Review of "The Heart for Baseball," by Marion Renick

Review of

The Heart for Baseball, by Marion Renick

Four out of five stars

 While this book has the obligatory plot thread of a team considered to be a long shot managing to play and defeat the heavily favored team in the big game at the end, there is no dramatic final inning that has been built to over several pages. The winning of the championship is presented as a relatively low-key event.

 Scooter is a boy that loves baseball and there are many signs of spring, even though there are still small piles of snow and ice. Although the boys want to make plans for playing baseball on a regular basis, they have no field to play on, little in the way of equipment and no organizational structure to organize teams. However, the boys do have a great deal of enthusiasm and heart.

 The real point of this story is how a community comes together to create not only a set of diamonds where the boys can play each other, but a complete little league organization. Once they learn about the desire the boys have to play baseball, local business and community leaders step up to support and fund several leagues, a stadium with dugouts, stands and eventually a clubhouse with showers and other, more professional facilities.

 There is little tension in this book, yet it is a satisfying read. It is about a community rallying around a common endeavor to makes things better for the children in the city. A league of their own, to keep them occupied and entertained while school is out for the summer.