The Thing Lenny Loves Most About Baseball
The Thing Lenny Loves Most About Baseball
Select a format:
Publisher's Hardcover ©2021--
To purchase this item, you must first login or register for a new account.
Kids Can Press
Annotation: Andrew Larsen's latest story celebrates the eternal hope and joy of baseball.Lenny loves playing baseball. He also loves reading about it. He wants to be in the big leagues, and, he figures, the more he knows, the better his chances. The only thing is, when he's in the outfield, the ball somehow always ends up by his feet and not in his glove. But he and his dad practice. And practice. Lenny doesn't give up. And it pays off. He makes a game-changing catch! Now he's proven he can be great some of the time. Which makes him just like the greatest Hall of Famers, right?All you need is glove --- as long as you believe!
Genre: [Sports fiction]
 
Reviews: 2
Catalog Number: #357285
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Special Formats: High Low High Low
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Copyright Date: 2021
Edition Date: 2021 Release Date: 10/05/21
Illustrator: Pavlovic, Milan
Pages: 1 volume (unpaged)
ISBN: 1-7713-8916-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-7713-8916-7
Dewey: E
LCCN: 2024401262
Dimensions: 24 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
ALA Booklist

Lenny loves everything about baseball. Crushingly, though, he's not very good at it. In the first game of the season, when a pop fly sails toward him in the outfield, Lenny hides his face in his mitt, resulting in mockery from his teammates and a slump in his confidence. But Lenny's got his dad supporting him d his favorite book, The Big Book of Baseball Facts, which contains the heartening fact that both Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron struck out many more times than they hit home runs. In order to improve, Lenny and his dad play catch endlessly, and when the second game comes, Lenny hears that satisfying "Thwap!" as he catches the ball. Besides having bright, engaging illustrations in which the hues change with Lenny's mood (after Lenny's dropped ball, there are only a few color points in the mostly gray streetscape), this is an inspiring example of the value of cultivating a growth mindset where practice pays off t all the time, but enough.

Kirkus Reviews

Young Lenny learns from his favorite sport that it's OK if practice doesn't make quite perfect.Actually, one of the several things that baseball teaches is that it's possible to be great even while failing most of the time-but Larsen simplifies the lesson to make it a little easier to absorb. Lenny's book of baseball facts and records leaves him pumped up about playing himself…but when a fly ball actually comes to him, he misses it. Maybe he's just not cut out for the sport? But then he sees in his book that Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron struck out nearly twice as often as they hit home runs, and the thought that even they weren't great all the time sends him out to practice with his dad. He misses a lot, he catches a few, he doesn't give up, and in the next game he makes a ninth-inning, tie-saving catch. "Great catch!" say his teammates. The next batter (a girl) hits a walk-off home run, but so what? Lenny knows now that he can be great some of the time, and that's good enough. Lenny and his dad (the latter's red hair and beard notwithstanding) have olive skin in Pavlovic's cartoon illustrations, and other players and parents are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A good counter to the insistent, invidious message that winning is all that matters. (Picture book. 6-8)

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
ALA Booklist
Kirkus Reviews
Word Count: 786
Reading Level: 2.5
Interest Level: P-2
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 2.5 / points: 0.5 / quiz: 514784 / grade: Lower Grades
Lexile: AD470L

Andrew Larsen evokes the eternal hope and joy of all true baseball fans — along with their love of facts — in this heartwarming story about a baseball-loving boy who doesn’t give up.

Lenny can’t get enough of baseball. He loves to play. And he loves to pore over his Big Book of Baseball Facts. He wants to be in the big leagues someday, and, he figures, the more he knows, the better his chances. The only thing is, though he tries to keep his eye on the ball as it heads his way during a game, it somehow ends up by his feet. “You just need to practice,” his dad tells him. So they practice. And practice. Lenny doesn’t give up. And it pays off. Lenny makes a game-changing catch! Now he’s proven he can be great some of the time. Which, according to the facts, makes him just like the greatest Hall of Famers, right?

In this endearing picture book, bestselling author Andrew Larsen celebrates the love of both the game of baseball and its countless facts — which for many fans go hand in hand. It offers a strong character-building portrait of perseverance and patience at work in skill development. It also underscores the importance of letting go of the idea of perfection. With energy and emotion in equal parts, Milan Pavlović’s illustrations capture Lenny’s (and baseball’s) highs and lows, and his loving supportive relationship with his father.


*Prices subject to change without notice and listed in US dollars.
Perma-Bound bindings are unconditionally guaranteed (excludes textbook rebinding).
Paperbacks are not guaranteed.
Please Note: All Digital Material Sales Final.