Starred Review ALA Booklist (Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 1999)

Starred Review The team that created Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man (1997) hits another one out of the park in a poignant tale set in the Bronx in 1932. The narrator knows he shouldn't be disappointed with his birthday gift of a dime because he is actually quite lucky--his father has a job. When he finds out that his father is actually unemployed and sells apples on the street, the boy keeps his father's secret and becomes a newsie to contribute to the family's earnings. On his friend Jacob's newspaper turf outside Yankee Stadium, the boy learns the ins and outs of the paper biz: hawking news of the Great Depression doesn't sell but news of Babe Ruth's home runs does. Because of the Bronx Bomber's heroics, the boy sells more papers than he imagined, and one day Ruth himself buys one, leaving a tip big enough to make a dream come true. That year the Yankees were the best team in baseball, the protagonist reflects, adding that even better teams--the boy and the Babe, the boy and Jacob, and the boy and his father--were off the field, working to get his family through tough times. Filled with resonant themes, this nostalgic, heartwarming story about hard work and teamwork highlights heroes big and small. Widener's stylized illustrations are full of old-fashioned charm that reflects grand perspectives of city streets and Yankee Stadium. (Reviewed March 15, 1999)

Horn Book

In this upbeat yet touching story set in the Depression, a boy and his father develop a bond of understanding when they learn each other's secrets--the father has lost his job, and the boy has become a "newsie" (who gets to see a real Yankee game one day with Babe Ruth's help). Widener's illustrations evoke the ambiance of the period in this book that is carefully paced and remarkable for its unified focus.

Kirkus Reviews

Adler (also with Widener, Lou Gehrig, 1997, etc.) sets his fictional story during the week of July 14, 1932, in the Bronx, when the news items that figure in this tale happened. A boy gets a dime for his birthday, instead of the bicycle he longs for, because it is the Great Depression, and everyone who lives in his neighborhood is poor. While helping his friend Jacob sell newspapers, he discovers that his own father, who leaves the house with a briefcase each day, is selling apples on Webster Avenue along with the other unemployed folk. Jacob takes the narrator to Yankee Stadium with the papers, and people don't want to hear about the Coney Island fire or the boy who stole so he could get something to eat in jail. They want to hear about Babe Ruth and his 25th homer. As days pass, the narrator keeps selling papers, until the astonishing day when Ruth himself buys a paper from the boy with a five-dollar bill and tells him to keep the change. The acrylic paintings bask in the glow of a storied time, where even row houses and the elevated train have a warm, solid presence. The stadium and Webster Avenue are monuments of memory rather than reality in a style that echoes Thomas Hart Benton's strong color and exaggerated figures. (Picture book. 5-9)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In the Bronx in 1932, a boy goes to work and ends up learning a great strategy for selling papers. "Adler and Widener score big—their book reads like a labor of love," wrote <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">PW. Ages 6-9. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Mar.)

School Library Journal

Gr 1-4-A moving story about how the famous Yankee unknowingly affects a young fan and his family. In the summer of 1932, a boy spots his father dressed in a suit and tie selling apples on the street, and he realizes that his dad, like so many other men, has lost his job. To help out their families, the youngster and a friend start selling newspapers outside Yankee Stadium, calling out the headlines from Babe Ruth's latest game. Their efforts earn some money, but the narrator is worried that his dad's feelings will be hurt if he finds out. Eventually, father and son come to a tender and silent understanding about their money-making activities. The tone brightens considerably when the boy sells a paper to the Babe himself and gets to see a real Yankee game, thanks to the slugger's generosity. Adler does a good job of balancing the personal relationship between father and son with a vivid portrait of the Depression and the positive impact of a true sports hero. Widener's stylized acrylic illustrations bring the city streets to life in an appealing way. The varied perspectives and exaggerated figures add excitement to the setting and the images and use of color perfectly reinforce the story's changing moods and emotions. A powerful picture book that's sure to be popular.-Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library, OR Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.