Casey at the Bat

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888 was
published, as the subtitle suggests, in 1888. Thus, many earlier
picture-book versions of the poem have illustrations reflecting
19th-century small-town America and emphasize the humorous aspects of
the poem. Not so this time. Joe Morse’s updated Casey—or
“KC”—portrays a multiracial group of inner-city kids surrounded by
asphalt, high-rises, chain-link fences, and graffiti-covered walls.

The bold illustrations, done in oil and acrylic, are sharply outlined
in thick black lines and highlighted with smudges of muted colour. Some
pages are split into comic-book panels reminiscent of a graphic novel.
(We are told in the concluding notes that Morse paints outside
year-round in headphones, a baseball cap, and, because of the toxicity
of his materials, a gas mask.)

With their baggy jeans and sweatshirts, baseball caps on backwards,
midriff-baring tank tops and tattoos, headphones and backpacks, the
players and spectators alike are serious, focused, and intent on the
game. Figures are exaggerated and powerful until the final scene. In
sharp contrast, the once “mighty Casey” is shown on his knees, a
slight figure hemmed in by fencing, alone and vulnerable.

Casey at the Bat has delighted children and adults for more than 100
years. Joe Morse’s version, translated so effectively into a modern
urban setting, is sure to appeal to today’s audiences. Libraries that
already own several versions of Thayer’s famous poem must make room
for this one. Highly recommended.