Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Laughs around baseball terms kids will still recognize
Cons: Only if you
don't know the terms
The Bottom Line:
Fun look at baseball
Teaches words with two meanings
Along with some great laughs
Amelia Bedelia Hits a Home Run of Laughs
Since I love word play, I've always appreciated the Amelia
Bedelia series of picture books. The
main character is a maid who takes everything told her literally. For Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia, baseball
jargon is thrown into the mix (excuse the pun).
And it's an added bonus to the book.
The Grizzles need an extra player for their baseball game
that afternoon. Fortunately or
unfortunately, Amelia Bedelia agrees to help out. She knows nothing about the game, so she must
learn to step into the ball to hit it (ouch!), how to tag someone, and how to
run home. But will she help them win
their game?
Most books in this series (or at least the early ones) are
just a string of Amelia Bedelia doing things the wrong way and people getting
frustrated with her. This book is
different because it has the added story of the baseball game. Granted, the outcome of the game is fairly
obvious if you have read a sports book or seen a sports movie, but it is still
a nice addition.
The heart of the book is still Amelia Bedelia taking what
she is told literally. There are the
usual double meanings, but adding to the fun are baseball terms, like tagging
someone out or stealing a base. While a
kid would need to be familiar with baseball terms to get the story, this may be
the most accessible book in the series since those terms haven't changed over
the years. I'll freely admit that some of
the jokes in the books show their age.
This book came out in 1972 and doesn't have those age issues.
This book was illustrated by Wallace Tripp. He has a slightly more realistic take on
things, and it works for this book. The
illustrations are still fun and add to the charm and humor of the book.
I don't remember this series being considered an early
reader book when I was a kid, but it is now.
It's listed as grades 1-3, which is probably about right since there are
words like Grizzles and Tornados (the two teams) in it. It's just the right step up to challenge kids
without frustrating them.
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