Picture Books
Abrahams, Peter. Quacky Baseball. With the game on the line on opening day, nervous rookie Thumby Duckling steps up to the plate.
Golenbock, Peter. ABCs of Baseball. Presents an alphabet book that highlights the history, players, places, and terms associated with baseball.
Gutman, Dan. Casey Back at Bat. Sequel to the poem Casey at the bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer.
Hopkinson, Deborah. Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings. In the early 1900s, Alta Weiss, a young woman who knows from an early age that she loves baseball, finds a way to show that she can play, even though she is a girl.
Isadora, Rachel. Luke Goes to Bat. Luke is not very good at baseball, but his grandmother and sports star Jackie Robinson encourage him to keep trying.
Johnson, Angela. Just like Josh Gibson. A young girl’s grandmother tells her of her love for baseball and the day they let her play in the game even though she was a girl.
Kinerk, Robert. Clorinda Plays Baseball! Clorinda the cow is a talented baseball player and coach whose dream of playing in the big leagues comes true in an unexpected way.
Lies, Brian. Bats at the Ballgame. Two teams of bats play an exciting nighttime baseball game.
London, Jonathan. Froggy Plays T-ball. Froggy looks forward to playing in his first T-ball game but finds it hard to remember the rules.
London, Jonathan. When the Fireflies Come. Baseball and fireflies are summer.
Lorbiecki, Marybeth. Jackie’s Bat. Joey, the batboy for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, learns a hard lesson about respect for people of different races after Jackie Robinson joins the team.
Mammano, Julie. Rhinos Who Play Baseball. Baseball-playing rhinos crack dingers out of the park, rip grass-cutting grounders across the field, and rally in the bottom of the ninth. Includes a glossary of “catch phrases.”
McCully, Emily Arnold. Mouse Practice. Monk the little mouse learns from his parents that practice is the way to succeed–whether it is in playing baseball or in playing music.
Meshon, Aaron. Take Me Out to the Yakyu. A little boy’s grandfathers, one in America and one in Japan, teach him about baseball and its rich, varying cultural traditions.
Nevius, Carol. Baseball Hour. Follows a multicultural group of boys and girls through their teams baseball practice.
Preller, James. Mighty Casey. The Delmar Dogs baseball team is terrible, especially Casey Jenkins, but with a little bit of faith in themselves, they finally manage to win a game.
Rodriguez, Alex. Out of the Ballpark. Although Alex is nervous about his role in the approaching baseball playoffs and championship game, he soon figures out how to fix his mistakes and become a better player.
Smith, Charles R. Let’s Play Baseball! A baseball tries to talk a young boy into going outside to play by describing the throwing, catching, and hitting they can do together.
Tavares, Matt. Zachary’s Ball. Dad takes Zachary to his first Boston Red Sox game where they catch a ball and something magical happens.
Van Dusen, Chris. Randy Riley’s Really Big Hit. Randy Riley, a science genius who loves baseball but is not very good at it, needs to use both his interests to save his town from a giant fireball that is heading their way.
Weatherford, Carole Boston. Champions on the Bench: The Cannon Street YMCA All-Stars. Story based on the discrimination faced by the 1955 Cannon Street YMCA Little League All-Stars when the white teams refused to play them in the series tournament.
Welch, Willy. Playing Right Field. Although he is always chosen last and sent to play in right field, a young boy discovers the importance of that position.
Wheeler, Lisa. Dino-Baseball. Meat-eating dinosaurs face plant-eating dinosaurs in a baseball game.
Beginning Readers
Adler, David A. Get a Hit, Mo! Mo Jackson is excited for his baseball game, but Coach Marie tells him he is batting last and playing right field, again. Will Mo ever get a hit?
Adler, David A. Young Cam Jansen and the Baseball Mystery. When a baseball game is stopped because of a lost ball, Cam uses her photographic memory to find the ball.
