Schwartz: 2 Baseball Books To Help Kids Get Pumped For Opening Day
By Peter Schwartz
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It may have snowed on the first day of spring, but the sounds of bats and balls are right around the corner. And that is enough to warm the hearts of baseball fans everywhere.
Especially young fans who might also be getting ready for little league but are also getting the taste of their favorite major league teams by watching spring training games.
For local fans, there are two children's books available that will have their children even more pumped up for Opening Day. One is specific to the Mets, but even Yankees fans should get a kick out of it. The other is actually a book that appeals to fans of all 30 teams.
'WE'LL CALL YOU MR. MET'
"We'll Call You Mr. Met," by John T. Williams tells young Mets fans about to the backstory to their favorite mascot. The story goes through the origins of Mr. Met through the words of a "grandfather" type character who is the original Mr. Met.
It's a story that Williams used to tell his older son at night when he was younger, and that triggered the idea for the book.
"I would tell him a story that I made up, which was partially based on the official Mets and Mr. Met history, which is really only a paragraph on the website," said Williams. "One day I said to myself that this is something that seems to resonate with him for whatever reason, so we looked into it."
The book starts with the days of the Polo Grounds and goes into the story of National League baseball in New York. It details how Mr. Met came about and what the Mets have done in their franchise history and ends with a Mr. Met family get-together at Citi Field.
From the days of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants through the history of the Mets, kids will get a unique perspective of baseball in the Big Apple.
"What we decided to do was fill in the 10 years before Mr. Met was around and then fill in from when he started to where we are now," said Williams. "We sort of trace through the story of how (the Dodgers and Giants) left and what they left behind and that there was a big void that the Mets needed to fill."
The book came out just in time for the Mets' run to the World Series this past October. But over the years and regardless of how good the Mets were, the kids have always loved Mr. Met. There's just something about him that resonates with children.
"He's got a big round head, which is very silly when kids look at him," said Williams. "He appeals because he's smiling and he's happy."
You can get more information by visiting the book's website.
'TROLLEY DODGERS, PINSTRIPED YANKEES, AND WEARING RED SOX'
"Trolley Dodgers, Pinstriped Yankees, and Wearing Red Sox" by Jon Lindenblatt is a must-read for all young baseball fans as it goes through how each Major League team got its nickname. The inside of the front cover has spaces for a child to fill in his or her name and favorite team.
From there, it's a team by team journey through baseball history with fun facts about each club.
"The book celebrates baseball by building upon the idea that kids can learn a lot from the names of teams," said Lindenblatt. "Each team has its own dedicated page that includes the history of their name, reasons for their name, illustration of their mascot and other fun facts."
Lindenblatt's writing along with the illustrations of artist Brian Kong combine to show children the energy, personalities and excitement of all of the clubs including the Yankees and Mets.
For example, the book will tell young fans not only how the Yankees' name was derived, but will also detail interesting facts about the team's retired numbers and stadium history. From a Mets perspective, children will learn about the home run apple, the only no-hitter in team history and the team colors.
The book was a labor of love for Lindenblatt, whose cousin asked him a few years ago to help teach her then-7-year-old son about baseball.
"I'm known in my family as a huge baseball fan," said Lindenblatt. "I went searching for a book that would help me explain the history of each team and other facts that first piqued my interest in baseball."
What he found was that while the information was available, it wasn't in a format that would properly introduce kids to all of the off-the-field facts about baseball.
For more information on the book, click here.
"We'll Call You Mr. Met" and "Trolley Dodgers, Pinstriped Yankees and Wearing Red Sox" are published by Mascot Books.
Don't forget to follow Pete on Twitter @pschwartzcbsfan. You can also follow @JohnTWilliams, @MrMetBook and @mascotbooks.
