A review by luann
Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888 by Christopher H. Bing, Ernest Lawrence Thayer

4.0

It's easy to see why Christopher Bing won a Caldecott Honor for this one. His attention to detail is simply amazing. Bing designed the entire book to look like an old-fashioned scrapbook with articles and illustrations that look as if they came from period newspapers and baseball memorabilia of the time. Make sure you read more than just the poem - all of the baseball extras, including the extra articles giving details about proposed changes in baseball at the time are very interesting. I particularly enjoyed the old-time library catalog card on the inside endpaper - including a stamp saying that the book can be found on the "High Circulation Shelf." Just fun. The many details in the illustrations couldn't be fully appreciated in a classroom read-aloud setting, but would be best in small groups or one-on-one.