Joltin' Joe DiMaggio: with audio recording

by Jonah Winter, James E. Ransome (Illustrator)

Overview

Bestselling author Jonah Winter and award-winning illustrator James E. Ransome knock it out of the park with this tribute to one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived, Joe DiMaggio.

In the golden age of baseball, sports announcers ruled the radio, winning and losing was front-page news, and just about every young boy wanted to grow up to wear Yankee pinstripes, including Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, Jr., a first generation Italian from San Francisco.

“Baseball is not a job,” said young Joe’s dad, but through hard work and dedication, Joe grew up to make headlines as a top centerfielder and ace hitter—Joltin’ Joe, the Yankee Clipper. And when the paychecks started rolling in and the newspaper reporters wouldn’t stop calling, you can bet Pop was mighty proud!

During the Depression and WWII the country needed something to cheer for, and Joe was the star player who outshone the rest, even marrying movie star Marilyn Monroe—all by keeping his mouth shut and his eye on the ball.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481402798
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	09/02/2014
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
Lexile:	720L (what's this?)
File size:	109 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jonah Winter is the author of more than thirty celebrated nonfiction picture books including Diego, illustrated by Jeanette Winter; Jazz Age Josephine, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman; Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the Bronx, illustrated by Edel Rodriguez; The Founding Fathers! illustrated by Barry Blitt; and Lillian’s Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, illustrated by Shane W. Evans.
James E. Ransome’s highly acclaimed illustrations for Knock, Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me won the 2014 Coretta Scott King Award for Illustration. His other award-winning titles include Coretta Scott King Honor Book Uncle Jed’s Barbershop by Margaree King Mitchell; Deborah Hopkinson’s Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt; Let My People Go, winner of the NAACP Image Award; and My Story, My Dance: Robert Battle’s Journey to Alvin Ailey and Satchel Paige, both written by his wife, Lesa Cline-Ransome. Mr. Ransome teaches illustration at Pratt Institute and lives in upstate New York with his family. Visit James at JamesRansome.com.

Editorial Reviews

07/01/2014
Gr 2–4—In this superb tribute, Winter limns DiMaggio's life, career, and legend in a lively conversational style. In the 1920s, "baseball was all people talked about for seven months out of the year," and young DiMaggio grew up playing and dreaming of baseball, but his fisherman father expected his son to follow in his footsteps. Faced with his father's disapproval, quiet DiMaggio let his actions do the talking: "Joe, he kept his mouth shut and kept on swinging that bat." He was only 19 when his talents won him a place on the Yankees' starting lineup, stepping into the shoes of retiring Babe Ruth. DiMaggio seamlessly moved on to his own glorious career, highlighted by his unparalleled 56-game hitting streak. Ransome's vibrant watercolors complement Winter's compelling storytelling. Underscoring DiMaggio's quiet persona, Ransome sets the shy ballplayer apart amid his talkative family and boisterous teammates. His images reveal DiMaggio's prowess and strength as he waits at home plate, bat gripped in his hands, in his famous wide-legged batting stance. An exciting series of illustrations details the tense duel between DiMaggio and tough knuckleball pitcher Dutch Leonard, who nearly ended DiMaggio's streak. Fans and newcomers alike will relish this delightful tribute to the ballplayer whose life seemed to embody the American dream. For perspective on DiMaggio's career, see Phil Bildner's The Unforgettable Season: Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and the Record-Setting Summer of 1941 (Putnam, 2011) and Rob Skead's Something to Prove: The Great Satchel Paige vs. the Rookie Joe DiMaggio (Carolrhoda, 2013). Meanwhile, Winter and Ransome's well-crafted book is an out-of-the-park triumph.—Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA

School Library Journal

★ 06/16/2014
“Baseball, believe it or not, was once the biggest sport in America.... And it wasn’t just the biggest sport—it was the biggest thing.” That’s some terrific context and tone setting for Winter’s readers, many of whom may view baseball as quaint at best. Winter (You Never Heard of Willie Mays?!) writes with a casual elegance that beautifully captures the spirit of an athlete whose signatures were grace and reticence (“And the way he said nothing... only made him more noticeable”). Ransome’s (Knock Knock) watercolors of DiMaggio’s early years with his immigrant Italian family in San Francisco look a bit like a Little Rascals short film. But as Joe rises to the pantheon of American cultural heroes (yes, there’s a nod to his marriage to Marilyn Monroe), Ransome nails the Yankee Clipper’s majestic nose and magnetic, toothy grin, and the images grow in expressiveness and imaginative power. Evoke whatever baseball idioms you want—grand slam, home run—this book is it, enabling readers to understand both what made DiMaggio a one-of-a-kind talent and the special hold he had on the public imagination. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly