(3) K-3 Illustrated by C. F. Payne. This top-notch biography of baseball's greatest switch-hitter, who played through pain almost every day of his Yankees career, has heart, passion, and impressive full-color acrylic and pencil illustrations. Winter writes with such assurance and power it's like reading one of Mantle's sweet swings. Winter focuses on Mantle's glories, but an appended note recounts the difficulties Mantle had off the field.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) 4-6 Tooke's premise is irresistible, if implausible: a nerdy, unhappy, baseball-crazy boy is able, by fluke, to serve as a Yankee batboy during the season Mantle and Maris race for Babe Ruth's home run record. The fact-based build of tension at the ballpark compensates for a weaker problems-at-home subplot. No matter; it's the sports angle that successfully drives this story.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin