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  • Published: 3 March 2015
  • ISBN: 9780698172586
  • Imprint: PEN US eBook Childrens
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 240

Legends: The Best Players, Games, and Teams in Basketball





“With the LEGENDS series, Howard Bryant brings to life the best that sports has to offer—the heroes, the bitter rivalries, the moments that every sports-loving kid should know.”—Mike Lupica, #1 bestselling author of Travel Team, Heat, and Fantasy League

Experience baseball's most exciting moments, World Series heroics, greatest players, and more!

Baseball, America's pastime, is a sport of moments that stand the test of time. It is equally a sport of a new generation of heroes, whose exploits inspire today's young fans. This combination makes for a winning debut in Legends: The Best Players, Games, and Teams in Baseball.

This is no traditional almanac of mundane statistics, but rather a storyteller's journey through baseball's storied game. Told in fun, accessible chapters and accompanied by iconic photos, a slew of Top Ten lists for kids to chew on and debate, and a Timeline of the 40 Most Important Moments in Baseball History, this collection covers some of the greatest players from Babe Ruth to Hank Aaron; the greatest teams to take the field and swing the bats; the greatest social triggers, such as Jackie Robinson's breaking of the color barrier; the greatest playoff rivalries, including the 2004 showdown between the Red Sox and Yankees that turned into an instant classic; and, of course, the edge-of-your-seat World Series moments that left some cheering while others wept. This is the perfect book for young fans eager to learn more about the sport that will stay with them for a lifetime.

Praise for LEGENDS:

An Amazon Best Book of the Month!

* "A terrific gathering of heroic hacks and legendary near misses."—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

* "Each story is engaging and offers readers a glimpse into baseball’s past and American history. [A] terrific addition to engage reluctant readers."—School Library Connection, STARRED REVIEW

"[T]his is clearly a book for sports lovers. A strong choice for rounding out sports collections, this work knocks it out of the park."—School Library Journal

"Any fan of baseball will enjoy this compilation . . . Fans of all ages will find this a useful guide; teachers might find this an interesting mentor text for a student reporting on a particular topic since the approach is unique."—VOYA

"[T]his book will attract all manner of analysis and discussion among lovers of America’s favorite pastime. Fans of other sports will cheer: this is only the first in a series devoted to sports."—Booklist
 

  • Published: 3 March 2015
  • ISBN: 9780698172586
  • Imprint: PEN US eBook Childrens
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 240

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Praise for Legends: The Best Players, Games, and Teams in Basketball

Praise for LEGENDS:

"With the LEGENDS series, Howard Bryant brings to life the best that sports has to offer--the heroes, the bitter rivalries, the moments that every sports-loving kid should know."--Mike Lupica, #1 bestselling author of Travel Team, Heat, and Fantasy League

* "
A terrific gathering of heroic hacks and legendary near misses."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

A sports fan's delight: historical highlights (and lowlights), tributes to great players and lots of "Top Ten" lists ripe for vigorous second guessing.ESPN columnist and NPR sports correspondent Bryant leads off with Babe Ruth and seals the win with the dramatic 2011 Cardinals/Rangers World Series. Using a seasonal organization, he lines up first a select set of players ("Spring"), then teams ("Summer") and finally memorable World Series ("Fall"). In between the essays (a half-dozen per season) he offers lists of statistical leaders or of personal choices for most dominant players in an era, best nicknames and other hot-stove topics. He often angles his spotlight away from the usual feats and milestones to focus, for instance, not on Jackie Robinson's entry into the major league in 1947, but on his career year of 1949 or on teams that won hearts and minds if not always games. An account of the sensational but steroid-spoiled home-run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa is at once exhilarating and thought-provoking. A woefully stingy set of photos highlighting a few players and triumphs is the only whiff here. A terrific gathering of heroic hacks and legendary near misses, ideal as a companion for systematic histories such as Lawrence Ritter's ripe-for-updating Story of Baseball (3rd edition, 1999).

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