Stars in the Shadows

MIDDLE SCHOOL NONFICTION

G/A  Smith Jr, Charles R.  Stars in the Shadows.  Atheneum, 2012.  106p.  978-0-689-86638-8.  14.99.  True to his passion for writing about and imaging sports, the author/illustrator serves us a live baseball game -- played by an all-star Negro league in 1934.  A radio announcer identifies each inning's roster of batters and calls the play-by-play action.  Commercials that support the on-air entertainment are also included.  And page length side-bars reflect fans' conversations.  Visually, the text appears to be written in prose but when read aloud -- there's definite poetry rhyming.  Within households of kindred grandparents--grandchildren relationships, this baseball history would be fun to enjoy together.  This could also qualify as material for a classroom monologue.  E.M. Roublow,
LAPL, San Pedro Branch.