Book Description
for Becoming Babe Ruth by Matt Tavares
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Before Babe Ruth was a hard-hitting, hard-partying baseball player, he was a kid named George getting in trouble on the streets of Baltimore. In 1902, his frustrated parents sent him to Saint Mary's Industrial School for Boys, where he became one the "inmates." A lot about Saint Mary's was harsh, but there was also baseball and Brother Matthias, who spent hours teaching young George how to improve his game. Because of his youth, George was given the nickname Babe in his early days in the Major Leagues. He went on to become a huge celebrity but he never forgot Saint Mary's as Matt Tavares reveals in this surprisingly warm story about a not-quite-larger-than-life figure who had a soft spot for his old school and teacher and helped them through one particularly challenging time. (Ages 6-9)
CCBC Choices 2014. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2014. Used with permission.