Common Sense Media Review
By Tracy Moore
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Exciting, feel-good baseball tale with a batty twist.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
The ups and downs of the classic American pastime of baseball get a fresh twist in a story about bats who play the game at night after the humans have gone home. They add a history, approach, and fun all their own.
Is It Any Good?
BATS AT THE BALLGAME gives baseball a nocturnal injection of fun when told through an unconventional perspective. "Mothdogs" and "Cricket Jack" instead of hot dogs and Cracker Jack are good for a giggle, and the vivid, old-timey acrylic illustrations and rhyming prose here evoke the sport's long history as an American favorite but reintroduce it with a silliness and imaginative flair that will make it seem fresh for young readers and budding fans of the sport.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about team sports. What's your favorite sport to watch? What's your favorite to play? Why?
What do the bats do differently from humans when they play baseball? Do they make it seem like more fun?
What would it be like if bats played other sports, such as football or soccer?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Brian Lies
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Adventures , Animals ( Wild Animals ) , Fantasy ( Magic )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : HMH Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : September 6, 2010
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 32
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Audiobook (abridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : December 3, 2025
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