Joltin' Joe Dimaggio

Bestselling author Jonah Winter and award-winning illustrator James E. Ransome knock it out of the park with this tribute to one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived, Joe DiMaggio.

In the golden age of baseball, sports announcers ruled the radio, winning and losing was front-page news, and just about every young boy wanted to grow up to wear Yankee pinstripes, including Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, Jr., a first generation Italian from San Francisco.

“Baseball is not a job,” said young Joe’s dad, but through hard work and dedication, Joe grew up to make headlines as a top centerfielder and ace hitter—Joltin’ Joe, the Yankee Clipper. And when the paychecks started rolling in and the newspaper reporters wouldn’t stop calling, you can bet Pop was mighty proud!

During the Depression and WWII the country needed something to cheer for, and Joe was the star player who outshone the rest, even marrying movie star Marilyn Monroe—all by keeping his mouth shut and his eye on the ball.

Jonah Winter is the author of more than thirty celebrated nonfiction picture books including?Diego, The Secret Project, and Oil, illustrated by Jeanette Winter;?Jazz Age Josephine, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman;?Sonia Sotomayor: A Judge Grows in the?Bronx, illustrated by Edel Rodriguez;?The Founding Fathers!?illustrated by Barry Blitt; and?Lillian’s Right to Vote: A Celebration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, illustrated by Shane W. Evans.

James E. Ransome’s highly acclaimed illustrations for?Before She Was Harriett?received the 2018 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. His other award-winning titles include Coretta Scott King Honor Book?Uncle Jed’s Barbershop;?Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt; and?Let My People Go, winner of the NAACP Image Award. He frequently collaborates with his wife, author Lesa Cline-Ransome. Some of their titles include?Game Changers: The Story of Venus Serena Williams, which received four starred reviews;?My Story, My Dance: Robert Battle’s Journey to Alvin Ailey; and?Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass. Mr. Ransome teaches illustration at Pratt Institute and lives in upstate New York with his family. Visit James at JamesRansome.com.