ABCs of Baseball, written by Peter Golenbock and illustrated by Dan Andreasen. Dial, Penguin. 2012. $18.00 ages 6 and up

"Wild pitch: A pitch far away from the strike zone that the catcher cannot reach or block, allowing any base runner to run to the next base.
World Series: When the winning teams from each league play for the championship in October."



While he is a writer of books for adults, this is the first book that sports journalist Peter Golenbock has written with younger readers in mind. It's an alphabetic guide to all that is baseball. As I read its pages, I was impressed with the depth of the coverage.

Many of the words chosen to represent a letter are familiar and will conjure memories and discussion about baseball games seen, in person or on television:

"Can of corn: An easy catch for the fielder.
Cards: For trading or collecting. They've been around since the 1860s.
Alexander Cartwright: The man who invented baseball. He decided the shape of the field and the number of players on  each team.
Coaches: During the game they stand near first base and third base and ell the runners what to do.
Cracker Jack: A treat made of caramelized popcorn and peanuts. It has been a staple at baseball games ever since popping up in the 1908 song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

and

"Hall of Fame: The place where baseball commemorates its greatest players.
Hit: When a batter reaches base safely after landing the ball in fair territory.
Home plate: The base where the hitters bat or runners tag for a run.
Home run: A long hit where the ball goes fair into the stands and the hitter tags all bases and scores.
Hot corner: A nickname for third base.
Hot dog: What baseball fans love to eat.

I've been a ball fan since not wanting to go to school when the World Series could be heard on the radio on fall afternoons. I don't remember hearing the terms can of corn or hot corner. Where have I been? Clear and concise in his definitions, the author has provided a close-up look at the national pastime for those new to the game, and for those who love anything baseball.

Each alphabet letter is bold blue on white, encircled with red while the chosen terms are backgrounded with pin stripes, reminiscent of vintage uniforms. The accompanying artwork is done in earthy tones of green, orange, soft yellows, and faded blues. The perspectives change often,  adding a feeling of being right in on the action. Memorabilia and collections of images are part of the mix and will attract the young reader's attention and questions.

A section titled FUN FACTS follows Z.  It adds much information concerning the game, the teams and players, awards given, whihc team is in which division, and the players who hold various records in the history of the game.