Berenstain, Stan. The Berenstain Bears Play T-ball. When Brother and Sister Bear help teach some younger cubs how to play T-ball, they learn a lesson in patience.
Dean, James. Play Ball! Pete the Cat has a mitt, a ball, and a bat. He’s ready to play baseball! Pete’s team, the Rocks, is playing the Rolls. But when things don’t go Pete’s way, will he get upset? Cheer on Pete as he tries his best and brings his signature groovy attitude to the game of baseball.
Foster, Kelli C. Let’s Play Ball. Finding a lost baseball is the only thing standing in the way of a perfect ball-playing day.
Gantos, Jack. Three Strikes for Rotten Ralph. When Rotten Ralph, the cat, fails to win a spot on a baseball team with his friend Sarah, he becomes the “cat boy” instead, still dreaming of proving himself the superstar he imagines himself to be.
Hooks, William H. Mr. Baseball. A Little Leaguer suffers the enthusiastic activities of his baseball-loving five-year-old brother.
Kramer, Jennifer E. Good Luck, Charlie. Charlie tries to use lucky charms to win a baseball game, but all he really needs is his lucky pitching arm.
Mara, Wil. Tee Ball. Explains the basic rules of tee ball and includes tips on good sportsmanship and nutrition.
Meister, Cari. Game Day. Illustrations and simple text describe the events of a baseball game.
Murphy, Frank. Babe Ruth Saves Baseball! A lively, interactive narrative tells of Babe Ruth’s love of baseball and his desire to restore integrity to the game following the 1919 Black Sox scandal.
Nelson, Robin. Baseball is Fun! Offers a brief overview of the rules and objectives of baseball, and describes the setup of the baseball field and the equipment required to play.
Parish, Peggy. Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia. Amelia Bedelia, who knows very little about baseball, stands in for a sick player during a game.
Patrick, Jean L. S. The Girl who Struck Out Babe Ruth. A retelling of the day Jackie Mitchell, a seventeen-year-old female professional baseball player, struck out the New York Yankees best hitters, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, in an exhibition game in 1931.
Rylant, Cynthia. Mr. Putter & Tabby Drop the Ball. Mr. Putter and his cat Tabby take time off from napping to play on the Yankee Doodle Dandies baseball team.
Sharp, Paul. Paul the Pitcher. Rhymed text describes the different things Paul enjoys when he throws a ball. Includes word list.
Walker, Sally M. Jackie Robinson. Describes the life and accomplishments of baseball star Jackie Robinson, who became the first African American in twentieth-century major-league baseball.
Illustrated Literature
Abbott, Bud. Who’s on First? Abbott and Costello’s classic comedy routine, reissued for children, features a bear and a rabbit trying to determine the baseball player covering each base.
Borden, Louise. Baseball Is… The ultimate celebration of an all-American sport, this picture book captures the joy and the history of baseball – and knocks it out of the park!
Burleigh, Robert. Stealing Home: Jackie Robinson, Against the Odds. Although in 1947 Major League Baseball was only open to white players, the extraordinary talent of Jackie Robinson could not be denied and, after being given the opportunity to play, proved to everyone that he was just as capable – sometimes even more so – than the rest.
Cooper, Flyod. Willie and the All-Stars In 1934 Chicago, Willie sees a game between the Negro League All-Star team and the Major League All-Stars, and realizes that his dream of becoming a professional baseball player could come true.
Crowe, Chris. Just as Good: How Larry Doby Changed America’s Game. An African American family in Cleveland, Ohio, listens on their new radio to the first game of the 1948 World Series, in which Larry Doby, the first black player in the American League, won the game for the Cleveland Indians.
Fishman, Cathy Goldberg. When Jackie and Hank Met. Examines the similarities of two major league baseball players who met for the first time on May 17, 1947: Jackie Robinson, who had to overcome barriers because of his color, and Hank Greenberg, who faced challenges because of his religion.
Frisch, Aaron. Pirates at the Plate. Teams of pirates and cowboys, including such figures as Blackbeard and Wild Bill, inject rowdy adventure into America’s pastime in this story about baseball and the imagination of youth.
