Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Kid"

There will be books written about baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams for as long as the printing presses roll.

Williams provided a lot of material in a life filled with his baseball superstar status, turbulent private life, running quarrels with the Boston baseball press and cryogenic ending. In "The Kid," Ben Bradlee Jr. left none of that life untouched in this can't-wait-to-turn-the-page read.

Check out the accompanying video for more on "The Kid."

A shout out to the Selby Public Library, the largest of the facilities in Sarasota County, the spring training home of the Orioles. As a card-carrying member for the past 23 years, this is a favorite library in which to roam and read.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Orioles teamed up with the Selby Public Library in the Big League Readers Program. Youngsters in the program who read three or more books in February received tickets to the March 14 Grapefruit League game. A double reward! One of those youngsters is featured in the accompanying video, along with a look at the beautiful library.

From our friends at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, their gotta-read comes from librarian Deborah Taylor, the library's school and student services coordinator. Taylor was also recently recognized with a national award by the American Library Association as this year's recipient of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement. She has served on national committees that choose best books.

Here's her recommendation:

"'The Crossover' by Kwame Alexander is this year's Newbery Medal winner, the highest prize in children's books. More importantly, it is an energetic, action-packed story about basketball-loving twins, Josh and Jordan, who find challenges to their close relationship, on and off the court. This novel in verse is a page-turner for anyone who loves sports, lively language or a great story."

Reviews of children's books also can be found here.

Thanks for all of the comments, and I love the recommendations coming from readers. So many books, so little time.

Thanks for the look-in and enjoy the video.

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales." ― Albert Einstein

Gary Thorne is the play-by-play voice of the Orioles on MASN, and the 2015 season is his ninth with the club and 30th covering Major League Baseball. His blog will appear regularly throughout the season. The Orioles and the Enoch Pratt Free Library have partnered on the Tom Clancy Orioles Reading Club, where children up to fifth grade earn tickets to an Orioles game by reading five books from a special reading list.

* Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne. © Copyright 2015 Gary F. Thorne. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Gary F. Thorne and MASNsports.com, with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.