Rhinos Who Play Baseball - Hardcover

Julie Mammano is a freelance artist and illustrator who lives and works in Southern California. In preparation for her books, Julie has learned to surf, snowboard, skateboard and most recently, how to play soccer.

K-Gr. 2. Those cute rhinos who surf and skateboard are back, this time playing baseball. Mammano does wonderful things with pattern in her watercolors: sky, field, and baseball diamond explode in a riot of floral and geometric shapes. The rhinos themselves wear stripes and chevrons and stars, while their alligator opponents are in a relatively sedate orange and blue. The text of this witty picture book is an illustration of baseball terms: "Rhinos who play baseball crack DINGERS OUT OF THE PARK. When the rhinos STEAL A BASE, they get caught in a PICKLE." Definitions appear at the end, but the pictures explain, too. A nice touch: both boy and girl rhinos shake hands "and dream of the next big game." Use with Elisha Cooper's Ballpark (1998), Paul Janeczko's That Sweet Diamond (1998), and Susan Elya's Eight Animals Play Ball (2003) for a grand-slam baseball storytime. GraceAnne DeCandido
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