Joe Morse illustrates Play Ball, Jackie!

Mysterious boxes on my doorstep this time of year is a good thing and this week was no exception. Samples of Play Ball, Jackie! written by Stephen Krensky and illustrated by our Joe Morse made a powerful impression the minute I opened the box. Published by Millbrook Press, a division of Lerner publishing in Minneapolis, Play Ball, Jackie! is an explosion of history and emotion. The book came about with a call from Zach Marell, Lerner's creative director, who had seen Joe’s rendition of the poetic classic Casey at the Bat (Ernest L. Thayer/KCP Poetry). Zach had a vision for another great baseball legend, Jackie Robinson. The collaboration between Carol Hinz, the editorial director, Zach and Joe was one of mutual respect and creative flexibility.

Zach Marell says this about discovering Joe's work: His worked reminded of a Nike commercial I saw on TV that used similar art that was animated...it could have been his work, I'm not sure. Either way the emotional energy that the work evoked was strong. I soon came across Joe's work and it immediately brought me back to that strong energetic spirit...I then saw the Casey at The Bat ...I was hooked.

Joe says about the project: "I spent months researching Jackie, Ebbets Field, the Dodgers and the 1940's. It was an incredible time period of change that was mirrored in baseball. The challenge that the story presented was to tell the story of the game inside Ebbets Field and also the events outside the game that made each swing of the bat of the lone black man so important. I wanted to take the reader onto the field and into the stands, I read numerous accounts of the great atmosphere inside Ebbets and I created characters that I hoped conjured some of this passion and devotion.
I feel lucky and humbled that I was given the opportunity to make pictures about Jackie Robinson, on the day in April 1947 that changed everything. I'm so happy that my own children can revisit this time through the book and Jackie's story."

For more information on Lerner Book's website go here http://bit.ly/elTJgm

The following review will appear in the January 1 issue of Kirkus:

PLAY BALL, JACKIE!
Author: Krensky, Stephen
Illustrator: Morse, Joe

Review Date: January 1, 2011
Publisher: Millbrook
Pages: 32
Price ( Hardcover ): $16.95
Publication Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN ( Hardcover ): 978-0-8225-9030-9
Category: Picture Books
Classification: Baseball

Matty and his father, avid Dodgers fans, are in the stands for the first game of the 1947 baseball season. It is also the first time in the modern era that a black player is part of a major league team—Jackie Robinson's debut. There are many black fans there to support him, as well as many white fans who resent his presence. Matty and his dad are of the opinion that everyone deserves a chance and are optimistic that Jackie will be the one to get their team to the World Series. Krensky creates a multilayered recounting of a seminal moment in the history of baseball and America. He incorporates background information while carefully and accurately describing the play-by-play details of that first game, and he also manages to capture the mood of the crowd—and, by extension, the nation. Morse’s muscular, out-of-proportion illustrations focus readers' attention on facial and body language, emphasizing the strong emotions alluded to in the text. A worthy homage to a baseball legend. (author's note, photos, bibliography) (Picture book. 7-10)



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