When Zachary makes his first trip to the cozy confines of Boston's Fenway Park, he is enchanted by the closeness of things--the field, the players, even the groundskeeper. But when his father catches and gives him a foul ball hit by hero Buck Spoonwell, the real magic begins. Zachary is transported to the pitcher's mound, in uniform, where a single strike will win the game for the Sox. He rears back and fires strike three past the batter. With the ball in his possession, Zachary has many such heroic dreams, until one day the ball (somewhat conveniently) gets lost. Years later, as an adult, Zachary comes upon another ball, and realizing that the magic of the ball belongs to the young, he passes his prize on to a little girl. The story is at once a tribute to the spell of baseball and to parks like Fenway and Wrigley Field. The realistic black-and-white illustrations, done in soft pencil, are less successful than the text at catching the dreamy quality of a boy's imaginings. Surely the color of baseball, and especially Fenway Park, is green? (Reviewed April 15, 2000)

When Zachary attends his first big-league baseball game, his father snags a foul ball and gives it to the boy--who instantly finds himself on the pitcher's mound wearing a Red Sox uniform and experiencing the first of a series of fantasy-adventures. Executed in charcoal, the illustrations are stronger than the nostalgic text and effectively convey the magic of the tale.

Gr 2-4-In this picture-book baseball fantasy, Zachary's father takes him to Fenway Park for his first baseball game. Zachary's dad catches a pop fly hit by Buck Spoonwell, and hands it to the boy. Instantly, Zack is on the mound, pitching for Boston. He strikes the player out and the Sox win the game. When the catcher returns the ball, Zachary is suddenly back in his seat. He tells his father that this baseball is magic and his father replies, "They're all magic." Zachary writes his name on it, and sleeps with it every night. Eventually, the ball disappears. Years later, as an adult, he is walking past Fenway and catches an over-the-wall home run. He thinks he sees his name on it, but then the words disappear. He gives it to a girl in the street and tells her that all baseballs are magic. The soft-focus pencil drawings complement the text well, giving a feeling of the past. This simple, clearly written story is reminiscent of Chris Van Allsburg's The Polar Express (Houghton, 1995) in terms of its plot, fantasy elements, and overall sense of nostalgia.-Anne Parker, Milton Public Library, MA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.