You Never Heard of Casey Stengel?!

Starred review from December 14, 2015
Winter uses the same playfully irreverent narration he brought to his books about Sandy Koufax and Willie Mays to this highly entertaining introduction to Charles Dillon Stengel. Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1912, the “left-handed, bowlegged, wisecracking character” wasn’t initially taken seriously due to his pranks—like having a pilot fly over the field and drop grapefruits on his manager. Stengel went on to manage several lackluster teams, but after a (very) unexpected chance to manage the Yankees (“Reporters drop their pens. Furniture falls from the sky”), his unconventional tactics proved innovative. Blitt infuses his artwork with physical humor, and as readers follow Stengel through his highs, lows, and head-scratching in-betweens (like forgetting to put on pants before taking the field), they’ll agree that “They just don’t make ’em like Casey Stengel anymore.” Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown.

March 1, 2016
Casey Stengel was a baseball phenomenon and a genuine eccentric. He was a good--though not great--player, known for his goofy antics, such as hiding a sparrow in his cap and, when fans booed him, tipping his cap to release the bird. At the end of his playing career, he became a manager for a series of terrible minor and major league teams. Then came the New York Yankees, with their full roster of great players. He managed them to 10 pennants and seven World Series championships. All those years prior, he had been studying the game carefully and remembering everything. His innovative style of platooning lefties and righties, switching around his lineup, placing players at multiple positions, and keeping everyone guessing won games and became the template for the modern game. He also had a way of speaking that confounded all listeners, using "Stengelese" to great advantage. Winter speaks directly to readers in a colloquial, folksy voice, presenting the salient facts but focusing on Stengel's larger-than-life persona. Additional bits of information appear in sidebars designed like tickets. Blitt's softly colored pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations, in a variety of perspectives, perfectly convey Stengel's baseball world, and the portraits of Stengel are amazingly accurate and lifelike. A charming, endearing introduction to a baseball icon. (Picture book/biography. 6-10)

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Starred review from January 1, 2016

Gr 2-4-The "You Never Heard of..." picture books are back with this interesting look at a baseball personality known more for his managerial style than for his years as a player. In a relaxed, conversational tone, Winter ushers readers through the life of Casey Stengel, whose childhood dream was to be a baseball player (except for "that one time when he wanted to be a dentist"). Stengel wasn't the best player in the league, but what he lacked in talent, he made up for in goofball antics. Readers will surely snicker at his many exploits, both as a player and later as a manager. They'll also see how, despite his wackiness, his persistence got him the gig of a lifetime: managing the New York Yankees. The pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations perfectly complement the nostalgic glimpse back at the glory days of baseball. Blitt plays with proportions in a classic caricature style that exaggerates the silliness of some stand-out scenes. Interspersed throughout are text boxes with facts and stats. This engaging title will have kids sprinting toward sports biographies to learn more about the many legendary players Stengel played ball with or managed. VERDICT A first-rate first purchase.-Abby Bussen, Muskego Public Library, WI

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 15, 2015
Grades 2-4 *Starred Review* The second companion book to Winter's You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! (2009) is as smart and quirky as Casey Stengel himself. Though he had some notable moments in his playing career, such as hitting the first home run in Ebbets Field (1913) and the first World Series homer in Yankee Stadium (1923), Stengel was better known for what Winter calls his goofballery. After he stopped playing, he managed a series of losing teams before he was hired to manage the Yankees. Despite a continuing reputation for foolery, Stengel used his wits, experience, and canny skills to lead the team during an amazing string of winning seasons: 10 pennants and 7 World Series championships in 12 years. Reading Winter's amusing and informative text is like listening to your favorite grandfather talk about baseball's glory days, assuming that Grandpa has a phenomenal memory, a dry sense of humor, and the storytelling skills of Scheherazade. The expressive ink-and-watercolor illustrations make good use of Blitt's talent for caricature and his vivid, visual imagination (picture a hand with a World Series ring on the thumb and each of the six fingers). From the portraits on the endpapers to the Stengelese quips in the text, here's a first-rate picture book for baseball fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)