Common Core IRL: Baseball books for middle grade fans (ages 8-10)

This week, Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries is bringing your books all about baseball. Our sports section is heavily used in our library, and I find it hard to seek out good nonfiction that are just right for middle grade readers. Kids in 3rd and 4th grade want interesting books, but they can't plow through dense text. Here are two books that combine excellent visual design and organization with clearly written text that fits the needs of our kids in 3rd and 4th grade.

Miguel Cabrera
Baseball Superstar
by Matt Doeden
Sports Illustrated Kids / Capstone, 2014
Google Books preview
Your local library
Amazon
grades 2-3
ages 7-9

This biography of superstar hitter Miguel Cabrera appeals to kids with its striking photographs, bold headings, and large font. In 2012, Cabrera won the first Triple Crown in the majors since 1967, leading the league in batting average, home runs and RBIs in the same season.

Miguel Cabrera, Doeden

As students read this high-interest biography, they must develop a timeline in their head. Doeden captures readers' interest by beginning with Cabrera's nerve-wracking first day playing for the pros (see the excerpt to the right), and then he moves back in time to Cabrera's childhood in Venezuela. Third graders must understand how this writing style hooks readers and how the individual events fit together to create a whole picture of Cabrera's life. These skills are essential for mastery of Common Core ELA standard RI 3.3.

I'm always struggling whether to get books about a specific team or general books on a sport. Individual stars change in their popularity overnight, it seems. So I was very happy to find this next book on key skills for playing baseball.

Play Baseball Like a Pro
Key Skills and Tips
by Hans Hetrick
Sports Illustrated for Kids / Capstone, 2011
Google Books preview
Your local library
Amazon
ages 8-10

Hetrick balances simple direct text with enough information to make this guide interesting for 8- to 10-year-olds, but not overwhelming. He clearly states a main idea and then develops it with a short explanation.

"If your head is out of control, your body will be too. If your body is out of control, so is your pitching arm. Stay balanced. Keep your head directly over your body. And be sure to keep your eyes on the catcher's mitt until the pitch is hit or caught."

Third and fourth graders work on identifying the main ideas in what they read, distinguishing main ideas from supporting details. They also need to explain how the main idea is supported by key details. Baseball fans will be able to see so much more easily what teachers mean by "main idea" and "supporting details" if they are reading a book like this. Common Core ELA standards 3.2 and 4.2 ask students to do just this.

Play Baseball Like a Pro, Hetrick

 The visual design of Play Baseball Like a Pro draws students in, but it also helps them organize their ideas. Third and fourth graders will also appreciate the white space and size of font. Baseball fans will love the quotes from a wide range of pro players.

Be sure to check out all of the terrific posts on baseball for Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries. Here's our line-up this week:

• beginning readers (grades K-2) -- The Show Me Librarian
  
• read aloud picture books (grades K-3) -- Kid Lit Frenzy
• middle grade readers (grades 3-4) -- Great Kid Books
• older middle grade readers (grades 5-6) -- The Nonfiction Detectives

We hope to see you in the stacks -- or was that in the stands? Bring your bat, glove and favorite baseball fan and join us! The review copies came from our school library. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books. Thank you for your support.

©2014 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books