This was a cool retelling of the famous folk-tale.  Beautiful illustrations.  For those of you who have been living in a cave, the story goes like this.

 

The local baseball team is loosing the game, and needs three runs to win.  Up to bat are two of the weaker players on the team.  The crowd wishes Casey, their hero could make it up to bat.  Surely he would score and they could win.

 

Miraculously, the first player hits a single.  Despite the odds, the second player hits another single.  Casey is up at the bat with the bases loaded.

 

The pitcher throws his first ball, directly over the plate.  Casey chooses to ignore it.  The umpire calls strike one.

 

The second pitch is also perfect, but not perfect enough for Casey.  He acts as though he is too good for the ball again.  The umpire calls strike two.

 

We aren't shown the final pitch, but the story closes with, "Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright, The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light, And somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout; But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out."

 

I liked the very back of this story where we are told the history of the story.  How Earnest Thayer originally wrote it under a pen name in the SanFrancisco Examiner.  Someone else claimed credit years later, and a famous comedian made it popular.  Really cool history behind the poem.

This book won the Caldecott Honor in 2001.