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froggylibrarian1's review against another edition
4.0
This book was about Lena Blackburne who "found" a mud that is used on baseballs. New baseballs are "too shiny and slick". Baseball players in the past tried many ways to get rid of the shine - soaking them in water, spitting on them, and shoe polish but all of these had drawbacks. One day Lena was fishing and stepped in some mud. He found that the mud could be used to get the shine off but didn't ruin the balls. Lena's mud is now used all the time and even has a display in the Baseball Hall of Fame. I thought this was a cool book.
readingthroughtheages's review against another edition
4.0
2015 Monarch nominee
I had never heard this story before - apparently new baseballs have a gloss on them which makes them slippery for pitchers to use and hard to see for the batters. Lena Blackburne is the former major league baseball player and coach to have discovered the special mud that is used to cover the baseballs. It takes the glossy sheen off and helps the batters and pitchers. Great author's notes at the end to fill in some holes.
I had never heard this story before - apparently new baseballs have a gloss on them which makes them slippery for pitchers to use and hard to see for the batters. Lena Blackburne is the former major league baseball player and coach to have discovered the special mud that is used to cover the baseballs. It takes the glossy sheen off and helps the batters and pitchers. Great author's notes at the end to fill in some holes.
frankisib's review against another edition
4.0
Great story about baseball. Good author's note at the end.
inkpressedpage's review against another edition
4.0
nothing like a little illustrated baseball history
psalmcat's review against another edition
5.0
Really interesting book about how baseballs are de-newed with the use of special mud that's been used for 75 years. For someone who cares little about baseball, this was still a fun read, and the pictures are wonderful.
kgourd's review against another edition
4.0
Lena Blackburne's story is one of perseverance and growth mindset. When he wasn't good at baseball, he found another way to significantly impact the empire of baseball! Cute story! Would be good to use as an introduction to invention unit, mindset discussions, or for kids who like baseball. It's a great hook.
erine's review against another edition
3.0
A short, snappy read aloud about baseball and mud. My preschooler loved it. So what’s not to like?
I’ll tell you:
Hey kid - baseballs are so stupidly made that they have to be rubbed with magic mud to work. No other balls have this problem. No other mud will work. But trust me, it’s completely true.
Seriously. Did this bother no one else? It’s also all too possible that I accidentally skipped a page or skimmed right over it.
I’ll tell you:
Spoiler
OH MY GOSH, WHY DOES NO ONE ELSE JUST SELL SOME MUD TO THE BASEBALL TEAMS? I completely missed why Blackburne’s mud is so special that no one else ever founded a competing mud business. This is an ENORMOUS plot hole. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for why no other kind or source of mud has worked, but what on earth IS the explanation? Is there truly no other mud that would work? Is there a process or ingredient that makes this mud special (this is very subtly implied, but in no way explicitly stated)? Is it not worth it to try to break into the mud market? This bothered me all through the story and even more so in the Author’s Note. This lack makes the whole story seem like an idiotic tall tale.Hey kid - baseballs are so stupidly made that they have to be rubbed with magic mud to work. No other balls have this problem. No other mud will work. But trust me, it’s completely true.
Seriously. Did this bother no one else? It’s also all too possible that I accidentally skipped a page or skimmed right over it.
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