Frank and Ernest Play Ball - Hardcover

Alexandra Day and her husband, Harold Darling, established the Green Tiger Press in 1970. In 1983, Harold and Sandra were visiting Zurich, Switzerland, when they came across a volume of old German picture sheets, one of which featured a poodle playing with a baby who was supposed to be taking a nap. This image provided the inspiration for ""Good Dog, Carl,"" which successfully began what would become an increasingly popular picture book series. The Darling's own dog, a Rottweiler named Toby, was the model for the first book's main character. Since then, three other Darling Rottweilers have posed as Carl in the sequels. The Darlings now live in Seattle, Washington, where they have a ten-thousand-book library, primarily filled with illustrated children's books.

“...Frank and Ernest are an elephant and a bear, respectively who take over the Elmville Mudcats for one game... Frank and Ernest know nothing about the game, but with the help of a dictionary of baseball, they learn about such mysterious words and phrases as cellar, pepper, frozen rope, hot corner, hot dog and can of corn. Kids love this sort of whimsical language, and the book has plenty of it. Which may surprise those who know Day as the author of the wonderful and almost wordless, Good Dog Carl books”.

From: Sports Illustrated June 11th 1990

 

 

 

 

 “The engaging bear and elephant team introducded in Frank and Ernest have this time agreed to manage a baseball team... The pleasurable result as they prepare the field, sell tickets and attend batting practice... Her (Day’s) expansive watercolors are full of action, interesting perspective and clever detail... Rewarding fare for anyone interested in America’s favorite pastime, playing with words, or the adventures of an ingenious couple of aptly named business types who enjoy a challenge”.

From School Library Journal February 1990

 

 “The interepid bear and elephant duo are once again in the business of business-sitting, when an emergency calls, they will run the show for the owner.... Day’s rich watercolors nicely caputure the pastoral quality of the game, and young fans will enjoy Frank and Ernest’s determined efforts to learn new meanings for old words. It’s never too early, after all, to appreciate the poetry of baseball.

From Booklist March 1st 1990

 

Frank and Ernest, the bear and elephant of all trades, take over a minor league team in Alexandra Day’s appealing second book on their exploits”.

From People Magazine May 14, 1990

 

 

 “Frank and Ernest Play Ball by Alexandra Day is... wondrously illustrated. With pictures that manage to be both magical and realistic in the same frame....Through their (Frank and Ernest’s) research, children are introduced to the workings of  the game”.

From: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram  April 8 1990

 

 

 

“...This is an excellent introduction to the vernacular of baseball. It will be useful to those who are devoted to the game, and those who just want to develop a passing familiarity with the national pastime.”

From Sun Sentinel Fort Lauderdale May 6 1990