Joy in Mudville

February 10, 2014
The Mudville Nine are looking for redemption after Mighty Casey’s disheartening strikeout the day before. It arrives in the form of a relief pitcher who, as Raczka puts it, also happens to be “a she.” Her first name, Joy, alludes to the beloved baseball poem’s last line, and her last name, Armstrong, proves an accurate description of her pitching skills, which also showcase her talents for football, tennis, and basketball. Raczka’s versifying lacks the mock-heroic cheekiness and confident lilt of Thayer’s original (reprinted at the end); the clunky rhymes (“confidence” with “cleared the fence”) and obvious messaging (“She’d show them soon enough that girls/ excel in many sports”) are the poetic equivalent of bunts. But Dibley is a visual power hitter. His settings conjure up a beautiful day on a dusty, small-town field, while his characters’ broad, red noses (an artistic signature) and imperturbable miens feel right on the mark. Ages 4–9.

April 1, 2014

K-Gr 3-The day after Mighty Casey's infamous strikeout, the Mudville Nine has fallen to second place and in the late innings of the game struggles to hold onto its lead. Rookie Joy Armstrong is brought in to save the game as the startled fans boo. Lanky, pink bubble-blowing Joy is unfazed by the fans' reaction: "She'd show them soon enough that girls/excel in many sports." Joy faces Jackson, a lumbering giant, and surprises him with a football snap thrown between her legs and a high tennis lob. With Jackson behind in the count, Joy's last pitch is a basketball jump shot that the batter bunts, but she uses her soccer skills to make the play at the plate. Sometimes the rhymes sound forced and awkward, but the appealing broad humor wins out. Cartoon illustrations complement and add to the silly goings-on. For example, the umpire's attire changes to a football referee, a tennis line judge, and as he calls the runner out at home, he's wearing soccer shorts and waving a red card. There's a not-so-subtle message here, but it's delivered with pitch-perfect tone. This playful retelling wins a place for itself alongside the many iterations of Casey's tale.-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2014
Will there ever be joy in Mudville now that mighty Casey has struck out? It is the day after that awful game, and now there is a chance for redemption. But it's not really about Casey. He actually redeems himself when he hits a home run that puts the team ahead, but the Mudville pitcher falters by walking three straight batters in the ninth inning with two out. They don't need Casey right now; they need a solid relief pitcher. In comes Joy, a female rookie pitcher whom the crowd greets with mistrust, boos and catcalls. Her technique is extremely unusual. She variously emulates a football snap to the quarterback, a tennis serve and a basketball dribble and jump shot. Finally, Joy kicks a bunt back to home plate for the out to save the game. And the crowd goes wild. Raczka's sequel echoes Ernest Lawrence Thayer's original, which appears in full following the victory. Although many of his lines are choppy, and unfortunately, the rhymes are too often tortured, the repartee between the whining batter and the umpire is delightful, as is Joy's highly imaginative, definitely rule-breaking pitching style. In Dibly's bright illustrations, the umpire steals some of the spotlight, as his attire and mannerisms match Joy's other-sport pitches, and all the characters' expressions and actions are perfectly suited to this very odd game. The old ball game is still great fun. (Picture book. 5-9)

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