends up in a tree. Duck and his barnyard friends have a hard time figuring out how to get it down. Of course, the answer is in teamwork.
"Pecorino Plays Ball" (ages 4-8), by Alan Madison and illustrated by AnnaLaura Cantone. - Pecorino Sasquatch is known to be a silly boy, and he looks pretty silly on his first day of Little League in a way-too-big uniform. But he gets his moment as a star when he catches the ball in one of those tension-filled all-or-nothing baseball moments.
"Play Ball!" (ages 6-10), by Jorge Posada with Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Raul Colon. ("Si, Puedes," the Spanish edition of the book, is being published simultaneously.) - New York Yankees star Posada writes about the first time a little boy named Jorge batted left-handed. His father made him do it because he said simply being a good hitter as a righty wasn't enough. Soon Jorge was hooked on swinging, even if he was hitting at dry bush at the edge of his lawn instead of a ball.