Author James Buckley Jr. Takes Young Readers Inside the Hall of Fame

COOPERSTOWN—The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will introduce young readers to Hall of Famers such as Derek Jeter, Jackie Robinson and more in two new children’s books to be released this year, thanks to a partnership with becker&mayer! kids, an imprint of publisher The Quarto Group.

Officially licensed by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, the titles will pass down the love of the National Pastime from generation to generation, officials said in a press release. Both written by renowned author James Buckley Jr., the books are available for pre-order at shop.baseballhall.org.

Debuting earlier this month, on April 2, “Out of the Park!” follows the careers of Hall of Famers including Jeter, Robinson, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and others. Organized by key aspects of the game, each chapter features snapshots of players who excelled in that arena. Readers in middle grades can reference sidebars in each section to find fun facts, historical trivia, famous quotes, important stats, and baseball lingo, all illustrated by photographs from the Hall of Fame’s collection.

Featuring more than 150 players, “Out of the Park!” is a considered by HoF officials to be “a go-to reference for learning about the historic accomplishments and career-defining moments of the greatest players in baseball history.”

On deck for late summer, with a September 10 release date, is “A Kids’ Guide to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.” Described as a young reader’s handbook to all things baseball, it presents profiles of more than 180 Hall of Fame members, organized alphabetically, along with a complete list of all 346 Hall of Famers through the Class of 2024. This volume is considered by HoF officials as a kid-friendly encyclopedia. It includes images of rare artifacts and documents from the Hall of Fame collections and is “packed with extra info noting awards and record-breaking statistics, plus photos accompanying all profiles.”

Author James Buckley Jr. has written more than 150 books on sports for readers young and old, including biographies of sports heroes Roberto Clemente, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Jesse Owens and Muhammad Ali. He is the author of the previous “The National Baseball Hall of Fame Collection” and “America’s Classic Ballparks,” among others. His first visit to the Hall of Fame was in 1989, when he attended the induction ceremony of Carl Yastrzemski, his boyhood hero.