¡Jonrón! (Out of the Ballpark!)

By staff -- Críticas, 4/1/2007

K-Gr 2–This picture book looks back to the star’s Little League days in a simultaneous English- and Spanish-language release befitting his bi-national American and Dominican background. The future All Star whiffs at pitches over his head and lets a ball roll between his legs in a big playoff game, but he gets over his fears to become even more determined, waking up at 5 a.m. to practice, and working hard at school all the while. Frank Morrison’s (Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent-winner for Jazzy Miz Mozetta) paintings convey the enthusiasm and movement of young A-Rod and his teammates, on and off the field. The background characters—the cheering family, the mother exasperated by indoor ball play, the tangle of young ballplayers—lend some character to the warmhearted, but unsurprising story of sports triumph. Young fans carried along to the big late-inning home run will find a “Future Star” baseball card of young A-Rod clipped to the back endpapers, along with a “scrapbook” of photos of the star as a young boy, and his advice for kids to study hard, stay away from drugs, and show respect for your friends and elders.