Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888

Rating:
Summary: Retelling Casey at the Bat in the context of Little League
Review: As the title of this edition indicates, Ernest Lawrence Thayer's "Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888" is well over a century old. Over the years there have been dozens of published editions of the poem, including different versions, parodies, and sequels (e.g., "Casey's Revenge" by Grantland Rice" and "Casey's Daughter at the Bat" by Al Graham). Fans of the television series "Northern Exposure" might recall that Chris in the Morning did his thesis on "one of the lead character's (Chris) thesis dissertation was, "Casey at the Bat: An Anti-Filiopietistic Metaphor for America's Role in Post-Cold-War-Geo-Politics." Then there is Frank Deford's 1989 look at "Casey on the Loose, What Really Might Have Happened," which reveals what led up to Casey's strikeout and what happened after.

This particular retelling of the tale by Patricia Polacco does two interesting things. The first is that she makes Casey a young boy in modern times playing in a Little League game. The second is that the poem has a prologue and epilogue dealing with Casey before and after his famous time at bat. It is in these parts of the book that Polacco sets up the particular moral that she wants to pin on the tale, with Casey's little sister Connie reminding her arrogant baby that their dad always says: "Be on time. Always play your best. Don't count your hits before they're pitched--and do it fair and square." Of course young Casey is too arrogant to heed such advice, although he takes a different view of such words of wisdoms afterwards.

These two changes allow Polacco to really bring this ancient "ballad" alive for a new generation. Certainly the idea of the arrogant young ballplayer who cannot be told anything about the proper way of playing the game of baseball will ring true with young readers. Even before the game and the poem begin, Polacco sets up young Casey to richly deserve his fate and thereby breathes new life in this venerable poem. Besides, what better time that Opening Day of the baseball season could you pick for renewing your acquaintance with the Mighty Casey?

Rating:
Summary: Retelling Casey at the Bat in the context of Little League
Review: As the title of this edition indicates, Ernest Lawrence Thayer's "Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888" is well over a century old. Over the years there have been dozens of published editions of the poem, including different versions, parodies, and sequels (e.g., "Casey's Revenge" by Grantland Rice" and "Casey's Daughter at the Bat" by Al Graham). Fans of the television series "Northern Exposure" might recall that Chris in the Morning did his thesis on "one of the lead character's (Chris) thesis dissertation was, "Casey at the Bat: An Anti-Filiopietistic Metaphor for America's Role in Post-Cold-War-Geo-Politics." Then there is Frank Deford's 1989 look at "Casey on the Loose, What Really Might Have Happened," which reveals what led up to Casey's strikeout and what happened after.

This particular retelling of the tale by Patricia Polacco does two interesting things. The first is that she makes Casey a young boy in modern times playing in a Little League game. The second is that the poem has a prologue and epilogue dealing with Casey before and after his famous time at bat. It is in these parts of the book that Polacco sets up the particular moral that she wants to pin on the tale, with Casey's little sister Connie reminding her arrogant baby that their dad always says: "Be on time. Always play your best. Don't count your hits before they're pitched--and do it fair and square." Of course young Casey is too arrogant to heed such advice, although he takes a different view of such words of wisdoms afterwards.

These two changes allow Polacco to really bring this ancient "ballad" alive for a new generation. Certainly the idea of the arrogant young ballplayer who cannot be told anything about the proper way of playing the game of baseball will ring true with young readers. Even before the game and the poem begin, Polacco sets up young Casey to richly deserve his fate and thereby breathes new life in this venerable poem. Besides, what better time that Opening Day of the baseball season could you pick for renewing your acquaintance with the Mighty Casey?

Rating:
Summary: Casey at the Bat Book Review
Review: I thought this was a wonderful book. I enjoyed Thayers use of poetry to exrpress the emotion in the story. The language used in the text is of very high quality and when read by an adult to a child, the child is able to thourghly understand. The illustrations play an important role with the text. They not only enrich the text, but they tell a story in itself. We can feel the emotion of the players and the crowd through Polacco's work. Overall I thought this was a wonderful book and reccomend it to a child of any age.

Rating:
Summary: Casey at the Bat Book Review
Review: I thought this was a wonderful book. I enjoyed Thayers use of poetry to exrpress the emotion in the story. The language used in the text is of very high quality and when read by an adult to a child, the child is able to thourghly understand. The illustrations play an important role with the text. They not only enrich the text, but they tell a story in itself. We can feel the emotion of the players and the crowd through Polacco's work. Overall I thought this was a wonderful book and reccomend it to a child of any age.

Rating:
Summary: Casey Strikes Out; Polacco Hits a Homer!
Review: Thayer's classic ballad, 'Casey at the Bat,' is greatly enhanced by Patricia Polacco's brilliantly achieved, big-hearted illustrations. Ms. Polacco captures emotion, action, and character through wittily exaggerated, slightly loopy pictures, and through lots of uncrowded background shenanigans. It's very cinematic: She effectively isolates action through extreme close-ups, and extends time through a montage of events occurring within a single picture. Like the auteur she is, she even adds some opening and closing story elements (while leaving the poem intact) that augment the poem's appeal to the younger reader.

This book is simply great fun to read aloud; you'll find yourself wanting to memorize its evocative imagery and epic aspirations:

"Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt; Five thousand tongue applauded when he wiped them on his shirt. Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip, Defiance flashed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip."

You and your youngsters will love the humor and the drama in this a classic rendition of Thayer's beloved poem. Infants and toddlers will enjoy the bright pictures, and all readers will appreciate the perfect teaming of Thayer and Polacco.

Rating:
Summary: Casey Strikes Out; Polacco Hits a Homer!
Review: Thayer's classic ballad, `Casey at the Bat,' is greatly enhanced by Patricia Polacco's brilliantly achieved, big-hearted illustrations. Ms. Polacco captures emotion, action, and character through wittily exaggerated, slightly loopy pictures, and through lots of uncrowded background shenanigans. It's very cinematic: She effectively isolates action through extreme close-ups, and extends time through a montage of events occurring within a single picture. Like the auteur she is, she even adds some opening and closing story elements (while leaving the poem intact) that augment the poem's appeal to the younger reader.

This book is simply great fun to read aloud; you'll find yourself wanting to memorize its evocative imagery and epic aspirations:

"Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt; Five thousand tongue applauded when he wiped them on his shirt. Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip, Defiance flashed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip."

You and your youngsters will love the humor and the drama in this a classic rendition of Thayer's beloved poem. Infants and toddlers will enjoy the bright pictures, and all readers will appreciate the perfect teaming of Thayer and Polacco.