Being a baseball fan, this book instantly appealed to me. I was drawn by the catchy title and pastel-like illustrations. This book uses a number of techniques to appeal to young readers. First, it has great inflection as plenty of phrases and sentences are punctuated with an exclamation. This, when read correctly, would enthrall younger readers. Another aspect of the book that I was drawn to was how the entire page, both sides, were one continual picture. Children can be visual learners and this would for sure grab their attention. I think the authors purpose for writing this book was to just show the silly side of sports and just have fun. ( )

Recommended Ages: Gr.

Plot Summary: Lena Blackburne really wanted to be good at baseball. He tried and tried, but he just couldn't compete with the better guys. He became a baseball coach. One day he noticed the umpires were complaining about the baseballs being too wet. He was frustrated, the umpires were frustrated, and the players were frustrated. Why was it so hard to get a baseball just right? "Brand-new baseballs were too shiny and slick." They needed to dirty them up, but dirty water made them too wet, shoe polish turned the balls black, tobacco juice made them stinky. When home in New Jersey fishing, his boot got stuck in mud and slowly squished out. Maybe this mud would do the trick? He rubbed it on wet and wiped away the powder when it dried. It was perfect, and it's still being sold today.

Setting: New Jersey mud, secret location

Characters:
Lena Blackburne - played every infield position, including pitcher

Recurring Themes: baseball, hard work, grit

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: Very interesting story. Sometimes it's the simple inventions that are best. I didn't realize that baseballs had to be dirty to hit them well. I liked that Lena tried really hard at something and despite grit, couldn't succeed the way he wanted to. But he used his passion for something else: coaching.

Genre: Informational Text

Pacing: fast, big words on each page, 1-4 sentences on a page
Characters: Very few to keep track of
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: ( )

Did you know that New Jersey is home to Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, the mud discovered by one-time Phillies player, Lena Blackburne? The mud used to take the slick shine off balls used in major league baseball?

In fact, as readers will learn in Miracle Mud,

"Lena's mud is the only thing that's allowed on major-league balls. Players can't use water or spit or shoe polish. Just mud. Lena's mud."

And it comes from South Jersey, but Miracle Mud won't tell you from where - that's a secret!

Oliver Dominguez' nostalgic, double-spread, painted illustrations are the perfect complement to this short and engaging biography of Lena Blackburne (1886-1968) and his famous mud. You may view eleven of the book's paintings at Oliver Dominguez' website. The front and rear end papers are the best - clean baseballs up front, muddy ones in the back!

An Author's Note and Lena Blackburne's official stats round out this great introduction to Lena Blackburne. He never made it to the Hall of Fame, but his mud did! A great choice for baseball fans of all ages.

more @ http://shelf-employed.blogspot.com/2013/06/lena-blackburne-baseball-rubbing-mud.... ( )

The secret stuff they rub on baseballs. ( )