cover image The Unforgettable Season: The Story of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and the Record-Setting Summer of '41

The Unforgettable Season: The Story of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and the Record-Setting Summer of '41

Phil Bildner, illus. by S.D. Schindler, Putnam, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-25501-4

In a narrative that's conversational yet informative, Bildner dives into the baseball season of 1941, alternately focusing on Yankee slugger DiMaggio, who had a 56-game hitting streak, and Red Sox star Williams, who ended the season with a batting average of .406. Bildner builds suspense with taut descriptions of critical on-field moments ("...on that warm spring afternoon in the Bronx, the Streak began"), while Schindler's paintings capture the ballpark energy, with authentic period details and solid likenesses of DiMaggio, Williams, and other players. Bildner and Schindler effectively evoke the baseball fever ignited by these two performances, which established records that have yet to be broken—a fact that makes this story all the more satisfying. Ages 7–9. (Mar.)