(2) K-3 Tavares profiles the iconic George Herman "Babe" Ruth, shining a light on the flamboyant slugger's charitable side. The author-illustrator expertly conveys Ruth's charm through mixed-media illustrations--the boyish grin, the huge appetite (one humorous scene features Ruth in front of an outlandish spread at a restaurant), the love of the game he played so well. A standout sports picture-book biography. Stats are appended. Bib.

Reviewer: Sam Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2013

(3) 4-6 Sterling Biographies series. Opinionated yet informative, these latest additions to the series blend anecdotes, quotations, and facts to create engaging portraits of six of America's greatest sports stars. With some of the subject matter overlapping, these biographies focus on their athletes' careers, but also offer insight into the social and political realities of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Photographs and sidebars are incorporated into the reader-friendly designs. Timeline. Bib., glos., ind. Review covers these Sterling Biography titles: Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Jesse Owens, Jim Thorpe, Jackie Robinson, and Muhammad Ali.

Reviewer: Chelsey Philpot

(2) YA This plain-dealing biography reveals Ruth's rough-and-tumble childhood--when he was seven his parents sent him to a home for orphans and juvenile delinquents; baseball was his ticket out. Later chapters chronicle Ruth's baseball triumphs and his notorious off-field behavior. This is a candid portrait of a glorious athlete and an imperfect man whose "very name is synonymous with greatness." Ind.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2009

(3) K-3 Stepping Stone True Stories series. Illustrated by Tim Jessell. This unabashedly Red Sox-centric biography of Babe Ruth will hit all the right spots for fans of the formerly "cursed" franchise. It's written simply enough for younger elementary school students, while packing in a good amount of information and conveying the tension of championship games. The black-and-white illustrations are based on iconic photographs of Babe and the Sox.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) 4-6 This stand-alone sequel to Chief Sunrise, John McGraw, and Me combines baseball history and fictional characters to good effect. Hank, sixteen, works for the New York Giants during Babe Ruth's first season with the Yankees. The two teams share a ball field, and this gives Tocher the opportunity to contrast the personalities of the disciplined Giants manager, John McGraw, with the freewheeling Bambino.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Richard Walz. A lively, interactive narrative tells of Babe Ruth's love of baseball and his desire to restore integrity to the game following the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Expressive cartoon illustrations enhance the tall-tale telling of baseball's favorite hero during his days with both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. An author's note is included.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(4) K-3 Illustrated by C. F. Payne. A larger-than-life Babe Ruth hovers over the Boston Red Sox at critical moments from his sale to the Yankees after the 1919 season through eighty-six years of World Series drought. Despite some affected dialogue and an awkward tale-within-a-tale format, an entertaining story is made more so through humorous illustrations featuring a wryly grinning Babe triggering Boston's most notorious losses. Bib.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin

(4) K-3 Ready-to-Read: Childhood of Famous Americans series. Illustrated by Elaine Garvin. After seven-year-old George (later known as Babe) Ruth loses the neighborhood's only baseball by hitting it through someone's window, he tries to make it up to his friends by buying everyone a rare ice-cream treat with a dollar bill he takes from the family tavern. As with other books in this series, this easy-to-read morality tale fictionalizes a childhood episode. Timeline.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(3) K-3 Illustrated by C. F. Payne. In 1931, a seventeen-year-old girl named Jackie Mitchell struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition baseball game. Mitchell's extraordinary achievement and the years of effort it took to achieve her level of skill are chronicled capably, if a bit breathlessly, in this lavishly illustrated book, replete with expressive, sculptural renderings of Mitchell and some of baseball's greats.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin

(4) 4-6 Thirteen-year-old Joe, who time traveled into baseball's past in two previous books, visits 1932 to learn if Babe Ruth really predicted his legendary World Series homer. Joe's father comes along, too, hoping to make a financial profit from the experience. The book convincingly captures Babe's oversized personality, but nearly every plot turn is contrived to get Joe smack in the center of things.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(4) K-3 Carolrhoda On My Own Books series. Illustrated by Jeni Reeves. In 1931, seventeen-year-old Jackie Mitchell not only was signed to a minor league baseball contract but also struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig--a first for women. Although she was later barred from baseball because it was considered inappropriate for women, Jackie's story is still inspiring. Illustrated with mediocre full-color drawings, the easy-to-read text will appeal to primary-age children.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow

(2) 1-3 Illustrated by Terry Widener. 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.

Reviewer: Mary M. Burns | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 1999

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Mike Wimmer. Rockwell-esque oil paintings and a reverent poem combine to pay tribute to Babe Ruth, baseball's renowned Sultan of Swat. Children are likely to find the straightforward, though still enthusiastic, informational text block on each spread of more interest than the poem, although a tiny typeface makes for difficult reading.

Reviewer: Jackie C. Horne

(4) 4-6 Great Sports Teams series. Filled with game action and numerous quotes, these texts relate the most famous moments in the history of each team and briefly describe the team's best players, the leadership behind the team, and what the future holds for them. The intended audience of reluctant readers will appreciate the fast-paced writing and won't be bothered by the grainy quality of the color and black-and-white photos. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.