The Legend of the Curse of the Bambino - Hardcover

Shaughnessy, Dan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689872356 ISBN 13: 9780689872358

Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 2005

Synopsis

Some believe that the ghost of Babe Ruth -- the most famous baseball player who ever lived -- is still watching over the game today. What would you say?
It all started on January 5, 1920, a fateful day in baseball history, when the Boston Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for a mere pile of cash. That's when, some say, the Red Sox's reversal of fortune began. Before Ruth was traded, the Red Sox had been the best team in baseball, winning five of fifteen World Series. Since then, the Yankees have had twenty-six World Series to their credit. The Red Sox have come painstakingly close over those decades, but not close enough. Could it be that Babe Ruth took revenge on the team that traded him so long ago -- making the Red Sox wait a torturous eighty-six years before they would win another World Series?
Baseball legend? Fate? Coincidence? Here's the story of the Curse of the Bambino -- the greatest baseball legend ever told.

About this title

About the Author:

Dan Shaughnessy is a sports columnist and associate editor for the Boston Globe, as well as the author of the adult books At Fenway and The Curse of the Bambino. When not writing, Mr. Shaughnessy can often be found at a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. He lives with his family in Boston.

C. F. Payne has illustrated more than a dozen picture books, including the New York Times bestselling Mousetronaut by astronaut Mark Kelly, the Texas Bluebonnet winner Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy, written by Phil Bildner, and the New York Times bestsellers The Remarkable Farkle McBride and Micawber, both by John Lithgow. He teaches at the Columbus College of Design, where he is the chair of the Illustration Department. Payne lives with his wife and children in Cincinnati, Ohio. Visit him online at CFPayne.com.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 3-7–A humorous look at the struggles of the Boston Red Sox. As a young fan and her father enter Fenway Park on opening day, Dad describes the career of Babe Ruth, "the greatest ballplayer who ever lived," and relates how Ruth led the Red Sox to three World Series wins in 1915, 1916, and 1918. He explains that after Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees in 1920, "it seemed that all of Boston's good luck went to New York with the great Bambino." As Dad details instances of the team's bad luck, Payne visualizes a genial, mischievous Ruth impeding fielders and blowing on pop-ups to turn them into unexpected home runs. Ruth is a cartoonish figure, his oversize torso somehow balanced atop spindly, undersized calves. The Red Sox finally won the World Series in 2004, besting their old rivals and playing their final game under a full moon caused by a lunar eclipse. In a nice touch, Payne depicts Ruth as a benevolent man-in-the-moon beaming down upon the ballpark. The framing story is slight and predictable, but baseball fans will enjoy this book for its lively and fun-filled look at Babe Ruth and the long-suffering, but ultimately triumphant, Red Sox.–Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA
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About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0689872356
• ISBN 13: 9780689872358
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Payne C. F.