Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Z Kids, and author Skyler Trepel for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

One of the challenges in baseball today (and there are many) is making baseball accessible to a new audience. When I became a fan in the mid-1970s, we had very little to compete with the boys of summer. The three television stations that existed at the time mostly showed reruns over the summer. I would be outside all day and watch baseball each night, even though my team wasn’t all that great at the time. Today’s youth have an endless selection of shows to watch on demand that baseball needs to compete with.

Inspiring Stories of Baseball Greats is aimed at pre-teens and younger. It highlights twelve baseball players and divides them well between historical players and current ones, giving a great idea of what makes these baseball players so special.

Inspiring, yes, as in the case of Jim Abbott, who was born with a deformity of his right arm, yet worked hard and became one of the great pitchers of the game. Most of the players here come from a place of adversity, whether they were poor or had other impediments to achieving a career in baseball. In the case of Babe Ruth, it talks about his growing up in a reform school and how the priest who ran it diverted his energy into baseball, probably saving him from a life of never doing well. The story doesn’t contain some of Ruth’s more colorful moments because of the age this book is aimed at.

At the same time, it talks about the racism that faced players such as Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron. It does so in a way kids can understand. They might look at teams now and have trouble understanding why Jackie Robinson’s playing was such a big deal back then, and this does a good job trying to help them understand.

Mostly, though, Inspiring Stories of Baseball Greats highlights players who are currently in the game, so readers can get excited about seeing these players live. Personally, I missed not seeing Pete Alonso highlighted, as he’s such a favorite of my family, especially my 11-year-old granddaughter. He was the exciting player that gave her some interest in baseball and still does, even with him now being on a different team. Still, there’s Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge, and Francisco Lindor, among others, who are still playing the game.

Author Skyler Trepel also highlights other current players who could have been included at the end (again, no Pete Alonso). If you have a child who loves baseball and is of an age where they can read, I think they will love this book. It’s also a great way for them to learn about the different players in the game and why baseball history is such a part of our own history here in the United States.