Miracle Mud

March 1, 2013

Gr 2-4-Most readers of this picture-book biography will not know about "Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud," which has been used to prepare baseballs before every game for the past 75 years. However, once they hear this tale, they will never again look at a game ball in the same way. Blackburne was never an outstanding player, but he will go down in history for developing a solution to the wet, soggy baseballs that could be difficult to throw during a game. One day after fishing, he stepped in some soft, gooey mud and an idea was born. Because the mud took the shine off any new white baseball, he began to sell it. Dominguez's illustrations, which are painterly in style, look as if pastels were used to draw the dramatic baseball poses in a variety of perspectives. The author appends a note about why baseball players prefer a dirty ball to a bright white one. Front endpapers show squeaky clean balls while the back endpapers exhibit balls after they have used Lena's Rubbing Mud. This accessible story with be enjoyable to a larger audience than just baseball fans.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2013
A baseball entrepreneur finds a solution to a long-standing technical problem. Lena Blackburne was at best a journeyman player. He played several positions for several teams, and later, he became a coach just to remain a part of the game he loved. In the first part of the 20th century, new baseballs were hard to handle since they were too shiny and slick, so many different methods were used to dull them. Shoe polish, spit, tobacco juice and dirty water were all tried, but each caused additional problems, as did employing only old, beat-up balls for the entire game. Blackburne was determined to find a better way. When he serendipitously stepped into some soft, gooey, gritty mud at a fishing hole near his home, he brought some to the ballpark, tried it out on some new baseballs and produced perfect results. At first, he provided them only for his own team, but then he sold tubs of the mud to all professional teams. Eventually it became--and still is--the only substance allowed on any baseball. Kelly provides information about an unusual aspect of the game in a sprightly, entertaining story with a great "aha" moment. Dominguez's bright, expressive double-page spreads follow the events closely and make them live. For young fans who love the odd, fun details of baseball. (author's note, statistics) (Informational picture book. 6-11)

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March 1, 2013
Grades 2-4 Kids looking for a quirky topic to fill an assignment on inventors are going to appreciate this picture-book biography. The invention of baseball mud came about because new baseballs were too shiny and slick for pitchers to get a good grip, and the sheen blinded batters. Many methods were used to remedy this, from soaking the balls in dirty water, which made them soggy and soft, to using spit and tobacco juice, which was just, well, nasty. Enter Lena Blackburne, a baseball player with limited success who eventually settled into coaching in the early part of the twentieth century. While he was fishing near his home, the mud sticking to his boots gave him the idea of rubbing it on baseballs, and Lena Blackburne's Baseball Rubbing Mud was born. Today all baseballs used in major league games are rubbed with this mud. The colorful, exaggerated paintings artfully (and comically) capture the full allure of ballpark ambiance by including plenty of behind-the-scenes activity. The information provided in the minimal text is bolstered by a solid two-page author's note.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2013
Every baseball used in a Major League game is broken in by being rubbed with special mud harvested from a secret location--who knew? This fascinating account relates how former player and coach Blackburne found the special mud in the 1930s, realized its usefulness, and started a business from it. Dominguez's expressive paintings have the well-worn look of a broken-in baseball.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)