Babe Ruth and the Baseball Curse
Babe Ruth and the Baseball Curse
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Random House
Just the Series: Totally True Adventures!   

Series and Publisher: Totally True Adventures!   

Annotation: Learn about the history behind Babe Ruth's trade from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees and the supposed curse that came with it.
Genre: [Biographies]
 
Reviews: 5
Catalog Number: #4269687
Format: Paperback
Special Formats: Chapter Book Chapter Book
Common Core/STEAM: Common Core Common Core
Publisher: Random House
Copyright Date: 2009
Edition Date: 2009 Release Date: 02/24/09
Illustrator: Jessell, Tim,
Pages: 101 pages
ISBN: 0-375-85603-X
ISBN 13: 978-0-375-85603-7
Dewey: 921
LCCN: 2008018004
Dimensions: 20 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
ALA Booklist (Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2009)

Kelly offers a fairly extensive look at the famous curse that seemingly dogged the Boston Red Sox after they traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees. The first part of the book follows the early life and career of Ruth and then moves on to accounts of the Red Sox's World Series appearances, culminating in 2004, when the curse seemed to break. The book's strongest portion focuses on Ruth's career in Boston, with a quick summary of his success as a pitcher and his conflicts with the team's owner. Other chapters drag a bit, however, and now that the curse is broken, baseball fans beyond Boston may not find this as interesting as they once would have. Still, many sports readers will find this enjoyable. Pair this with Dan Shaughnessy's The Legend of the Curse of the Bambino (2005), which presents similar material in picture-book format.

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2006)

When Grant transfers to Nutley School, most kids accommodate his allergy by changing their lunch menus and forgoing peanut butter. Simon, for whom peanut butter is "essential," finally accepts a new food as a lunch item and joins his friends in the "peanut-free cafe." The sunny art and expressive diverse kids underscore the light touch delivering the message.

Kirkus Reviews

Two nonfiction baseball stories enclosed in one cover should be a winner for newly established readers who are baseball fanatics—unfortunately, it's not. The first is a thin sketch of the life of The Babe, the Bambino, George Herman Ruth, bad boy turned national hero, a figure larger than life. Too thin, alas: The Babe was so outsized, so personable, so human, and not enough of that comes through in this. The second story is the sad tale of the fall of the Boston Red Sox after The Babe was sold to the hated New York Yankees. Following that fateful event, Boston was in decline for decades as New York was in ascendancy. It's an exciting story, but Kelly's writing is flat, dependent on exclamation points and forms of "to get" instead of strong, chewy verbs—lazy and inexcusable writing in a book meant for developing readers. Furthermore, even as the book appears on shelves it is outdated, making no mention of Barry Bonds or of the Red Sox's ignominious defeat in 2008. Too bad. (Nonfiction. 6-9)

School Library Journal (Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

Gr 3-6 While this book is in part a biography, it mainly covers the history of the "Curse of the Bambino." This superstition dates back to the year that the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees, and many Boston fans believe it is the reason for the team's poor showing in the World Series. The book provides a modern context by describing the heartbreaking loss of the Sox to the Yankees in 2003. It goes on to give a brief but balanced account of the life of Babe Ruth, including some of the unsavory aspects of his behavior and personality. Kelly ends on a happy note, with the Red Sox winning the 2004 World Series. The theme of luck, both good and bad, runs throughout the tale. Play-by-play descriptions of important games will keep baseball fanatics reading to the end. Kathleen Meulen, Sakai Intermediate School, Bainbridge Island, WA

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
ALA Booklist (Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2009)
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2006)
Kirkus Reviews
School Library Journal (Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)
Word Count: 10,946
Reading Level: 4.0
Interest Level: 2-5
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 4.0 / points: 2.0 / quiz: 129010 / grade: Lower Grades
Reading Counts!: reading level:3.7 / points:5.0 / quiz:Q47890
Lexile: 650L
Guided Reading Level: O
Fountas & Pinnell: O

Before 1918, the Boston Red Sox were unstoppable. They won World Series after World Series, thanks in part to their charismatic pitcher-slugger Babe Ruth. But some people on the Red Sox felt the Babe was more trouble than he was worth, and he was traded away to one of the worst teams in baseball, the New York Yankees. From then on, the Yankees became a golden team. And the Red Sox? For over 80 years, they just couldn’t win another World Series. Then, in 2004, along came a scruffy, scrappy Red Sox team. Could they break Babe Ruth’s curse and win it all?


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