Reviews for Field Beyond the Outfield

The average rating for Field Beyond the Outfield based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-10-10 00:00:00 Jose Aragon The Field Beyond the Outfield is the heartfelt story of a young boy named Ludlow who, despite his parents' best efforts, can't seem to escape monsters. The front cover features a baseball field with two trees framing the image, guiding the reader's eyes toward the center. In the foreground, we see a boy in a typical baseball uniform looking off to the side, almost as if to see what's happening behind him. In the background, centered on the cover is what looks like a group of bugs playing their own baseball game. We can see the stands, the pitcher, and the catcher on this side of the field. This image continues around to the back cover, displaying the entire picture of the outfield, scoreboard and all. The reader also sees a glimpse of what looks to be an alligator watching the game happening behind the boy. All of the illustrations were done with acrylic on paper, giving the look of a painted image. The first opening of the story reveals the premise of the story - there are monsters in Ludlow's closet. The text is featured in an all white page facing a framed illustration of the boy's bedroom, illuminated by the light of the moon. In his closet, however, are not what you might expect to see when someone mentions monsters. On the contrary, the characters in Ludlow's closet look to be typical animals, but they're playing instruments, dressed in nice suits, and their facial expressions look quite friendly. At first, the reader is positioned at a distance, giving them some background before moving forward in the story. As they turn the page, the illustration becomes larger, still framed with a white border, but now encompassing one full spread and half of the adjoining page. Our character looks quite small in the image, suggesting there is a much larger world happening around him. As the reader progresses through the story, the plot unfolds through two recurring structures. The author rotates between a plain white page containing only text facing a framed image on the accompanying page followed by a framed image that flows from one page onto half of the next, pushing the text to the side and giving the reader a more expansive look at what's happening. The circular story reaches full closure when the last image reflects the one on the first page, with an image of Ludlow's bedroom, lit by the moon, monsters still in closet, but this time, our character is pictured sound asleep. This final image suggests that the monsters were no reason to worry and that Ludlow is quite content with his imaginative world. The Field Beyond the Outfield is a simple story blurring the lines between reality and imagination in a sweet, heartwarming way. Despite his parents' stereotypical attempt at getting Ludlow to act more like a boy by enrolling him in baseball, Ludlow can't seem to escape his imagination and turns his baseball experience into a more entertaining one by integrating his two worlds. No characters were harmed by "monsters" in the making of this story.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-10-14 00:00:00 Star Blanche The Field Beyond the Outfield by Mark Teague is a picture book racing with fantasy. The main character Ludlow Grebe is a young boy afraid of the monsters in his closet and sharks swimming outside every time it rains, so his parents decide he needs to get out more. This is when Ludlow is introduced to baseball. Playing baseball kept the monsters as bay only for awhile, as time based Ludlow had a had time holding back the monsters. One day in a game his c couch asked him to play in the back outfield, only to find himself playing a different game of baseball. Ludlow found that he was playing baseball with a group of monsters. After playing with the monsters he realized they were not as scary of he once thought them to be. After that game with the monsters Ludlow never complained about the monsters in his closet and went on to be ballplayer. The illustrations in this picturebook are bright and painted with acrylic. The end pages are illustrations of a baseball field and monsters playing baseball, which is part of the story. The remainder of the illustrations framed in white to bring the viewers attention to the colorful illustrations. The text is done in black on a white background, in some openings the text is on the pages on the left and illustration on the right. This is done because the viewer reads the story from left to right.