The Bottom Line: We are very picky about what books we buy for our children: this book is a winner! Triumph over adversity, dignity, and respect are subtly presented in a beautiful story.
When I found my stoic husband sniffling over story time with my son, I knew I was witnessing something akin to the parting of the Red Sea. Only two things make my even-tempered husband cry: the end of It’s a Wonderful Life, and the moment of birth for each of our children. “You’ve got to read this!” he snuffled at me as I gaped at him. What magical book evoked this response? The Babe and I, by David A. Adler, illustrated by Terry Widener.
After I pried the book away from my ferklempt spouse, I began to understand its appeal. The story is set in 1932, in the midst of the Depression, and tells the story of a boy and his family struggling to make ends meet in the Bronx. The stylized illustrations are very appealing (almost cinematic in the angles used), and they reflect the perspective of the unnamed boy who tells the story. The simple language (it is a child speaking) adds to the drama of the story.
Dad is lucky, in that he has a job when so many people were unemployed, but even so, things were tight. As the boy says, “we never seemed to have much money”. For his birthday the boy receives a dime, which he spends on an apple from an unemployed person on the street. While wandering around the Bronx with his friend, the boy gets a job as a newsie to help his family after unwittingly discovering his father has been hiding a desperate secret. As a newsie, the boy gains a sense of pride in secretly helping his dad, and he learns that Babe Ruth, not the news, sells papers, if you stand in front of Yankee Stadium!
I don’t want to ruin the climax of the story, but the final moment between father and son is what moved my husband to tears.
Never maudlin, the plot and characters are consistently well developed and relatable. The story highlights the dignity of work and mutual respect within families and communities. This book passed my “Is It Fabulous Enough To Actually Buy?” test, and for Father’s Day I presented my husband with this baseball/father-son book, to his delight.
The illustrations, the award winning writing, and the historical context (all the headlines actually appeared in New York papers between July 14 and July 22, 1932) are deftly woven into a story just waiting for the passage of time to become a classic. Want to remember the magic of a great children’s book: go find The Babe and I!
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