Becoming Babe Ruth

Retired Yankees slugger Babe Ruth warms up with three bats before stepping to the plate at New York’s Yankee Stadium, August 21, 1942, as he prepared for a hitting exhibition at the stadium two days later against retired pitching great Walter Johnson. The pair faced off between games of a doubleheader between the Yankees and the Washington Senators for the benefit of Army and Navy Relief Funds. (AP Photo/Tom Sande)

Becoming Babe Ruth
Written and Illustrated by Matt Tavares

Summary:
Before he is known as the Babe, George Herman Ruth is just a boy who lives in Baltimore and gets into a lot of trouble. But when he turns seven, his father brings him to the gates of Saint Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, and his life is changed forever. At Saint Mary’s, he’s expected to study hard and follow a lot of rules. But there is one good thing about Saint Mary’s: almost every day, George gets to play baseball. Here, under the watchful eye of Brother Matthias, George evolves as a player and as a man.

Primary Source Pairing:
Babe Ruth lived to play baseball, and as we read in Matt Tavares’ book, to help people, too. The primary source pairing for this book shows Babe in a New York Yankee jersey, but Babe played for the Red Sox and the Braves, too. Use the Pitching and Hitting Stats in the back of the book to create a baseball math lesson with students. Create a timeline and use a map to track Babe’s journey for additional learning projects with this book.

Questions for Discussion:

  • Describe what you see.
  • What do you notice first?
  • What people and objects are shown?
  • What is the physical setting?
  • What other details can you see?
  • What can you learn from examining this image?

Credits:
Book Cover and Summary: Follett
Image of Babe Ruth: FamousSportsPeople.com

The Babe Ruth Central website has a wealth of information about Babe Ruth and his life, in including a special section just for kids. Visit BabeRuthCentral.com to learn more.

The Library of Congress has an excellent collection of materials about baseball, visit the LOC website to learn more.