Many believe baseball great Willie Mays to be the best player that ever lived. He hit 660 home runs (fourth best of all time), had a lifetime batting average of .302, and is second only to Babe Ruth on The Sporting News's list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players."

In Jonah Winter and Terry Widener's fascinating picture book biography, young readers can follow Mays's unparalleled career from growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, to playing awe-inspiring ball in the Negro Leagues and then the Majors, where he was center fielder for the New York (later San Francisco) Giants. Complete with sidebars filled with stats, here is a book for all baseball lovers, young and old.

"The Say Hey Kid had style to spare, and so does this irrepressible book." —Booklist, Starred

Jonah Winter is the award-winning author of more than forty nonfiction picture books that promote environmental awareness and social and racial justice. Among them are Here Comes the Garbage Barge!; Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequality; My Name is James Madison Hemings; Barack; The Founding Fathers!; and Lillian’s Right to Vote, a Jane Addams Children’s Book Award recipient and Kirkus Prize finalist. View titles by Jonah Winter
Terry Widener was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He got his college degree from the University of Tulsa, and after school became a graphic designer. A few years into his career, Terry left the field and dedicated himself to becoming a full-time illustrator. Books that Terry has worked on are The Babe and I, Tambourine Moon, America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle, Peg and the Whale, and Shoe Magic.  View titles by Terry Widener
  • SELECTION | 2014
    Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Children's Book of the Year
  • SELECTION | 2014
    IRA Teachers' Choices
  • SELECTION | 2014
    NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies
  • SELECTION | 2014
    New York Times Editors' Choice
  • AWARD | 2014
    Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
“Winter’s heartfelt, accessible text is infused with immediacy and enthusiasm…. Magnificent biography.”  —The New York Times Book Review

Starred Review, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February 2013:
“Even adults who are indifferent to baseball will likely be so drawn into Mays’ story and Winter’s rousing text that they’ll want to gather up a crowd just to read this one aloud.”

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, December 3, 2012:
“A must-have for baseball fans.”

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2012:
“An all-star gem to share with grandparents, parents, children, baseball fans and anyone else.”

Starred Review, Booklist, September 1, 2012:
“The Say Hey Kid had style to spare, and so does this irrepressible book.”

About

Many believe baseball great Willie Mays to be the best player that ever lived. He hit 660 home runs (fourth best of all time), had a lifetime batting average of .302, and is second only to Babe Ruth on The Sporting News's list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players."

In Jonah Winter and Terry Widener's fascinating picture book biography, young readers can follow Mays's unparalleled career from growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, to playing awe-inspiring ball in the Negro Leagues and then the Majors, where he was center fielder for the New York (later San Francisco) Giants. Complete with sidebars filled with stats, here is a book for all baseball lovers, young and old.

"The Say Hey Kid had style to spare, and so does this irrepressible book." —Booklist, Starred

Author

Jonah Winter is the award-winning author of more than forty nonfiction picture books that promote environmental awareness and social and racial justice. Among them are Here Comes the Garbage Barge!; Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequality; My Name is James Madison Hemings; Barack; The Founding Fathers!; and Lillian’s Right to Vote, a Jane Addams Children’s Book Award recipient and Kirkus Prize finalist. View titles by Jonah Winter
Terry Widener was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He got his college degree from the University of Tulsa, and after school became a graphic designer. A few years into his career, Terry left the field and dedicated himself to becoming a full-time illustrator. Books that Terry has worked on are The Babe and I, Tambourine Moon, America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle, Peg and the Whale, and Shoe Magic.  View titles by Terry Widener

Awards

  • SELECTION | 2014
    Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Children's Book of the Year
  • SELECTION | 2014
    IRA Teachers' Choices
  • SELECTION | 2014
    NCSS-CBC Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies
  • SELECTION | 2014
    New York Times Editors' Choice
  • AWARD | 2014
    Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year

Praise

“Winter’s heartfelt, accessible text is infused with immediacy and enthusiasm…. Magnificent biography.”  —The New York Times Book Review

Starred Review, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February 2013:
“Even adults who are indifferent to baseball will likely be so drawn into Mays’ story and Winter’s rousing text that they’ll want to gather up a crowd just to read this one aloud.”

Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, December 3, 2012:
“A must-have for baseball fans.”

Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2012:
“An all-star gem to share with grandparents, parents, children, baseball fans and anyone else.”

Starred Review, Booklist, September 1, 2012:
“The Say Hey Kid had style to spare, and so does this irrepressible book.”

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