Close Modal
Wish List 0 Wish List 0
Download high-resolution image

Becoming Babe Ruth: Candlewick Biographies

Part of Candlewick Biographies

Author Matt Tavares
Illustrated by Matt Tavares
Hardcover
$14.99 US
Candlewick
6.38"W x 9.25"H x 0.38"D   | 10 oz | 52 per carton
On sale Feb 09, 2016 | 48 Pages | 9780763687670
Age 5-8 years | Grades K-3
Reading Level: Lexile AD810L | Fountas & Pinnell S
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies
See Additional Formats
additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo
“This exceptionally engaging chronicle recounts Ruth’s amazing rags-to-riches story. . . . Equally important, the art captures Ruth’s irrepressible personality and joy in playing baseball.” — Booklist (starred review)

Before he becomes known as the Babe, George Herman Ruth is just a boy who lives in Baltimore and has a knack for getting into trouble. But when he turns seven, his father takes him to Saint Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, and his life is changed. Here, under the watchful eye of Brother Matthias, George evolves as an athlete and a man. With vivid illustrations and clear affection for his subject, Matt Tavares sheds light on an icon who learned early that life is what you make of it — and sends home a message about honoring the place you come from. Back matter includes an author’s note, Babe Ruth’s career statistics, and a bibliography.
  • NOMINEE | 2016
    Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award
This is a story about the boy who became the man as much as it is about baseball...There is warmth and affection in Tavares’s paintings, which generously illustrate the text, often in immersive spreads.
—The New York Times

Well-researched, realistic illustrations, rendered in watercolor, gouache, and pencil, depict early-twentieth-century life and Major League Baseball during Ruth’s era. Equally important, the art captures Ruth’s irrepressible personality and joy in playing baseball. Yes, the eyes definitely twinkle.
—Booklist (starred review)

Tavares brings the well-paced story to a nice close as the now-world-famous Babe returns to Saint Mary’s to put on an impromptu slugging exhibition for the boys, similar to the ones Brother Matthias gave that so enchanted George as a boy. It’s a lovely, poignant ending to a standout sports picture book biography.
—The Horn Book

Tavares continues to prove he’s a double threat, with a concise, forthright writing style and expansive, sepia-toned watercolors that bring to mind vintage photos and newsreels.
—Publishers Weekly

How can an author make the umpteenth picture book about Babe Ruth justify its shelf space? By finding the right angle on the legend and trimming the larger-than-life figure down to a guy a kid might want to shake hands with...Though subtle in color, Tavares’ illustrations are often big and brash in composition, with plenty of close-ups of a beaming Babe.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

An homage to the Bambino introduces a new audience to this great legend of baseball...Tavares allows young readers to view Ruth with just the right amount of hero worship and awe.
—Kirkus Reviews

Characteristic of Tavares’s attractive painterly style, the watercolor, gouache, and pencil illustrations stand out with their action-packed scenes, dramatic angles, and the full-spread portrait of Ruth...Readers, both baseball fans and others, will enjoy this story of the athlete’s gratitude and thankfulness for learning his lifetime sport.
—School Library Journal

Everything about this picture book biography will engage the child reader.
—Library Media Connection

The appeal of Matt Tavares' beautifully illustrated biography is its focus on Ruth's humble origins.
—USA Today
 
Matt Tavares View titles by Matt Tavares

Photos

additional book photo
additional book photo
additional book photo

About

“This exceptionally engaging chronicle recounts Ruth’s amazing rags-to-riches story. . . . Equally important, the art captures Ruth’s irrepressible personality and joy in playing baseball.” — Booklist (starred review)

Before he becomes known as the Babe, George Herman Ruth is just a boy who lives in Baltimore and has a knack for getting into trouble. But when he turns seven, his father takes him to Saint Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, and his life is changed. Here, under the watchful eye of Brother Matthias, George evolves as an athlete and a man. With vivid illustrations and clear affection for his subject, Matt Tavares sheds light on an icon who learned early that life is what you make of it — and sends home a message about honoring the place you come from. Back matter includes an author’s note, Babe Ruth’s career statistics, and a bibliography.

Awards

  • NOMINEE | 2016
    Oklahoma Sequoyah Children's Book Award

Praise

This is a story about the boy who became the man as much as it is about baseball...There is warmth and affection in Tavares’s paintings, which generously illustrate the text, often in immersive spreads.
—The New York Times

Well-researched, realistic illustrations, rendered in watercolor, gouache, and pencil, depict early-twentieth-century life and Major League Baseball during Ruth’s era. Equally important, the art captures Ruth’s irrepressible personality and joy in playing baseball. Yes, the eyes definitely twinkle.
—Booklist (starred review)

Tavares brings the well-paced story to a nice close as the now-world-famous Babe returns to Saint Mary’s to put on an impromptu slugging exhibition for the boys, similar to the ones Brother Matthias gave that so enchanted George as a boy. It’s a lovely, poignant ending to a standout sports picture book biography.
—The Horn Book

Tavares continues to prove he’s a double threat, with a concise, forthright writing style and expansive, sepia-toned watercolors that bring to mind vintage photos and newsreels.
—Publishers Weekly

How can an author make the umpteenth picture book about Babe Ruth justify its shelf space? By finding the right angle on the legend and trimming the larger-than-life figure down to a guy a kid might want to shake hands with...Though subtle in color, Tavares’ illustrations are often big and brash in composition, with plenty of close-ups of a beaming Babe.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

An homage to the Bambino introduces a new audience to this great legend of baseball...Tavares allows young readers to view Ruth with just the right amount of hero worship and awe.
—Kirkus Reviews

Characteristic of Tavares’s attractive painterly style, the watercolor, gouache, and pencil illustrations stand out with their action-packed scenes, dramatic angles, and the full-spread portrait of Ruth...Readers, both baseball fans and others, will enjoy this story of the athlete’s gratitude and thankfulness for learning his lifetime sport.
—School Library Journal

Everything about this picture book biography will engage the child reader.
—Library Media Connection

The appeal of Matt Tavares' beautifully illustrated biography is its focus on Ruth's humble origins.
—USA Today

Author

 
Matt Tavares View titles by Matt Tavares

Additional formats

Other books in this series

Other Books by this Author

Related Articles

Children's Blog

Hoops

A work of fiction inspired by a true story, Matt Tavares’s debut graphic novel dramatizes the historic struggle for gender equality in high school sports. It is 1975 in Indiana, and the Wilkins Regional High School girls’ basketball team is in their rookie season. Despite being undefeated, they practice at night in the elementary school

Read more

Hoops

Children's Blog
Privacy Policy   |   Terms of Use

© 2024 Penguin Random House

Back to Top
0
    • 0
    Wish List (0)