Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss. ( )

The Ladies of Lady Town are facing off against the Big City Brats in a baseball game in which Jack, an anthropomorphized rabbit, is the batboy. The narrator tells us to root for the Ladies, so it becomes "tense" as the score ties. Can Jack help out with more than just picking up discarded baseball bats?

This is the first book in the "Jack" series that I've read, so I'm not sure if there's any more context than what is given here. For instance, have we met the Ladies before and therefore that's why we want to root for them? (Or is it simply that we aren't going to root for anyone named "Brats"? Are they "brats" because they are city folk? I'm not sure I like the implications here.)

The illustrations are done in a cartoon-like style, which meshes with the humorous tone the book is trying to go for throughout. While I personally just felt the story was "meh," I could see young readers really enjoying it. It gives the briefest of overviews about baseball, so even those who aren't sports fans can understand the action. There are even a couple of quick tips about good sportsmanship (i.e, don't brag and don't cheat).

The language is mostly pretty simple and straightforward to help beginning readers; however, the book is broken down into four chapters across its 80 pages, with only a sentence or two per page. Young readers will feel accomplished after reading this, with the bragging rights of having finished a thick chapter book. ( )