The Longest Home Run

Patricia Morley is professor emeritus of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University and the author of Margaret Laurence: The Long
Journey Home and As Though Life Mattered: Leo Kennedy’s Story.

Quebecker Roch Carrier has accomplished something many suspected to be
impossible. He has written another story as good as “The Hockey
Sweater.”

The Longest Home Run is set in the village of Ste. Justine, Quebec, in
1947. A strange girl turns up on the baseball lot, insists on joining
the game, and astounds the local boys by hitting “the longest home run
in the history of baseball.” The ball breaks the window of the local
curmudgeon, an army veteran known for his bad temper. The girl turns out
to be the daughter of a itinerant magician. Much of the tale deals with
the entrancing entertainment provided to the villagers by “The Great
Ratabaga and the Princess Adeline.”

Sheldon Cohen’s work has earned him numerous prizes, including a
Governor General’s Award in 1991. These bold and rhythmic
illustrations are the work of a powerful and whimsical imagination.

Fine writing and translating, along with superb illustrations make The
Longest Home Run an exceptional picture book for all ages. Highly
recommended.