Smarty Marty’s Got Game
by Amy Gutierrrez, Illustrated by Adam McCauley, published 2013
“Marty got her love of baseball from her Great Grandma Martha (Gigi), who loved baseball more than anything. Gigi followed the game faithfully and even kept her own scorebook. She taught Marty everything she knew.”
Sometimes a children’s book is not about the literary value, the illustrations, or even the message. It’s about heart. And this children’s book is all heart. It definitely would not have fallen into my usual collection of books, if it weren’t for the fact that my brother urged me to read it. The author lives locally in the city where I teach and is well-known in her role as the San Francisco Giants in-game reporter.
I checked the book out of the library, and was hooked the moment I read that a portion of the book proceeds supports bringing baseball to underserved populations. Then I dived into the book. Immediately, I was right there in the stands, cheering for a favorite team (I don’t really have one), tracking the performance of the players, and learning about the game (who knew that the batting order had some meaning?)
In short, this children’s book has a very unique and simple purpose: explain the game of baseball in a way that might excite any youngster, boy or girl, to find out more, and maybe even want to play.
If this children’s book gets at least one more child off of a computer and out on the field, it is worth it’s weight in gold. Thanks, Amy, for the contribution.
