Kids' Home Library by Lee Littlewood

Batter up! It's time to dust off the gloves and cleats and head outdoors for a little baseball. These new books for young readers offer up fresh baseball tales and a little valuable information for those rusty after a cold winter.

"The Batboy" by Mike Lupica; Philomel/Penguin Putnam Young Readers Group; 256 pages; $17.99.

Mike Lupica is a sportswriter and popular sports novelist for young readers ("Heat," "Travel Team," "The Big Field," to name a few). In his latest action-packed read for ages 8 to 14, young teen Brian Dudley is a batboy for his hometown major league team. Though Brian loves getting the inside scoop on baseball, he also hopes that his new job will bring him and his big-leaguer dad closer together.

Lupica is great with adding plenty of emotional drama to his books, making sure they offer lessons valuable to young people. In "The Batboy," Brian sees big league baseball with all its flaws, especially when a hero player returns to the team and shows his true colors — much like Brian's own dad.

Kids will learn that sports stars aren't perfect. Though life will throw many curveballs, sports players are not the only ones swinging for the fences and missing.

"Play Ball, Corduroy" based on the character created by Don Freeman; story by B.G. Hennessy; pictures by Lisa McCue; Viking/Penguin; 16 pages; $11.99.

With 30 fun flaps to lift, "Play Ball, Corduroy!" is a smart introduction to the excitement of baseball for young children. A fantastic mesh of information about teamwork and baseball's rules, plus an exciting tale about Corduroy and his friends on a team together, "Play Ball, Corduroy!" is also sturdy, vividly colored and friendly.

Beginning tee-ball players and young fans will especially enjoy cueing into Corduroy's excitement. And some readers may relate to friend Blue Mouse's nervousness about being a brand-new player.

A fun interactive book for ages 3 to 6, "Play Ball, Corduroy!" scores a run.

"Bases Loaded" by Mike Knudson; illustrations by Stacy Curtis; Viking/Penguin; 155 pages; $14.99.

With funny, black-and-white cartoonish sketches peppered throughout his books, Knudson's "Raymond & Graham" series seems like a wordier cousin to the ultra-popular "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" tales.

And baseball fans ages 8 to 11 will love "Bases Loaded," due to its kid-friendly themes about trying to win a Little League Championship and a new, unpopular teacher substitute.

To add more drama to the humor, best buddies Raymond and Graham really want to achieve their goal for another reason — the class bully is on the opposing team.

Humorously, here are a few rules of Raymond and Graham's "How to be a Little League Champ List": "Don't open yellow Gatorade anywhere near white baseball pants; don't ever let Gramps coach first base, and if the pitcher aims his ball right at your head — Duck!"

"How Baseball Works" by Keltie Thomas; Maple Tree Press; 64 pages; $10.95 paperback.

Scientific curiosity with a lively sense of humor makes Keltie Thomas' award-winning "How Sports Works" series popular and highly accessible. Aimed at kids 8 to 12, each book presents facts and figures complemented by colorful, eye-catching illustrations and action-packed photos of professional players. In "How Baseball Works," there's also a "Rules and Regs" section and a glossary of terms to help kids master baseball's intricacies.

Helpful information explores scoring and statistics, gives pointers on injury prevention and examines the physical tools of the game. The book even looks at the difference between grass and artificial turf and how to throw a winning pitch. Best of all, each section is short and sweet, not bogged down by technical terms.

Also available is the book, "How Soccer Works."

To find out more about Lee Littlewood and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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