Baseball in the Barrios

by Henry Horenstein

Join nine-year-old Hubaldo Romero Páez in Venezuela as he introduces his friends, his family, and his favorite sport--baseball. Complemented by a map and an English-Spanish baseball glossary, Hubaldo’s story is an inviting introduction to a foreign land viewed through the lens of a shared passion. “This dynamic sports photo-essay will be fun for sports fans and effective for social studies units.”--Booklist

Genres: Childrens

36 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1997

About the author

Henry Horenstein (b. 1947, Boston) is an American artist photographer. Henry Horenstein has worked as a photographer, teacher and author since the early 1970s. He is the author of over 30 books, including a series of photographic textbooks that have been used by hundreds of thousands of students over the past 30 years. In 2003, Chronicle Books published Honky Tonk, Horenstein's documentary survey of country music during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Honk Tonk was also presented as an exhibition by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in 2006. His work has been collected by many institutions including the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C.; the George Eastman House, Rochester, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Library of Congress; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia. Henry Horenstein current lives in Boston and teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Reviews

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This mostly English language bilingual children's book is about a boy from Venezuela and his relationship with the all-American sport of baseball. It's a fairly easy reader with longer texts than most children's picture books which introduces readers to terms like paredita (a game played by children to win each other's card), caimanera (an impromptu/pick-up game), chapitas (an informal game played by pitching bottle caps to a batter) & 40Bs (the term for the rubber balls often used to play baseball in Venezuela, known by their cost in the national currency, bolivares).

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells a good story about loving baseball from a young poor Venezuelan boy's perspective. For an example of a personal narrative it is pretty involved and involves more than a small moment. (if you're teaching that)

If you have a young person who loves baseball and has a passion for it, then this book is for you. The photos seem pretty recent and children can relate. It has spanish words that are explained and it helps the reader get into the book.