November 1, 2021
Gr 4-6-Readers who've wondered how star athletes received their unique, quirky nicknames will flip for this engaging series. Baseball has always been full of funny nicknames, like Cy Young-the "Cy" is short for "cyclone," which is what he looked like when he wound up to pitch! Notably, Baseball's Greatest Nicknames includes players from the Negro Leagues and a small description of the decades-long segregation in professional baseball. Basketball's Greatest Nicknames explains that Michael Jordan had such an impressive hang time, he was nicknamed "Air" Jordan, which carried over to his sneaker line with Nike. Complemented by photos, the simple, engaging descriptions do a fast and phenomenal job explaining how these athletes earned their calling cards. There are so many weird, wonderful nicknames in each book (Mitch Trubisky is "Mr. Biscuit" and if that doesn't pique a kid's interest, nothing will), readers will want to grab them all. VERDICT A winning first purchase series!
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