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Casey at the Bat: A Centennial Edition

Name: Casey at the Bat: A Centennial Edition
Author: Ernest Lawrence Thayer
ISBN: 9780879238780

by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, Barry Moser (Illustrator), Donald Hall

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Overview

Best loved minor classic newly equipped with zany, startling illustrations by Hull. 57 illustrations.

The popular narrative poem about a celebrated baseball player who strikes out at the crucial moment of a game, with additional text placing it in the context of Little League.

Synopsis

Best loved minor classic newly equipped with zany, startling illustrations by Hull. 57 illustrations.

Publishers Weekly

Debut children's book illustrator Bing hits a home run with this handsome faux-scrapbook treatment of Thayer's immortal poem. The original verses about baseball star Casey and the ill-fated Mudville nine appeared in the San Francisco Examiner on June 3, 1888, and Bing captures the spirit of the age with pen-and-ink illustrations that look like carefully preserved newspaper clippings, complete with slightly torn and yellowed edges. He uses cross-hatching and careful shading to create the pages of The Mudville Sunday Monitor, which keenly resemble the newspaper engravings of the day. Columns of type (in historically accurate printers' fonts, as an afterword points out) run beneath each illustration to bolster the conceit. Bing also scatters other "scrapbook" items throughout, from game tickets (a bargain at 20 cents) to old-fashioned baseball cards and stereopticon images--many of them carefully keyed to the text. Full-color currency, for instance, accompanies "They thought if only Casey could but get a whack at that--/ We'd put up even money now with Casey at the bat," while an ad for Brown's Bronchial Troches appears with the couplet "Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;/ It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell." Endpapers reveal more items to delight baseball fans and history buffs, from Thayer's newspaper obituary to a fake bookplate wreathed with baseball motifs. Though Casey and the Mudville nine strike out in the end, this exceptionally clever picture book is definitely a winner. All ages. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

About the Author, Ernest Lawrence Thayer

Ernest L. Thayer was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1863. He grew up in nearby Worcester, attended Harvard College, and afterward, worked at the San Francisco Daily Examiner. While there, he wrote news stories, editorials, and ballads as well as a humorous column that he signed with the nickname "Phin."

Thayer returned to the East Coast in 1888. Shortly after his return he wrote Casey at the Bat and sent it to the Examiner where on June 3, 1888, it was printed on the editorial page and signed "Phin." After years of being performed on stage and radio, the ballad became immortalized, and is now known and loved by generations of baseball fans around the world.

C.F. Payne is best known for his editorial and advertising pieces and as the illustrator of The Remarkable Farkle McBride by John Lithgow. His illustrations appear regularly in the New York Times Book Review, the Atlantic Monthly, and Time. He has created five stamps for the U.S. Postal Service and has illustrated the Molly books in the American Girls series. He also painted a 100-foot-long mural for a Cincinnati theater. C.F. Payne lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Penned in 1888, Thayer's classic ballad is still as fresh as a rookie pitcher; it has earned its place in the Read-Aloud Hall of Fame. Though the style is slightly formal and young audiences may not catch every word ("upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat"), no one will miss the gist of the tale. With a few brief strokes of his brush, Fitzgerald captures an era-a hat of a certain style, a pair of glasses, the cut of a suit-and his light-dappled acrylics seem aged by a fine patina. He manipulates perspective to wonderful advantage, bringing a sense of movement to the pages: readers are now in the stands, now at third base, now behind the catcher as the mighty Casey prepares to swing at the ball. A home-run effort. Ages 6-10. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day"-but it certainly is for this robustly entertaining picture book, as Payne (Micawber) takes a swing at Thayer's beloved poem and knocks it out of the park. The tale of infield pomp and ignominy seems made-to-measure for Payne's statuesque characters, with their outsize noses and ears and florid faces. Standing head and broad shoulders above them all is the "mighty" (if overconfident) Casey; with his impressive porkchop sideburns and handlebar moustache, he looks every inch the Victorian gentleman-athlete. Payne injects a number of droll touches: a small inset of a gravestone enscribed "R.I.P. Cooney" accompanies the phrase "when Cooney died at first," for instance, while "defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip" occasions a batter's-eye view of a skinny and clearly terrified pitcher. For an ingenious take on Casey's approach to his at-bat ("Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;/ It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell"), Payne shows a spread of Mudville, and a farmer and his son listening to the uproar from where they are working on the mountainside. Entirely different in approach from Christopher Bing's starmaking turn with the same material, Payne's equally enjoyable outing is just the ticket for a front-row seat at literature's most famous ballgame. An afterword explains the poem's origin and history. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature

"But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out." This ominous phrase has been part of America's favorite pastime, baseball, since its publication in 1888. It has come not only to symbolize the agony of defeat, but also the fall of any sport team's Goliath. The poem itself is a wonderfully suspenseful account of the bottom half of the final inning in an "all but over" game. Descriptions of this moment are so descriptive that actual jeers and cheers from the fans are heard by the reader. As players strike out and others gain position, one feels the passion of the moment and the belief in a miracle. This miracle is no other than mighty Casey. One cannot help holding his breath as poetic phrases detail the pitches to Casey. The conclusion is history. The illustrations accompanying this classic masterfully capture all the emotion and action of the words. The details are superb, from the cleats kicking up dirt to the smack of a baseball hitting a catcher's glove. The one close-up of Casey, steaming with determination, is magical enough for a reader's life-long understanding of shear will and grit. Whether a baseball fan or not, readers of any age will treasure this book. 2003, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers,
— Andrea Sears Andrews

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

The familiar poem is given a fresh look with Polacco's amusing artwork. It opens with a little girl reminding her brother that the big game will soon start and that he better get moving. Casey is filled with confidence and even though he arrives late and the ensuing game appears in jeopardy, he believes he can save the day. Polacco adds a real twist to the ending that will surely delight Little League and big league fans. 1997 (orig.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-Thayer's famous poem, presented here in picture-book format, is still fresh and still filled with excitement and suspense. Fitzgerald's colorful, double-spread acrylic illustrations pit the greens and yellows of the field against the bright blue sky. The scenes are softened and blurred by the brushwork, which, along with the players' loose-fitting striped uniforms, infuses the book with the atmosphere of an old-fashioned, hometown game. Casey swaggers through the verses, a Babe Ruth-like figure in command of the crowd until the last terrible moment when he swings and misses. In his illustrations for Jack Norworth's multilayered Take Me Out to the Ballgame (Four Winds, 1992), Alex Gillman uses interesting facts from the history of the sport to add meaning to the poem. This new offering simply illustrates an old bit of popular culture, but it captures the thrill of the game, and baseball fans will enjoy it. It's pure entertainment.-Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ

School Library Journal

K-Gr 5-A striking edition of the classic poem. Caricatures imbued with personality and detail revitalize the work for a new generation of children. Notes on the poet and the poem complete the package. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Of the making of Caseys there seems no end, but here the illustrator of John Lithgow's Remarkable Farkle McBride (2000) delivers the chestnut with such broad, satirical panache that only the dourest of spoilsports will be able to resist going along for the ride. From the rows of bowler-topped gents in the stands to the well-groomed hairs in Casey's handlebar, every detail is both larger than life, and painted with crystal clarity. A mighty figure indeed, Casey strides to the plate with lordly assurance, casually takes two strikes, then gears up for the next pitch; Payne zeroes in on Casey's suddenly-choleric face-steam blasting from his ears-then pulls back to depict a whiff so prodigious that the batter's whole body disappears into a swirling blur. But a whiff it is, and a view of a deserted, muddy street captures the forlorn tone of the final verse. Finished off with a detailed account of the poem's history, this may not supercede Christopher Bing's Caldecott Honor-winning rendition (2000) for period flavor, but it does capture the episode's epic scale and perfectly tuned melodrama. (Picture book/poetry. 7-10)