The Bat Boy and His Violin

by Gavin Curtis, E.B. Lewis (Illustrator)

A young aspiring violinist learns the value of family ties and team spirit in this picture book lushly illustrated by Caldecott Medal winner E.B. Lewis about a down-on-their-luck baseball team and the music that turns their season around.

Reginald loves to create beautiful music on his violin. But Papa, manager of the Dukes, the worst team in the Negro National League, needs a bat boy, not a “fiddler,” and traveling with the Dukes doesn’t leave Reginald much time for practicing.

Soon the Dukes’ dugout is filled with Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach—and the bleachers are filled with the sound of the Dukes’ bats. Has Reginald’s violin changed the Dukes’ luck—and can his music pull off a miracle victory against the powerful Monarchs?

Genres: Picture Books, Music, Historical Fiction, Sports, Baseball, Childrens, African American

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Received a BFA degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Teaches pre-kindergarten in New York City.

Reviews

[Brina]

It is 1948, one year after the integration of Major League League. The Negro Leagues were determined to keep their game going even if it meant operating at a loss. Reginald isn’t interested in his father’s team, the Dukes. He would rather play his violin, knowing pieces by Tchaichovsky, Mozart, and Bach by heart. With an upcoming recital, Reginald practices all day and night, prompting his father to make him the Duke’s new bat boy. There is one caveat, Reginald is allowed to bring his violin.

With prose by Gavin Curtis and stunning artwork by E.B. Lewis, the pair brings the final days of the negro leagues to life. Children and their parents learn about the sad truth behind the last days of Jim Crow laws, as teams traveled by and slept in their team bus. Even after major league integration, most venues were white only. The star of the book is Reginald who excels at the fine arts and inspires the ball players to their best winning streak in years. He is achieving his dreams and I would hope that as he grew up in the north on the cusp of full integration that he would be able to achieve great heights. This artistic picture book is a must for any young baseball fan’s library.

[Lois]

I read a review of this Caldecott winner book in the Washington Post kids section. It is about a boy growing up in 1948. His father is manager of a team in the Negro National League during its last days, as baseball began to be integrated as a national sport. The father believes his son, who is passionate about playing his violin, needs more fresh air and exercise, and of course exposure to baseball!

What I loved was the father's growing appreciation of his son, and the son "stepping up to the plate" as batboy for the father's team. The father-son negotiation and the father's affirmation of love for his son as even more important than his interest in having his son involved with sports was lovely.
I bought two copies. One for a grandson whose father loves baseball, and whose younger brother loves music. The other copy? For ME of course!

[Cosette]

Truly a beautiful book that I'll have to read again with my violin and sheet music. I had to make do with YouTube which gave me goosebumps, but only put my listener to sleep.

[Vannessa Anderson]

Reginald enjoyed playing the violin and he practiced all the time. While his mother supported him, his dad wanted him to become a baseball player. His dad cut into Reginald’s practice time by making him become bat boy for the Negro team he managed. Reginald takes his violin with him and practice when he can. Reginald is clumsy as a bat boy but is not clumsy with the violin. The team was on a losing streak until Reginald inspired the players by playing his violin. The Bat Boy & His Violin was a delightful read.

[Sam Grace]

Gorgeous watercolor illustrations by E.B. Lewis totally deserved to win the Coretta Scott King Honor for Illustration, but they did not outshine also excellent story. The summary - boy who loves to play the violin is unappreciated by Negro Leagues baseball playing dad until he becomes the batboy and helps them win games - doesn't really do justice to the subtlety in the storytelling, though the coolness of the history and the message don't hurt the book either.

[Lizzie]

Such a heart warming story paired with soft illustrations. Great father/son read.

[This Kooky Wildflower Loves a Little Tea and Books]

Beautiful tale of how the smallest person can be the greatest inspiration to anyone.

[Mahdi]

In this world, most of the people force other people to do things that they think is fun for them. But they don’t realize that the thing that they are forcing to that person might not like it. In the story, The Bat Boy And His Violin, The reader learns that Everyone always has something to show in this world and just be patience and see what they can do.

[Samantha Kent]

This book is about a little African-American boy named Reginald, who loves to play the violin and he practices at home all the time. One day his father came home after a baseball game which the team he is the manager of, the Dukes, lose. He thinks that Reginald spends too much time inside and decides that he can be the bat boy for the Dukes. The Dukes are considered to be the worst team in the Negro National League but after Reginald plays his violin during the game the team starts to win the games. At the end of the book Reginald gets to play his recital at his home for his parents and the players and their wives.

This is book gives kids the perspective of what it was like for African-Americans during the time of segregation without making it hit you in the face. It also shows that even though they were treated differently that they were still happy and could participate in things that made them happy.

