Opening Day! Baseball's Shining Season and Thrown Off Base

Sandler, Martin W. and Sandler, Craig. 

Baseball's Shining Season: America's Pastime on the Brink of War

April 7, 2026 by Bloomsbury Children's Books

ARC provided by the publisher

As he did in the 2019 1919: The Year that Changed America, Martin Sandler, joined by his son, Craig, looks at specific events during a critical year while weaving in many different threads that made it so pivotal. 1941 encompassed both the US involvement in World War II and a spectacular baseball season. Growing up in the 1970s, neither of these things seemed to far away, but with 80 years having passed, there's really no one around who was an eyewitness to the events and emotions of this time. 

There is so much information in this book that it's hard to do it justice. The state of baseball in the first half of the twentieth century is so different from what it is now, and is even different from what was prevalent in the 1950s and 1960s. Major league players would have to have jobs in the off season. The sport really was the national past time. The treatment of players who weren't white was horrible. 

It's also hard for younger readers to understand how invested people on the home front were in the success of the troops during WWII. Everyone was affected by the war, and people were willing to sacrifice. Ball players enlisted; Ted Williams fought not only in WWII but also in Korea. 

I was absolutely amazed that the baseball executives went to President Roosevelt and asked whether or not there should even be a baseball season! He was a big fan, and said that there should be. Of course, with so many men fighting overseas, very young players were scouted, and the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League had its heyday. Baseball was considered a good way to keep morale up during these turbulent times. I knew that it had been played extensively at Japanese internment camps. 

Politics, world history, social history, popular culture, changes to the sport: it's all here. I especially appreciated that the last chapter dealt with how things changed in US society after 1941; the invention of the teenager is a topic that fascinates me. Of course, football and basketball now eclipse baseball, but there are still ardent fans out there. I want to hand this to a dozen of my students. 

The ARC did include some of the full color pages, and the format of this book is very attractive. There are many photographs, and the layout reminded me of Sandler's beautiful 2020 Race to the Skies: The Week the World Learned to Fly. The book is a little larger than a typical fiction book, and 192 pages long, so perfect for the narrative nonfiction projects my teachers assign. 

I learned a lot by reading this book, but it also made me sad. Since Martin Sandler would have been eight years old during the 1941 series, there is a palpable feeling of loss and nostalgia. "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?" kept running through my mind as I read this. What a great scrapbook of a bygone time. Highly recommended for middle and high school libraries. 

Marino, Max. Thrown Off Base

January 1, 2026 by Lerner Publications ™

Copy provided by the publisher

Adam is excited to play baseball. He pitches for the Stingers, and he and his friend Amir think that the upcoming season will be excellent. Adam pitches, and feels that he is in good form, and he's glad when the coach makes him the starting third baseman. After Adam injures his wrist while diving to make a catch, however, he is thrown off his game. He's unable to concentrate, and overly protective of his arm, which interferes with his playing. He hesitates on a throw, which leads to the Stingers losing their first game. His mother is supportive, but his coach is forced to change his position. Adam agrees to do whatever is best for the team. Back at home, he does some research into why he might be playing poorly and comes across information about Mickey Sisler (not a real player) and the "yips". He tells his parents he thinks this is what his problem is, and they encourage him to try some of the coping mechanisms. He shares these with Amir, and the friends try to deep breathing to regain their focus before a game. The positive mindset helps, and Adam feels more confident about his abilities. The end of the book has information about player  Daniel Bard, who quit playing after a severe bout of anxiety but later returned to the sport. 

This short book (68 pages) is well formatted. It has a smaller trim size, large, san serif font, and plentiful illustrations. There is a series of the Lerner Sports Stories that are similar to the Jake Maddox Stone Arch Sports Stories. 

Seeing a baseball player struggle with an injury and lack of confidence in a positive and constructive way is valuable to young players who might experience a similar crisis. Adam keeps trying, taping his wrist (and even enjoying that it looks "cool"), and not arguing with his coach when he is told to step away briefly. This is great behavior for younger readers to see modeled. 

This would be a great title for elementary school libraries, since Little League starts at the alarmingly young age of four! Fans of Kelley's Baseball Mysteries can build their reading skills with these books before picking up Fred Bowen and Matt Christopher titles.