Randy Riley's Really Big Hit

Randy Riley stood at bat,

he gazed out at the mound.

His knees began to tremble 

and his heart began to pound.

What boy doesn't love baseball?  Randy Riley certainly does.  But there's just one problem...

Then Randy started thinking

about the pitchers throw

and wondered, without gravity

how far the ball would go

Randy Riley is so caught up calculating the science and mathematics of things that he strikes out at bat every time.  In the illustrations, you can see his frustrated and disappointed team members in the background, shaking their heads, kicking the fence, and looking pretty despondent.  It's enough to make anyone feel down.  Luckily, Randy has another passion that is always able to cheer him up!

But something beyond baseball

brought a smile to Randy's face.

What Randy Riley really loved

was stuff from outer space.

Such begins a book that quickly became a new favorite in our house.  Randy's passion and genius are quickly apparent, and when paired with the well-rhymed phrases, this book was one we couldn't put down.

This book was one of those lucky finds at the library.  The combination of well-written verse, baseball, robots, outer space obsession, and fun fifties-style illustrations made this an instant 'hit' at our house.  (Pun intended.)  In the story, Randy uses his outer space interest to detect a meteor-sized threat to his home town, then uses his love of baseball to save the day...and finally get a really big hit.

We had this book in our house for five weeks, and Maddie never got tired of it.  We read it at least once, and up to three times a day.  Sometimes we'd read it two or three times in a row.  She loves books in verse, so I think that was part of the appeal.  But I think she also loved Randy's obsession as much as he did.  The book immerses you into it with Randy, and it's captivating.  Several pages were memorized before we finally loaned it back to the library (until next time), and Maddie still loves to say "Ka-Pow!" from one of her favorite pages.  (One of my favorite memories with this book is when Maddie was hanging out in just a shirt and her underwear - potty training, after all - and leaning up against the couch where Brian is sprawled out, reading this book for the fourth time that day.)

This book is great for young toddlers interested in well-written verse and detailed pictures, but would certainly interest young listeners and readers up through about second grade.  I love that this book could especially peak the interest of boys, and will probably gift it to a few boys in the coming years.  As the parent reader, I never tired of the book (which is saying a lot!) and was as sad as Maddie to give it back to the library.  Request a copy today!  You won't be sorry.

*I definitely want this book on my shelf at home.  Maybe I'll request it for my birthday coming up!