Shoeless
Joe & Black Betsy by Phil Bildner
Book Cover Image:
Book Summary:
Shoeless
Joe & Black Betsy by Phil Bildner is a historical
fiction picture book that documents Shoeless Joe Jackson’s less than smooth
rise from the minors to major league baseball.
The story begins with Joe entering a hitting slump just as he starts in
the minors. He decides that the cure to
his problems is a new bat handcrafted by Charlie Ferguson, a famous southern
bat smith. Ol’ Charlie produces a beauty
of a bat, which Joe christens Betsy.
When the bat fails to break Joe’s slump, he’s back at Charlie’s with a
special request- stain Betsy’s wood black with tobacco juice so that she looks
mean and tough. With Black Betsy in hand,
Joe breaks minor league records and breaks into the majors. Each time Joe advances to the majors, though,
his batting problems return, so he goes back to Charlie Ferguson for
advice. Ol’ Charlie lectures Joe on the
correct way to care for Betsy which includes: allowing Betsy to rest in his bed
each night, giving the bat a daily oil massage, and wrapping her in a cotton
cloth. Carefully following Ol’ Charlie’s
advice, Shoeless Joe is eventually a major name in professional baseball.
APA
Reference of Book:
Bildner, P. (2002). Shoeless Joe
& Black Betsy. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Impressions:
Shoeless Joe Jackson is a
legendary baseball player, so it seems fitting that author Phil Bildner has
woven together a legend-like story about Shoeless Joe and his famous partner,
Black Betsy. Like in most legends, it
takes a few tries to successfully solve Joe’s batting problem. Each time Joe returns to Ol’ Charlie
Ferguson, he receives an additional piece of expert advice on how to care for
Black Betsy. Once things start going Joe’s way in the majors, they’ve presumably hit upon the perfect combination of
superstitious behavior. Ol’ Charlie’s
southern drawl and repeated statements give the book a lyrical quality, almost
like poetry, which will enhance the appeal for some readers and annoy
others. It was interesting to find out
that Joe Jackson was not immediately successful in the majors, and that’s an
important lesson that kids can take away from the story.
School Library Journal
“From the intriguing title to the informative
afterword, this picture book will capture the attention of young baseball fans.
Told in a folksy, Southern voice, with many of the stylistic elements of a tall
tale, it follows Joseph Jefferson Jackson's early-20th-century path between the
minor and major leagues. A series of slumps takes him to the door of bat smith
Ol' Charlie, who dispenses homespun advice along with his products. The
repetition and wry humor of the exchanges between the two superstitious
characters pull the legend out of the story. Payne's frequent use of
foreshortening highlights the role of Black Betsy (the bat); it also heightens
the visual eccentricities of the two friends. The mixed-media illustrations are
layered and rich in texture, qualities that add depth and drama. Bildner's bias
in favor of his subject is evident in the afterword describing the allegations
against Joe and his teammates (a scandal that ended their careers). A page of
the hitter's major league and World Series statistics concludes the book. This
title is in the same league as David A. Adler's fine Lou Gehrig (1997) and
Peter Golenbock's important Teammates (1990, both Harcourt).”
Jones,
T. E. (2002,
April). [Review of the book Shoeless Joe & Black Bets, by P. Bildner]. School Library Journal, (48)4, 100. Retrieved from
http://www.slj.com/
Library
Uses:
Elementary School Library
A possible
art project to go along with Shoeless Joe
& Black Betsy would be to have students design their own special bat.
Each student would receive a bat template printed on cardstock. Students would
color the bat so that it would look “mean and big and tough” and “frighten
pitchers”. When complete, students can assign their bats a name and
display them on a bulletin board alongside a picture of Black Betsy.
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