ALA Booklist
This baseball story unfolds in two distinct sections. Following a boy and his dad to a ballpark, the first emphasizes the parts that children enjoy. Father and son enter through a turnstile, find their seats, buy hot dogs from a vendor, stand up for the seventh inning stretch, and watch a home run hit. In the book's second section, the energetic four-beat lines of rhyming, rhythmic text slow to a gentler cadence mimicking lines from Goodnight Moon, as the boy and his dad wander across the field, through the dugout, out of the park, and homeward, saying good night to the grass, popcorn boxes, and so on. Though the story includes bits of mild fantasy, picture books about visiting a ballpark can be hard to find, and this one delivers the highlights of that experience in an easy-to-follow text illustrated with jaunty digital artwork. A cheerful baseball-themed jacket ensures that this picture book will find its audience.
School Library Journal
(Wed May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)
K-Gr 2 A father and son go to a stadium to watch a baseball game between the Stars and the Rockets. When it is over, they return home with full stomachs and happy memories, but not before wishing everyone and everything, including the players and home plate, a good night. The familiar aspects of the event are all here and illustrated. The seats are occupied by people of all ages and various ethnicities. They eat hot dogs, popcorn, and pretzels while sipping on sodas. Bases are stolen, baseballs are caught (by the players and the fans) and hit, and the crowd cheers. After an action-packed game described in rhyming text, the pace of the story slows down. As the sun sets, the stadium lights go on. The boy's energy begins to fade after he has posed with the mascot and met the players. His father carries him to the car and by the time they are home, the youngster is almost asleep. The wording at the ending of this picture book is reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon . A fun, comforting bedtime story for sports fans. Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada