CLIP Review: The Babe & I

Author:  David A. Adler
Illustrator:  Terry Widener
Grades 1-3

As a child, I was often admonished for wasting  something "perfectly good" that could be re-used. My parents reasoning was always the same; "Young lady, you didn't live during 'The Depression'." Until I was old enough to actually understand that terribly difficult time in our country's history, it made no sense why we saved waxed paper or re-patched the knees of our jeans.  Just as it makes no sense to the young boy in our story when he sees his father one day on a street corner - selling apples! Why isn't he at work? This incredibly written story takes place in 1932, in the midst of the Great Depression. Children of all ages will not only understand the hurt and discouragement this brought, but will be delighted at the boy's spirit of creativity. The title of the book is about a great American baseball hero, but somehow I think you'll get the feeling that there's another hero to the young boy.  His love for his father and his love of baseball make for a winning combination!

David Adler is the award-winning author of more than one hundred books for children. A devoted Yankees fan, he never sold newspapers as a boy, but did deliver eggs and baked goods, rake leaves, and shovel snow to earn pocket money.