[Samantha]

Reginald's father was the manager of the Dukes baseball team. He loved baseball, and all he ever wanted his son to do was play. However, Reginald had other intentions. He desired to play violin. In order to peak his son's interest in the game, Reggie's father makes him a bat boy of the Dukes team. In fear of losing his practice time for his recital, Reggie practices right in the middle of the dugout. He plays pieces from Mozart, Bach, and Beetoven. With his music, the Dukes bad luck streak begins to change. It all comes down the the final game against the Monarchs. They defeat their rivals and accomplish a great victory. Realizing his son his more important than the sport, Reggie and his father grow to respect one another and their seperate passions.
My favorite aspect of this book was the oil painted illustrations. The illustrator used his own son to create them. The book provides an interesting story line of a historical perspective in the 1940s.

[Jennifer Lanman]

This book does a good job with the water color illustrations. I really enjoyed how the little boy became the bat boy and when he played his violin he made the baseball team do better and win. It was a story about an African American family and baseball team. It uses pretty hard vocabulary like "embarrassed" or "announcement". It brought in musicians like Beethoven and Mozart which was cool to see. This would work for ages from 6-9. This can be used in the classroom when talking about segregation in social studies. It gives students a challenge with high vocabulary and brings in history like segregated baseball teams and not being allowed to stay in hotels. This can be used as a read aloud and talk about segregation. You can also have them answer questions on the theme, setting, etc. While they are answering the questions you can play Mozart, or Beethoven to help them concentrate like the players do in the book.

[Emily P]

We found this gem at a used bookstore in our little town, and it was lovely. My youngest loves baseball almost as much as I do, so we usually connect with stories like this one. Reginald is less interested in baseball than his violin. His father, a manager for "the worst team in the Negro leagues," encourages him to get outside more and talks him into becoming a bat boy. However, Reginald won't go without his violin, which he plays for the team. As the team listens to Reginald, it begins a rally that helps this losing team come back from behind for an unexpected victory. My son and I enjoyed the history, family dynamics and sweet quality of the characters. I would recommend this book to any kid who loves both the baseball diamond and the beauty of music.

[Patricia Copeland]

Genre: historical fiction, grades 1-3
This book has both baseball and classical music, what more could you ask for? Similarly to the boy in the book, my dad really loved baseball but I was never that interested. However, I really loved to play music. The only difference is that my dad fully supported my musical endeavors from the start! Either way, I think that a lot of students would love this book because they have either an interest in baseball or in music. I also think that it would be a great way to include social studies in an ELA block because it talks about the integration of baseball as well as segregation. However, the heart of this story is about Reginald's relationship with his dad, which creates a beautiful story that I'm sure my students would enjoy.

[Cathy]

Reginald loves to create beautiful music on his violin. But Papa, manager of the Dukes, the worst team in the Negro National League, needs a bat boy, not a "fiddler," and traveling with the Dukes doesn't leave Reginald much time for practicing.

Soon the Dukes' dugout is filled with Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach -- and the bleachers are filled with the sound of the Dukes' bats. I appears that Reginald's violin changed the Dukes' luck -- and his music seems to pull off a miracle victory against the powerful Monarchs.

[J-Lynn Van Pelt]

I really liked this story about a boy who is better at playing violin than being a bat boy in the final year of the Negro National League. This is a simple story of a father who learns to appreciate his musically gifted son who becomes a good luck charm for the Dukes baseball team.

E. B. Lewis' signature water color lends a soft edge to this touching story.

[Ch_kendrachristo]

Reginald's love for playing the violin is seen as silly to his father who manages the Dukes baseball team. The Dukes are the worst team in the Negro National League. When Reginald becomes the bat boy for his father's team, he inspires the players with his music and his bond with his father strengthens.

[Gabrielle]

This is an interesting book about a boy who loves to play the violin. He spends a lot of time at the baseball games, traveling with the team leaving very little time for him to practice. This book really shows how important baseball is to his family and his culture. In the end, the boy ends up playing the violin at his recital.

[Gavin]

I enjoyed this short book about a boy, his father, who coached a Negro League team. The father wanted his son to drop the violin and be a bat boy for the team, hoping that would lead him towards what the father considered the better path. I'll stop there, but in this day and age, and even in the 1950's this is a nice tale.

[Katie]

Prose: Historical Fiction, Multicultural
This story is about a boy who loves to play violin but his dad wants him to play baseball. His dad, the manager of a team in the Negro National Baseball League, recruits him to be the team's bat boy. Doesn't go so well, but he plays his violin for the team instead.

[Katelyn Warner]

* Baseball
* Family
* Fiction
* Long- good for read alouds
* The bat boy is son of a baseball player
* Violin helps inspire the team to succeed; even if the team loses, his talent is still there.

[Jo Oehrlein]

The bat boy's not so great with handing out bats, but he plays his violin in the dugout to inspire the team, at night to relax the team, and on the bus to entertain the team. Through his eyes, we see the last year of a Negro League team and some of the hardships they endured.

[T Crockett]

I liked that the characters had depth, they could surprise you. The protagonist acts and thinks like a kid, which is wonderful. It would be a good book to include in a unit on civil rights since segregation plays an important role.

[Melanie Martel]

This book is a great book about the relationship between a son and his father. It sends a great message about acceptance. Even though two people can be so different, they learn to appreciate that.

