Mark McGwire

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-Two stars who will be forever linked in the annals of baseball history due to their exhilarating assault on Babe Ruth's long-standing home-run record are featured in these slim volumes. Children will get a cursory look at their early experiences in baseball, and a glance at their minor and major league careers, with special emphasis on their record-setting 1998 seasons. Though brief and basic, the information is accurate. While a number of quotes from the subjects' families, coaches, teammates, and contemporaries are included, documentation is reduced to a list of newspaper, magazine, and wire-service sources that appear on the title pages. Color photographs are found throughout both books, some graphically enhanced with flashy borders and backgrounds for added pizzazz. Appendixes comprise nearly a quarter of each book and include profiles of the players, honors they've received, and statistics. These highly visual titles are serviceable introductions for young and reluctant readers.-Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.