Golenbock, Peter. Teammates Describes the racial prejudice experienced by Jackie Robinson when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers and became the first black player in Major League baseball and depicts the acceptance and support he received from his white teammate Pee Wee Reese.
Hyman, Zachary. The Bambino and Me. For his birthday, George gets tickets to see his favorite team, the New York Yankees, play the Boston Red Sox, but George is horrified when his mother makes him wear the Boston Red Sox baseball jersey and cap his uncle gave him to the game.
Mackall, Dandi Daley. A Girl Named Dan. Dandi enjoys nothing more than baseball, and so after the boys at school tell her their lunchtime game is now boys only, she enters an essay contest hoping to become a bat boy for the Kansas City A’s, not realizing the contest is for boys only. Includes author’s note on Title IX.
Perdomo, Willie. Clemente! A tribute to the one of baseball’s most beloved players, Pittsburgh Pirates Roberto Clemente, shows how his skills made him the first Latin American player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and how his career was cut short.
Ripkin, Cal. The Longest Season: The Story of the Orioles’ 1988 Losing Streak. The story of how Cal Ripken and the Orioles broke their losing streak of twenty-one consecutive games in 1988.
Robinson, Sharon. Testing the Ice: A True Story about Jackie Robinson. As a testament to his courage, Jackie Robinson’s daughter shares memories of him, from his baseball career to the day he tested the ice for her, her brothers, and their friends.
Rosenstock, Barb. The Streak: How Joe DiMaggio Became America’s hero. Chronicles the story of the legendary baseball star, his favorite bat, Betsy Ann, and the longest hitting streak in baseball history, which united the country on the brink of World War II.
Tavares, Matt. Becoming Babe Ruth. Traces his mischievous childhood in Baltimore before his life-changing enrollment in Saint Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, where a strict code of conduct and his introduction to baseball inspired his historic career.
Waldman, Neil. Say-Hey and the Babe: Two Mostly True Baseball Stories. Presents two interrelated stories, based on fact, about the 1927 New York Yankees, the 1951 New York Giants, and a stickball team from the Bronx. Sidebars explain baseball terms and events of the time periods, players’ nicknames, and stickball lore.
Winter, Jonah. Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio. Chronicles the life and career of the baseball legend, from his childhood in San Francisco to his fifty-six-game hitting streak.
Wise, Bill. Silent Star: The Story of Deaf Major Leaguer William Hoy. A biography of William “Dummy” Hoy, who pursued his love of baseball and became the first deaf player to have a long career in the Major Leagues.
Yolen, Jane. All Star! Honus Wagner and the Most Famous Baseball Card Ever.
Fiction
Bauer, Joan. Soar. Moving to Hillcrest, Ohio, when his adoptive father accepts a temporary job, twelve-year-old Jeremiah, a heart transplant recipient, has sixty days to find a baseball team to coach. 296 pages. (J FIC Bau)
Bildner, Phil. A High Five For Glenn Burke. After researching Glenn Burke, the first major league baseball player to come out as gay, sixth-grader Silas Wade slowly comes out to his best friend Zoey, then his coach, with unexpected consequences. 288 pages. (J FIC Bil)
Christopher, Matt. Little League Baseball (series) Eleven-year-old cousins who are closer than most brothers, catcher Liam McCarthy and pitcher Carter Jones grew up playing baseball together. Now, their team is on the verge of winning the greatest championship of all: the Little League Baseball World Series. (J FIC Chr)
Green, Tim. Baseball Great. (series) The series follows Josh, a Little League baseball player with his team, the Titans. (J FIC Gre)
Gutman, Dan. Baseball Card Adventures (series) Joe Stoshack can travel through time when he touches old baseball cards. When he holds a baseball card, he is transported to the year that card was made and somewhere near the ballplayer on the card. He tries to use this power wisely, and he attempts to change history several times, but it is always something different from his original goal. (J FIC Gut)
