BATS ABOUT BASEBALL

Nana is a baseball fanatic—come the season, she's parked in front of the tube, hootin' and hollerin'. She has showered her grandson Ryder with baseball goodies, but his aspirations are otherwise. While Nana takes in the game, Ryder tries to get a little career advice out of her. ``Nana, do you think I should be an ornithologist when I grow up?'' Seemingly unaware of the question, she notes that the Blue Jays are playing the Orioles. ``Maybe I ought to be a kleptomaniac,'' Ryder suggests. ``It's a dazzling double steal!'' shouts Nana, glued to the TV screen. The tone in Little and Mackay's book is gently humorous and affectionate, the wordplay nimble; Nana always has a quick, apt comeback, though a couple are forced. LaFave's cartoony illustrations are buoyant and simple, jumping between images of Nana at the TV and Ryder in his fantasy roles. Is Nana in on the joke? That's left nicely ambiguous. Spry and snappy as a Nolan Ryan fastball. (Picture book. 3-8)