(3) K-3 Illustrated by C. F. Payne. A red-haired, mustachioed, barrel-chested, larger-than-life Casey stars in this new picture book edition of the beloved baseball ballad. Payne's illustrations swell with love for the game--the grass, the equipment, the period uniforms are all carefully rendered--as they capture the raging emotions of the duel between the gangly, terrified young pitcher and the self-confident star.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Christopher Bing. Setting the poem when it originated, Bing creates a fictional edition of the Mudville Monitor to report Casey's humiliation. Scratchboard drawings re-create gazette etchings, and the yellowed, crumbling pages of this manufactured artifact look authentic. Small collages of advertisements and baseball memorabilia (authentic and fabricated) decorate the pages. Such a mixture of fact and fiction begs for discussion and sharing.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2001