Baseball Bob (by William Joyce)

The Lazardo family has an unusual friend, a baseball-playing dinosaur named Bob. When a local baseball team sees Dinosaur Bob playing, they ask him to join their team. Bob agrees and brings the team to victory.

The Lazardo family starts to dance the Hokey Pokey, and the whole town joins in the celebration. They end their day singing their praises to Bob.

Author/illustrator William Joyce creates an effective air of mystery reminiscent of Chris Van Allsburg in the board-book adaptation of an episode from Dinosaur Bob and His Adventures With the Family Lazardo.

Readers are drawn into the story and accept that a dinosaur has human friends and plays baseball. Joyce effectively mixes an old-fashioned American scene with elements of the exotic: The Lazardo family's turbaned servant appears on the pages and feels right at home on a baseball field.