Nonfiction Monday: My first book of baseball by Beth Bugler and Mark Bechtel, illustrated by Bill Hinds

Sports are really not my thing. I have a general idea how football, basketball, and soccer work - you're trying to get the ball into a goal. Simple. Baseball....I have never figured out how baseball works. It's so complicated!

However, most people who are not me like sports and it's difficult to find good factual, nonfiction sports books for young listeners and readers. I have gotten really good circulation out of the first book in this series, My First Book of Football, and was excited to see a baseball title.

Caricatures and sports figures with humorous notes fill the book, explaining the basics of the game, scoring, and players. The book is divided up into innings and carefully walks the reader through the movements of each play. Players from a variety of teams are pictured participating in the game. Terms like "bullpen", "strike zone", etc. are illustrated and defined through context. The page backgrounds are brightly covered in bold, primary colors.

Verdict: This is a must-have series for your young sports fans and, while I confess to still not seeing the point of baseball (so many rules! so complicated!) and wanting to see more girls/women represented, it's a nice starting point for anyone, child or adult, who wants to understand the basics of the game.

ISBN: 9781618931672; Published 2016 by Sports Illustrated Kids; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to library