Let's Play Ball: Legends and Lessons from America's Favorite Pastime

This would be a great gift book for children to read. There are plenty of nostalgic photographs of young boys from a much earlier time period, along with articles dealing with the death of Mickey Mantle in addition to more recent heroes such as Cal Ripken. The book also contains listings of favorite baseball books, earlier stadiums, baseball movies, and interesting quotations dealing with the game. I wouldn't call the book a classic by any means, but as a book for children to cultivate their interest in the game's history I would highly recommend this book.

This is the perfect book for a baseball-loving grandparent or parent to read to his/her baseball-loving grandchild. Mr. Janssen shares his baseball memories from his boyhood--listening to broadcasts of Yankees games on the radio from start to finish--to adulthood and fatherhood--recounting details of minor league games he attended with his sons, big homeruns in the majors, and memorable rain outs. And it all matters. His subject is baseball. But what's at work beneath it all is that the reason it matters is because of the way it connects us--how it turns men and women back into boys and girls. As Janssen says, "this magnificent sport has handed down to fathers and sons a priceless ritual that gives order to their world." Let's Play Ball celebrates that to the fullest.

As baseball season opens and Father's Day draws near, you might want to give serious consideration to getting your dad or favorite baseball fan this little book. It takes readers on a sentimental journey of how special the sport is to the author. You share his enchantment reliving great moments in sports history and the enjoyment of introducing his children to a beloved passtime. Trivia and suggestions to enhance one's enjoyment are given throughout, and drawings worthy of Thomas Kinkade or Sandra Kluck bring the book to vivid life.