Becoming Joe Dimaggio

Rating:
Summary: Baseball Legend
Review: The book "Becoming Joe DiMaggio" was a a good book overall. It is about Joseph Paul growing up and learns about the game of baseball. He falls in love with the sport and soon learns the rules and how the game is played. He loves his grandfather and would do anything to make him happy and hopes to make it to the majors his dream. This book is a very quick read and somewhat a confusing book. But overall it was entertaining and i would recommend it to anyone from grades 5th and up.

Rating:
Summary: The Yankee centerfielder "whose name sounds like music"
Review: The legend of Joe DiMaggio has certainly been tarnished since the death of the Yankee Clipper as details about how he lived his life off the field were revealed. Maria Testa's "Becoming Joe DiMaggio" reminds us what the man meant in his glory days. DiMaggio is worshipped from afar in this verse novel that is more about the love of a grandfather and his grandson than it is about playing centerfield for the New York Yankees. In the summer of 1936 DiMaggio is a rookie centerfielder for the Yankees "whose name sounds like music" and Papa-Angelo has a new grandson. The boy should be named for his father, but the man is a thug and at the baby's baptism it is Papa-Angelo that whispers "Joseph Paul" into mama's ear. From his immigrant grandfather young Joseph Paul learns abut the game of baseball and the importance of having a dream. At one point the young boy announces he wants to Joe DiMaggio when he grows up. "That's wonderful," Papa-Angelo says, "but somebody else already is."..."Becoming Joe DiMaggio" is told in a series of vignettes, each with a simple elegance that belies the fact this is poetry. The illustrations by Scott Hunt have a softness to them this well suits these stories of memory. Unfortunately, the children of today probably do not understand who Joe DiMaggio was for an entire nation, especially those with an Italian heritage, and for all his many faults, there is not another sports figure today who captures the imagination the way Joltin' Joe did.

Rating:
Summary: The Yankee centerfielder "whose name sounds like music"
Review: The legend of Joe DiMaggio has certainly been tarnished since the death of the Yankee Clipper as details about how he lived his life off the field were revealed. Maria Testa's "Becoming Joe DiMaggio" reminds us what the man meant in his glory days. DiMaggio is worshipped from afar in this verse novel that is more about the love of a grandfather and his grandson than it is about playing centerfield for the New York Yankees. In the summer of 1936 DiMaggio is a rookie centerfielder for the Yankees "whose name sounds like music" and Papa-Angelo has a new grandson. The boy should be named for his father, but the man is a thug and at the baby's baptism it is Papa-Angelo that whispers "Joseph Paul" into mama's ear. From his immigrant grandfather young Joseph Paul learns abut the game of baseball and the importance of having a dream. At one point the young boy announces he wants to Joe DiMaggio when he grows up. "That's wonderful," Papa-Angelo says, "but somebody else already is."..."Becoming Joe DiMaggio" is told in a series of vignettes, each with a simple elegance that belies the fact this is poetry. The illustrations by Scott Hunt have a softness to them this well suits these stories of memory. Unfortunately, the children of today probably do not understand who Joe DiMaggio was for an entire nation, especially those with an Italian heritage, and for all his many faults, there is not another sports figure today who captures the imagination the way Joltin' Joe did.

Rating:
Summary: A not-to-be-missed diamond
Review: With a spare, beautiful text, Testa creates poignant characters and a passionate story. Every word counts here. "Becoming Joe DiMaggio" is a story for all generations. This book would be a lovely, thoughtful gift for all ages.