Catcher

April 1, 2011

Gr 4-6-Glaser introduces the game by focusing on each position individually, explaining its place on the field and describing famous players and their success stories. Each page features a colorful, captioned photograph exhibiting action, coupled with a paragraph of attention-grabbing facts or descriptions of skills, tips, or drills. The final pages offer charts of record-breaking statistics. The books' hi/lo composition is the main asset of the series. There is nothing here that cannot be found in Hans Hetrick's Play Baseball Like a Pro: Key Skills & Tips (Capstone, 2011) and many other books, but these volumes will work as replacements for older titles where Glaser's "Tip-Off: Basketball" series (Gareth Stevens, 2011) has been successful.

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2011
Grades 4-7 Catcher is perhaps the most physically demanding (squatting unnaturally and blocking the plate from lumbering base runners), mysterious (all those crazy hand signs), and intellectually rigorous (knowing opponent batters strengths and weaknesses and calling pitches) position on the diamond. This title in the Play Ball: Baseball series (others in this hi-lo reluctant-reader set include Batter, Infielders, Outfielders, and Pitcher) covers how the catchers evolved from simply being ball retrievers (pitchers were originally meant to help batters put the ball in play, not get it past them) to becoming dynamic athletes on the field. Glaser also profiles a number of standout major-league catchers from yore, like Roy Campanella and Yogi Berra, to current superstars, like Joe Mauer and Ivan Rodriguez. Even better are the fundamentals of playing the position and tips to help hone your skills. Packed with tons of exciting photos, this book should strike up an appreciative audience among both young fans and players-in-training. Back matter includes a short Record Book and further-reading suggestions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)