Keep Your Eyes on the Ball! Magic Bat Day by Kevin Christofora

IT WAS MONDAY MORNING, AND IT WAS MY SECOND DAY OF BASEBALL PRACTICE.

I WOKE UP BEFORE MY ALARM WENT OFF.

What can get a boy up and dressed faster than a brand-new uniform with a cap that says Hometown All-Stars on the front? At school Nick is proud to walk down the hall and wave at his All-Star teammates as they head for their classrooms in their own matching uniforms.

During reading, it is as if he sees baseballs everywhere he looks. In math class the addition problems remind Nick of a scoreboard. And for lunch there are even hot dogs, just like at the game!

But at practice the real fun begins after their warm-up, when Coach lets the teammates pick out just the right bat for each of them. Nick knows his bat is magic--it has the word BOLT on one side and a streak of lightning on the other! At last the coach takes them out on the field for their very first batting practice.

AT THE PRACTICE AREA, WE ALL GOT OUR OWN HITTING STATION. WE GOT A HELMET, A BATTING TEE, A BUCKET OF BALLS, AND TWO CIRCLES ON THE GROUND

I PUT MY FEET IN THE CIRCLES.

Coach shows them how to grip the bat, lining up the second knuckles on both hands. He even draws a line of black marker down the knuckles so the kids can get the right grip on the end of the bat. He shows Nick how to take a relaxed stance in the batting box, with the bat on his shoulder. And then it's time for Nick to hit the ball waiting quietly on the tee.

Or not.

"SWING AND A MISS... STRIKE ONE!"

Hey! Where's the magic?

Then Coach does some real baseball magic. With his marker he draws a big, fat BLACK circle on a fresh ball, right between the laces.

"THIS TIME, WHEN YOU SWING, STARE AT THE BLACK DOT AND THEN SLAM IT!"

CRACK! This time Nick meets the ball right on the sweet spot. A tingly feeling runs through his hands as he watches it sail up and over the grassy field.

It's BATTER UP, in Kevin Chistofora's second book in his Hometown All-Starsseries, Magic Bat Day (Hometown All Stars Book 2) (Clarens, 2015). Real-life Coach Christofora takes his young team through the initial tips on hitting, beginning with "Keep your eyes on the ball." As an introduction to playing on a team for a rookie or even as early vicarious experience with the game for the littlest wannabe sluggers, this series hits it out of the park.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame: Nick's Very First Day of Baseball by Kevin Christofora

TODAY MOM SIGNED ME UP FOR BASEBALL.

I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THE FIRST PRACTICE ON FRIDAY.

Nick is psyched! He has baseball on the brain, and even though Dad takes him to pick out the perfect fielder's glove, his head is full of the crack of the bat on the ball and solid sound of the baseball thunking into the glove. He even wears his new glove to play catch-the-cracker with his dog, Yogi, who never misses a throw.

At last the big day comes. Dad and Yogi come along to watch as Nick meets his team and coach. Nick spots some old friends on the team--Carla, Kareem, Lucy, and Larry.

Then the team get their new uniforms--blue caps with red logos and blue shirts with numbers on the back. Coach even writes their names inside each cap and jersey,

The team is suited up, and Nick can't wait to start throwing, catching, and batting. But Coach motions them to form a circle and places his own cap--a white one--in the middle of the circle.

"THE LEADER ALWAYS WEARS A WHITE HAT!" HE SAYS.

"NOW LET'S START WITH JUMPING JACKS!"

Coach leads them through their warm-up routine. Coach teaches them the "rocket" and "pencil" positions for doing jumping jacks. and they are soon shouting enthusiastically along with the warm-up: "Rocket!" "Pencil!"  they chant.

There's a lot to learn about paying attention to Coach and following directions. Coach awards baseball cards as prizes for answering review questions from his pep talk. It's fun, and Nick gets a Babe Ruth card.

But Nick looks around. When will they get to play baseball?

Coach closes with the warm-up tradition of running laps around the bases, and Nick is thrilled to get the white cap and lead his team in touching all the bases. He can't wait for the next practice.

Kevin Christofora's Nick's Very First Day of Baseball (Clarens Press, 2015) begins at the beginning with team-building and basic baseball vocabulary, backed up with a short glossary with necessary baseball lingo such as "lefty," "righty," and "home plate." With just the right amount of information for first-time rookies to take in, Christofora's introduction to being a teammate realistically opens with the all-important practice in listening to Coach and working together. There's plenty of game play fun in store for Coach's little rookie Tee-ballers in the upcoming series Hometown All-Stars.