Baseball Animals 
(Major League Baseball: First Base Books)
by Christopher Jordan
Fenn/Tundra of Tundra Books of Northern New York 2/11/2014 Age 3 to 7 26 pages each
978-1-77049-474-9 / 978-1-77049-518-0
“Baseball Animals celebrates the magical world of professional baseball and introduces young fans to each MLB team named after an animal. In this official MLB publication, children will enjoy following clues and guessing which animal is associated with each team, as well as learning why the various teams decided to name themselves after a tiger, a blue jay, or a diamondback snack. With detailed information and brilliant wildlife photography celebrating each animal, Baseball Animals will teach children about nature through the exciting world of baseball while they cheer for their favorite teams and players.
“Baseball Opposites introduces children to important early concepts through the exciting world of professional baseball. From such entries as safe/out to on/off and day/night, children will learn all about the much-loved game, while appreciating the many opposites that appear in the sport and in the word around us. With simple yet informative text and incredible action photographs of the players, this book is the perfect choice for young baseball fans to enjoy on their own, or for parents and caregivers to read to the next generation of MLB stars.”
Opening
Baseball Animals: “Which MLB team was named after a black bird with a bright orange underbelly? This bird likes to perch high in the treetops and prefers to eat dark-colored fruit such as cherries or purple grapes.”
Baseball Opposites: “small – A baseball is small. big – A baseball stadium is big.”
Reviews
Baseball Animals hits a homerun. The clue pages contain two clues: a rather easy clue, marked with a question mark, and a harder clue below that, marked with a hand-held magnifying glass. Not every easy clue is as easy as it might seem, at least for young kids. The other, harder clue, is great for older kids beyond the age intended for Baseball Animals and for adults. If you are a die-hard fan of Major League Baseball, both clues might be a breeze. Being a fan myself, but not one who thinks much of teams other than the ones she likes, I could not answer all of the questions. Of course, you also need knowledge of animals.
The answers, always on the next spread*, left side, includes a baseball player from the team in question. I believe the players are stars from their respective teams, but without an in-depth knowledge of MLB, I am not sure. The Baltimore Orioles, named after Maryland’s state bird, has at times used a cartoonish oriole while at other times it looked authentic. Personally, I love the cartoonish oriole logo but not because the team is cartoonish. Say that, and you can cease reading this review immediately. In addition to the beloved Baltimore Orioles, kids will learn about a couple of sea creatures, a few from Africa and Asia, the dessert, a great American symbol, and every young child’s favorite. Young children will love the close-up, full detailed photographs of the team-named animals and most will enjoy the same detailed photographs of the MLB players. An appendix lists—by division—each team’s location, date it joined MLB, and a color photograph of its logo. Young kids, especially boys, will enjoy Baseball Animals.
Baseball Opposites contains basic concepts young children need to understand. An understanding of baseball, or even simple enjoyment of the game, will give kids greater enjoyment of Baseball Opposites. Each spread*, contains one pair of baseball related opposites, in the upper-outer corners of each page. Next, is a baseball-related sentence using each term, located somewhere on each page, and finally, an illustration of the term—always an MLB photograph filling most of each corresponding page. MLB visually explains each opposite pair with baseball players or baseball objects. These photographic illustrations have sharp detail and some even help explain a baseball concept. Young, and old, boys will love the action portrayed on most pages. If lucky, their favorite team or player will be among those helping young children learn opposites.
Though all the terms are baseball related, most of the terms children should be learning at this stage, (age 3+). These include such opposites as on/off, up/down, open/close, hot/cold, sit/stand, and left/right. The opposites are not strictly baseball terms, such as infield/outfield or homerun/strike out, but do use baseball as the point of reference. Should this disappoint anyone, turn the pages until you come to the opposite safe/out. The umpire struts his stuff calling the player sliding into home plate, “SAFE!” The ump is calmer while declaring a Chicago Cubby out—on a three pitch swing and miss. Baseball Opposites also contains additional MLB information for the young and old baseball fan. Rather than a team-related appendix, a glossary of baseball terms fills the page: bunt, steal a base, switch-hitter, dugout, and GRAND SLAM!
Oh, wait. “GRAND SLAM” is not in Baseball Opposites. I meant to say Baseball Animals and Baseball Opposites are GRAND SLAM books for young baseball fans. Dad, it is your turn to read these books to your children, getting them ready for the baseball season. Though the 2014 season in nearly half-over, there is never anytime better than the present to begin something, unless, of course, when waiting for an inside pitch to drill down the third base line. That is something completely different to teach your child.
*Spread – A spread is the left and right pages when a book is opened flat. Eg. pages 2 & 3 may be a spread and the end page image is a spread.
BASEBALL ANIMALS and BASEBALL OPPOSITES: (MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: FIRST BASE BOOKS). Texts copyright © 2014 by Christopher Jordan. Photograph copyrights © held by various individuals. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Fenn/Tundra of Tundra Books of Northern New York, Plattsburgh, NY.
Purchase Baseball Animals and/or Baseball Opposites at Amazon
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Learn more about the Sports (MLB — Hockey — NASCAR) series by Mr. Jordan HERE.
Meet the author, Christopher Jordan, at his short bio: http://www.tundrabooks.com/authors/author.pperl?authorid=152647
Find more books at the Tundra Books website: http://www.tundrabooks.com/
a division of Random House of Canada Limited: http://www.randomhouse.ca/
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Also by Jordan Christopher
Hockey 123 (My First NHL Book)
The Little Beaver
NASCAR ABC (My First NASCAR Racing Series)
Hockey & NASCAR
123 Colors
ABC Opposites
Animals Shapes
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Kids Lit Review 
These would be the perfect books for my uncle and his kids! Oh my! They would love them! Thanks for sharing this with us at Booknificent Thursday!
Tina
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I love baseball. The concept of both books intrigue me! Great to read together. I played hardball as a child with my dad. And, my favorite two movies are “Field of Dreams” and “A League of Their Own.”
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I love those movies as well. I wanted to play hardball but Little League would not let me play. Jerks. I love it when there is a girl on one of the teams in the Little League World Series. I root for that team, regardless of where it’s from.
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These sound excellent! I love baseball! I’m a pretty good catcher. Not so good with a bat though. I’ll have to check these books out! Thanks!
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I image it would be difficult to swing a bat with paws. Catching the ball is extremely important. Concentrate on your fielding and you could be a star in next year’s Paws & Whiskers Baseball Tournament. I’m too old now, so it’s only golf for me–unless it is on the Wii. I can play all sorts of sports on the Wii. Enjoy the books!!
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I think I’ll check these out. They sound quite interesting. rushes frantically over to the library 😉
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Are you a major Major League Baseball fan or a baseball fan in general? How about softball, if it is fast-pitch with all baseball rules? Now that can be a rough game to play. Have fun at the library! 🙂
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Thanks! I am just a baseball fan in general (it’s less expensive to go to an Iron Pigs game than a Phillies game!). 😉
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Speaking of Iron Pigs, there are some unique animal team names in minor league baseball, enough to make a follow-up book, albeit a weird follow-up book. Savannah Sand Gnats, Richmond Flying Squirrels, Brevard County Manatees, Vermont Lake Monsters (though monsters aren’t technically all animals (right, Frankenstein?) or even of the earth (thinking War of the Worlds, though maybe the invaders were, in fact, animals from whatever world they came from)). And, of course, in Sue Morris’s territory, the Toledo Mud Hens.
For the record, I know that Iron Pigs are actually not animals but a shout-out to pig iron. But it’s too fantastic a name to pass up.
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Thanks! I’m amazed (who would want to be called ‘sand gnats”??? 😉 ).
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It’s not a team for home run hitters, that’s for sure. Possibly it works for a team of undersized, pesky players who dink singles, steal bases and generally get under the skin of the opposing players, annoying them to no end. Just like sand gnats and little brothers.
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What is an Iron Pig and what does this have to do with the Phillies? I would not want to play against the gnats – anyone who plays for that team must be good. Or complete duffers–I know that is golf but the gnats probably do not. If they are bad, they must have great right hooks to defend themselves off the field. 😀
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The Iron Pigs are the minor league team for the Phillies. (I think that’s what it’s called) They send new players to the Phillies, etc. I bet someone else (aka taandersonauthor) could explain it better. 🙂
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Actually, that’s exactly right. The Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs is the AAA team for the Phillies. Just north of them in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is the RailRiders, which is the AAA team for the Yankees. Soon-to-be future stars for both teams can be seen for relatively cheaper ticket prices, and sometimes the major league stars play for the AAA teams when they’re rehabbing from injuries, like Ryan Howard has for the Iron Pigs and Derek Jeter has for the RailRiders. Throw in Dollar Hot Dog nights and the Phillies’ dismal record, and the Iron Pigs might be more fun than the major league game.
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I remember we went to see Howard at an Iron Pigs game, and he didn’t play (he was still too injured, apparently). Thanks for the explanation! 😀
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I just LOVE the ideas behind these books! This is definitely something I need to keep in mind for my grandchildren 🙂 But for the life of me I canNOT think of a baseball team with an elephant! lol I was into baseball—heavily—for a good 15 years and I’m drawing a blank. Granted, I’ve also been dizzy for several days so my normally fuzzy brain is working on about 5%. I keep praying it’ll pass by Sat. morning when I have to drive over an hour to the conference! Prayers appreciated! 😀 And I’m putting these books on my Wish List! Thanks, Sue 🙂 Nice job, Christopher!
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Try the Oakland Athletics. They have a circus elephant balancing on a ball on the left sleeve of the uniform. What that has to do with baseball or the City of Oakland beats me. The elephant is holding a baseball bat–or maybe it’s a baton. Officially the A’s logo is a green A on a baseball, inside a circle, with the team name surrounding it all. Boring! Maybe that is why the elephant came along. Either that, or the owner is trying to please his granddaughter. 🙂
Good luck driving. Please drive carefully, no texting or talking on the phone while driving! Come back safe and sound. Someone needs to keep m on my toes. 😀
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It’s been a few years since I’ve really been watching, but when I was watching EVERY game of the year for my team, I never saw an elephant on the A’s lol Sounds ridiculous to me! And who would want a team to be repped by an elephant? Not exactly an agile animal lol
And thanks, Sue 🙂 I’m still praying the dizziness subsides enough by Sat. morn that the drive will be fine. I’m leaving at 6:30, so the roads should be relatively quiet, I hope. Of course, there MAY be more people going down the shore at that hour than I expect, but I doubt it 🙂
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Mom and I know NOTHING about sports, but this book sounds like a blast – or a grand slam, whatever that is. Mom’s “favorite” team is the Cardinals because she likes the bird sitting on the bat on the t-shirt! Sheesh.
Love and licks,
Cupcake
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Cupcake, if you were a cat, you would love the Cardinals too. I am more of an Oriole fan. 🙂
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