The Field Beyond the Outfield

Teague, Mark

ISBN 10: 0590451731 ISBN 13: 9780590451734

Publisher: Scholastic, 1992

Synopsis

Dreamy Ludlow Grebe, whose parents are convinced needs something real to think about, is signed up for Little League, and when not benchwarming, he plays deep in the outfield, where further dreaming leads to a Kafkaesque climax.

About this title

About the Author

Mark Teague developed his writing and painting talents without formal training but with a healthy dose of imagination. Each of Teague's books starts as "notebooks full of sketches and scribbles, strange little drawings, and phrases that seem mostly cryptic that suddenly come together," he explains. His books tackle everything from first graders coping with life on Mars to Shakespearean characters coping with life on earth. Mischievous dinosaurs, witty dogs, nightmare haircuts, messy rooms, closet monsters - all find their way into Teague's wildly inventive books. Teague has also collaborated with many critically acclaimed authors, including Jane Yolen, Audrey Wood, and Cynthia Rylant. He lives in upstate New York with his wife and two daughters. For more information about Mark Teague, visit scholastic.com/tradebooks

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4-- The line between reality and fantasy blurs convincingly in this humorous exploration of a young boy's propensity to transform everyday objects into larger-than-life fantasies. When Ludlow Grebe's parents sign him up for a baseball team, they hope to give him `` `something real to think about.' '' However, since everything he encounters is fodder for his fertile imagination, Ludlow merely transforms the uneventful outfield into a towering stadium filled with fantastical fans watching a ballgame between two teams of human-sized insects. Ludlow's acute 6 powers of observation pay off when he is whisked into the lineup, overcomes his jitters at bat, and swats in the winning run. Much of the action in this deftly told story takes place in impressionistic, ``retro-'40s-style'' illustrations, making this engaging picture book best suited for one-on-one sharing or small group read-alouds. Rendered in deeply hued, brightly colored acrylics, fey-faced, red-headed Ludlow and his benignly oblivious parents have a childlike flatness and simplicity that belie the depth and complexity of this tale. Like those in Mercer Mayer's There's a Nightmare in My Closet (Dial, 1990), the monsters in this child's world are winsomely weird. Teague's window to childhood is wide open, allowing him to address the realities of youthful fantasies without trivializing them. Old fans and new will cheer this latest hit. --Dorothy Houlihan, formerly at White Plains Public Library, NY
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0590451731
• ISBN 13: 9780590451734
• Binding: Library Binding
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 32