[Briana]

Clever story about a kid who isn't really into sports, helping a team in the Negro leagues along. Good accurate history of Negro League as well.

[Anna Sunderland]

_The Bat Boy and His Violin_ is a book that I just recently picked up to read. I love sports and I saw that it was a Coretta Scott King Award Recipient and so I knew I had to read it. The cover is a matte finish with a boy in a baseball uniform playing a violin, while a scene in the background wraps around the cover of men playing baseball. The end pages have nothing on them. On the copyright page it states that the illustrations are rendered in watercolors, which is what my guess was from the cover of the book. The book is set in the late 1940's with Reginald's father managing a Negro National baseball team. Because of the depth of the conversations in the book and the wordiness of the text, I would recommend this book for second through fourth graders. Some younger children might like this book read to them, but it might be harder for them to follow along. The book is sweet and shares a relationship between a father and son despite differences they might have. The illustrations are beautiful and the pictures are very realistic. The children will appreciate the pictures to follow along with the story, even though the story is really the most powerful part. Teachers can use this in class when talking about this certain time period. The book does touch on racism when the players are turned away from a hotel, but the author instead decides to focus on the father son relationship. I loved this book and will read it many more times.

[Beth Crownover]

I really enjoyed this book. I like how it included historical elements, family values, and music culture. This picture book is more appropriate for middle grade elementary to older children, second to fifth grade. There is a lot of text on each page and younger students may have a harder time paying attention the entire time. Since the book is historical it would apply better to older children who are learning these themes in history. I liked how it showed the opposite side of what happened to the Negro Baseball Leagues after Jackie Robinson left, and from a young boy's perspective made the history not didactic. The illustrations are done in watercolor as said on the endpage of the book. They are done in an impressionist style because the lines are blurred, and the artist plays with light and color throughout the illustrations. Many of the illustrations cross the gutter but the characters and scene is on one page while the text is on the other. The only downfall of this book is that the little boy calls the songs he plays be the composer and those can be difficult to pronounce when reading aloud so it is important to practice beforehand. This book was a Coretta Scott King Award.

[Juliette]

Really a sweet book in which the title pretty much sums it up.
As a music teacher (one who teaches orchestral and band instruments) I'm always trying to find ways to combine other interests with music (sports). This book fits in sweetly but there are two things it needs for it to be perfect.

1. I really feel it would be so wonderful if the author put in some background information. What led them to write this book? Tell me more about the inspiration behind the characters, the team, the story. Historical information. Yes, I can google (well, actually I'm terrible at it), but I always love the author's point of view.

2.. I'm coming from years of experience as a beginning violin teacher, and everyone else will think I'm a bit much. Buuuut.... I can't express the importance of modeling good posture and this book misses that mark. In the illustration there are some issues with bow hold, left hand technique and body posture. Minor, but important when teaching. Also, the illustrator did such a beautiful job, I feel it would have been easy for them if they had a proper model.

*read for OSU's Summer Reading BINGO Challenge, category *about music or a musician*

[Prabhat sharma]

The Bat Boy and his violin by Gavin Curtis, Illustrator E.B. Lewis- Children’s Illustrated Colour Picture Book- This book narrates the story of Afro- American child named Reginald who enjoys practicing & playing various tunes on his violin. His mother supported him. His father was the Manager of a Black American Baseball team named Dukes. Dukes was not winning because his players had shifted to other teams for money. His father asked Reginald to help him and join his team as a Bat Boy. He also said that he can continue to practice between matches. As a young boy, he was not able to carry 5 bats together. He repaired baseball bats by cleaning and oiling them. Whenever the team was on a losing streak his inspired violin tunes helped the players to perform better. In the end of Baseball season, Dukes won. Reginald played violin at the basement in the local Church. It was attended by his parents and the Dukes baseball team and their families. Coloured illustrations help the reader in relating to the story. I have read the Hindi language translation of this book.

[Tess Upchurch]

Despite Reginald’s love for music his father forces him to work as the bat boy for his baseball team. The young boy travels with the team and uses spare bits of time to practice. He soon begins to play for the team and their rotten luck begins to take a turn for the better.

This book originally caught my eye because of the musical aspect. I am in the marching band and am therefore interested in any book dealing with music. I really enjoyed that music was portrayed as a useful and beneficial practice in this story. I also really liked that this book gave a childlike perspective on the events of segregation. This is a unique viewpoint that helps readers create a well rounded understanding of how times changed for African Americans during this time period. This book would make a great addition to my classroom library. I could potentially be used as a read aloud when discussing the period of segregation in America.

[Mo]

This book tells the story of Juneteenth, the end of slavery, through the eyes of a little girl and her family who wake up one day to the good news that they will be free. The illustrations in this book showed old photographs that were stored as keepsakes and memories which I thought was a very powerful message.

Another book that takes a historical tone, this one teaches about the end of slavery and getting out of that particular dark time in our country’s history. Teaching the value and true reality of how slavery was a part of our past, it is great for young students. With a timeline of important dates and a glossary, this children’s book can help young children better understand a key part of American history.