Babe & Me (Baseball Card Adventures) [Kindle Edition]

This well-written book will appeal to all baseball fans, especially its audience of kids around 7 to 12 years. Gutman obviously loves the game and its lore, and he vividly recreates 1932 Chicago. It's a very good history as well as sports book, as Gutman describes (aided by newspaper clippings and photos) such topics as segregation, the Depression, and the arrival of German Fascism. At times, Gutman is a little too sentimental, especially when describing the eventual (and predictable) family rapprochement, and there's a somewhat simplistic nod to the Holocaust.

The main appeal is its depiction of early baseball and the larger-than-life character of the Babe.

Although Gutman exaggerates some of Ruth's grandiosity (which the author points out in an afterward), most of the book is factual. Gutman's researched his subject with sources such as the Society for American Baseball Research and the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Baseball Center. There's also a terrific section featuring contemporaries' opinions on the called shot, and a 2-page summary of Ruth's batting and pitching stats. These are inspired ideas, that, again, show Gutman's skillful weaving of fiction and fact.

This book offers much more than the usual sports fiction for kids. The family dynamics, the historical references, and the awesome presence of the Babe, Lou Gerhrig and other Hall of Famers are a winning combination.

However, what proves to be interesting about this book is that Gutman provides some interesting layers. Joe's parents are divorced and when his father loses his job and wants to take back the 1932 Babe Ruth card he gave his son, Joe comes up with the idea of going back to 1932 and picking up some cards to bring back and make money. Joe's father will be going back as well and has in mind pretty much every scheme you could imagine involving time travel to 1932 to visit Babe Ruth. But this book is about more than baseball, because 1932 is the height of the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt is running for president, and Germany is about to make Adolf Hitler chancellor. Gutman takes pains to get both the period and the personality of Babe Ruth right. In both regards, he does a fine job and the issues that exist between Joe and his father also make this more than just some cute time travel story.

In fact, the only thing that seems to be missing from the main event is that the Babe and the other Yankees were upset that former teammate Mark Koenig was getting a raw deal from the Cubs regarding his World Series share. If I remember correctly, that was the main reason that Babe and the Cubs were going back and forth during the first half of that game on October 1, 1932. Did Babe Ruth call the shot or not? Well, if you have ever seen "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" then you know what the newspaper editor said about what happens when truth contradicts legend. Gutman covers all the bases by including a section at the end of his book that includes quotes from 20 people who were there (including Koenig) as to what they think happened. "Babe & Me" is an entertaining and thoughtful book, which is going to teach kids as much about the times in 1932 as it will about the Babe and his called shot.