Batter Up Baseball.

Liz Dennett is a public service librarian in the Science and Technology
Library at the University of Alberta.

The Sports Starters series introduces four popular team sports: baseball, football, soccer, and basketball. Intended for the sporting novice, the books explain the basics of each game. Batter Up Baseball discusses innings, batting and fielding, strikes, balls, and home runs. Huddle Up Football explains offensive and defensive positions, special teams, penalties, and how to score a touchdown. Kick It Soccer shows the basic skills required: dribbling, passing, heading, kicking, and tackling and explains cards, fouls, and penalty kicks. Slam Dunk Basketball describes the role of the player in each position and the difference between jump shots, layups, and slam-dunks.

In addition, each book outlines the playing surface each game is played on and some of the rules of the game. There is also information about the main professional leagues and key tournaments or trophies. Readers are introduced to a few of each sport’s superstars, with short paragraphs about their accomplishments. The books end by encouraging the reader to play the sport in their community. There are full-colour photos on every page, depicting both professional and amateur athletes.

The information contained within these books is very basic and does not go beyond what a parent, coach, or teacher would likely cover while teaching a child to play the sport. For many children these books would not provide any new knowledge; however they could be a good introduction for young children deciding what sport they might like to play or a primer for those completely unfamiliar with them. Recommended with reservations.