Howard, Ryan. Little Rhino (series) When Little Rhino’s grandfather signs him up for a baseball league, he must quickly learn to be a good teammate, especially when there is a bully also on his team. (J FIC How)
Hurwitz, Johanna. Baseball Fever. Ten-year-old Ezra, who is suffering from an advanced case of baseball fever, must convince his scholarly father that this disorder is not responsible for wasting his mind away. 128 pages. (JPB Hur)
Jeter, Derek. The Contract. In Kalamazoo, Michigan, eight-year-old Derek Jeter, who dreams of playing for the New York Yankees, learns what it takes to be a champion on and off the field. 150 pages. (J FIC Jet)
Kapit, Sarah. Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! In this perfectly pitched novel-in-letters, autistic eleven-year-old Vivy Cohen won’t let anything stop her from playing baseball–not when she has a major-league star as her pen pal. 200 pages. (J FICTION Kap)
Kelly, David A. Ballpark Mysteries (series) Cousins Kate and Mike solve mysteries at different American ballparks. (J FIC Kel)
Lupica, Mike. Heat. Pitching prodigy Michael Arroyo is on the run from social services after being banned from playing Little League baseball because rival coaches doubt he is only twelve years old and he has no parents to offer them proof. 220 pages. (J FIC Lup)
Lupica, Mike. The Batboy. Even though his mother feels baseball ruined her marriage to his father, she allows fourteen-year-old Brian to become a bat boy for the Detroit Tigers, who have just drafted his favorite player back onto the team. 247 pages. Level U. (J FIC Lup)
Lupica, Mike. The Big Field. When fourteen-year-old baseball player Hutch feels threatened by the arrival of a new teammate named Darryl, he tries to work through his insecurities about both Darryl and his remote and silent father, who was once a great ballplayer too. 243 pages. Level U. (J FIC Lup)
Lupica, Mike. The Only Game. Sixth grade is supposed to be the year that Jack Callahan would lead his team to a record-shattering season and the Little League World Series, but after the death of his brother he loses interest in baseball and only Cassie, star of the girls’ softball team, seems to understand. 310 pages (J FIC Lup)
Ritter, John H. The Boy Who Saved Baseball. The fate of a small California town rests on the outcome of one baseball game, and Tom Gallagher hopes to lead his team to victory with the secrets of the now disgraced player, Dante Del Gato. 216 pages. Level U. (J FIC Rit)
Ritter, John H. The Desperado Who Stole Baseball. In 1881, the scrappy, rough-and-tumble baseball team in a California mining town enlists the help of a quick-witted twelve-year-old orphan and the notorious outlaw Billy the Kid to win a big game against the National League Champion Chicago White Stockings. Prequel to: The boy who saved baseball. 260 pages (J FIC Rit)
Robinson, Sharon. The Hero Two Doors Down: Based on the True Story of Friendship Between a Boy and a Baseball Legend. Eight-year-old Steve Satlow is thrilled when Jackie Robinson moves into his Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn in 1948, although many of his neighbors are not, and when Steve actually meets his hero he is even more excited–and worried that a misunderstanding over a Christmas tree could damage his new friendship. 202 pages (J FIC Rob)
Non-Fiction
Jorgensen J 641.5973 Jor Ballpark cookbook : the American League, recipes inspired by baseball stadium foods
Jorgensen J 641.5973 Jor Ballpark cookbook : the National League, recipes inspired by baseball stadium foods
Schulz J 741.5 Sch Sandlot Peanuts
Rosenberg J 793.735 Ros Baseball Jokes
Thayer J 811.52 Tha Thayer’s Casey at the Bat
Fehler J 811.54 Feh Change-up: Baseball Poems
Florian J 811.54 Flo Poem Runs: Baseball Poems and Paintings
Additional books about baseball and baseball teams can be found in the J 796.357 section.
Our biography section has a selection of baseball biographies at J 796.357.