The Boys
Kindergarten-Grade 2—On Tuesday (the only words in the book are the days of the week), a new boy in the neighborhood wants to play baseball with the other kids but is too shy. He glumly sits on a park bench that is occupied by four very diverse men. On Wednesday, he goes back to the park bench. The old men are puzzled about why the child is there. Thursday, he returns with gray streaks in his hair and old-man clothes. Friday, the men are gone, and now the boy is puzzled. He sees them romping on the playground equipment. Saturday, he finds a bicycle by the park bench and sees the men riding around on children's vehicles. So far, the boy is missing all the clues that the men are leaving for him. Sunday, the men come to the park with baseball equipment. They go off to play, leaving a bat, ball, and cap on the bench. The boy finally gets the hint, picks up the equipment, goes to the diamond, and hits the ball out of the park. That gives him enough confidence to ask to be included in the next kids' game. The cartoon gouache and ink illustrations are crisp and clear on the white space, but the story line will be hard for kids to follow. The message is more for adults than kids.—Ieva Bates, Ann Arbor District Library, MICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.