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Children's Fiction Baseball & Softball

Thing Lenny Loves Most About Baseball, The

by (author) Andrew Larsen

illustrated by Milan Pavlović

Publisher
Kids Can Press
Initial publish date
Oct 2021
Category
Baseball & Softball, General, Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781771389167
    Publish Date
    Oct 2021
    List Price
    $19.99

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Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels

  • Age: 3 to 7
  • Grade: p to 2
  • Reading age: 3 to 7

Description

Andrew Larsen evokes the eternal hope and joy of all true baseball fans --- along with their love of facts --- in this heartwarming story about a baseball-loving boy who doesn't give up.

Lenny can't get enough of baseball. He loves to play. And he loves to pore over his Big Book of Baseball Facts. He wants to be in the big leagues someday, and, he figures, the more he knows, the better his chances. The only thing is, though he tries to keep his eye on the ball as it heads his way during a game, it somehow ends up by his feet. “You just need to practice,” his dad tells him. So they practice. And practice. Lenny doesn't give up. And it pays off. Lenny makes a game-changing catch! Now he's proven he can be great some of the time. Which, according to the facts, makes him just like the greatest Hall of Famers, right?

In this endearing picture book, bestselling author Andrew Larsen celebrates the love of both the game of baseball and its countless facts --- which for many fans go hand in hand. It offers a strong character-building portrait of perseverance and patience at work in skill development. It also underscores the importance of letting go of the idea of perfection. With energy and emotion in equal parts, Milan Pavlović's illustrations capture Lenny's (and baseball's) highs and lows, and his loving supportive relationship with his father.

About the authors

 

Andrew Larsen est père au foyer et auteur. Quand il était enfant, il passait toujours une partie de son été au chalet de ses grands-parents, situé sur une colline, près d'un lac. Andrew habite à Toronto. Il a publié sept albums jeunesse.

 

Andrew Larsen is a father, homemaker and author. When he was a child, he would spend a part of every summer with his grandparents at their cottage on a hill, by a lake. Andrew now lives in a downtown Toronto neighbourhood. He has published seven picture books.

 

Andrew Larsen's profile page

Milan Pavlovic lives in Toronto with his family. When he is not illustrating picture books, drawing or playing the ukulele, he is teaching visual communication and illustration at OCAD University and Seneca College. His many other books include Son of Happy by Cary Fagan, The Boy Who Invented the Popsicle by Anne Renaud, Moon Wishes by Guy and Patricia Storms, Seamus’s Short Story by Heather Hartt-Sussman (“The illustrations, in rich watercolor and colored pencil, are elegantly patterned —School Library Journal, starred review) and The Snuggly by Glen Huser.

Milan Pavlović's profile page

Editorial Reviews

This motivational tale ... will remind readers that improvement requires persistence.

Publishers Weekly

A good counter to the insistent, invidious message that winning is all that matters.

Kirkus Reviews

... this is an inspiring example of the value of cultivating a growth mindset where practice pays off ...

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