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The Field Beyond The Outfield
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Ludlow Grebe has an overactive he's sure there are monsters in the closet and sharks in the rainwater.Then Ludlow's parents decide to sign him up with a local Little League team, the Oswald City Hornets. Ludlow's told to play "far, far back," so far back, in fact, that he ends up in ANOTHER field where monsters are in the crowd and insects are on the field. Ludlow even pinch-hits a home run for the beetle baseballers! With his wildly imaginative story and delightfully bizarre illustrations, Mark Teague hits this hilarious baseball tale right out of the park.
Ludlow Grebe has an overactive he's sure there are monsters in the closet and sharks in the rainwater.Then Ludlow's parents decide to sign him up with a local Little League team, the Oswald City Hornets. Ludlow's told to play "far, far back," so far back, in fact, that he ends up in ANOTHER field where monsters are in the crowd and insects are on the field. Ludlow even pinch-hits a home run for the beetle baseballers! With his wildly imaginative story and delightfully bizarre illustrations, Mark Teague hits this hilarious baseball tale right out of the park.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
4 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Mark Teague
147 books121 followersMark Teague has delighted young readers with more than 20 picture books, and he has written many of them himself, including the popular Pigsty, Baby Tamer, and One Halloween Night. He is also the illustrator of Cynthia Rylant's beloved Poppleton series for beginning readers and the best-selling books by Jane Yolen, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight and How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon.
Mark Teague's life changed when he moved from San Diego to New York City and he planted the seed for his first picture book, The Trouble with the Johnsons. Each of Teague's books start as "notebooks full of sketches and scribbles, strange little drawings and phrases that suddenly come together," Teague explains. And although he had no formal writing training, his endless imagination and understanding nature gives him a permanent place in the hearts of everyone.
Mark and his wife live in Coxsackie, New York, with their young daughter Lily, who has a great time watching her dad paint the pictures in his books.
Mark Teague's life changed when he moved from San Diego to New York City and he planted the seed for his first picture book, The Trouble with the Johnsons. Each of Teague's books start as "notebooks full of sketches and scribbles, strange little drawings and phrases that suddenly come together," Teague explains. And although he had no formal writing training, his endless imagination and understanding nature gives him a permanent place in the hearts of everyone.
Mark and his wife live in Coxsackie, New York, with their young daughter Lily, who has a great time watching her dad paint the pictures in his books.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 11, 2024
I’m not sure I would call a closet of human-sized pigs and alligators “monsters”, but it would be a bit off-putting.
October 12, 2013
The Field Beyond the Outfield is the heartfelt story of a young boy named Ludlow who, despite his parents' best efforts, can't seem to escape monsters.
The front cover features a baseball field with two trees framing the image, guiding the reader's eyes toward the center. In the foreground, we see a boy in a typical baseball uniform looking off to the side, almost as if to see what's happening behind him. In the background, centered on the cover is what looks like a group of bugs playing their own baseball game. We can see the stands, the pitcher, and the catcher on this side of the field. This image continues around to the back cover, displaying the entire picture of the outfield, scoreboard and all. The reader also sees a glimpse of what looks to be an alligator watching the game happening behind the boy. All of the illustrations were done with acrylic on paper, giving the look of a painted image.
The first opening of the story reveals the premise of the story - there are monsters in Ludlow's closet. The text is featured in an all white page facing a framed illustration of the boy's bedroom, illuminated by the light of the moon. In his closet, however, are not what you might expect to see when someone mentions monsters. On the contrary, the characters in Ludlow's closet look to be typical animals, but they're playing instruments, dressed in nice suits, and their facial expressions look quite friendly. At first, the reader is positioned at a distance, giving them some background before moving forward in the story. As they turn the page, the illustration becomes larger, still framed with a white border, but now encompassing one full spread and half of the adjoining page. Our character looks quite small in the image, suggesting there is a much larger world happening around him.
As the reader progresses through the story, the plot unfolds through two recurring structures. The author rotates between a plain white page containing only text facing a framed image on the accompanying page followed by a framed image that flows from one page onto half of the next, pushing the text to the side and giving the reader a more expansive look at what's happening. The circular story reaches full closure when the last image reflects the one on the first page, with an image of Ludlow's bedroom, lit by the moon, monsters still in closet, but this time, our character is pictured sound asleep. This final image suggests that the monsters were no reason to worry and that Ludlow is quite content with his imaginative world.
The Field Beyond the Outfield is a simple story blurring the lines between reality and imagination in a sweet, heartwarming way. Despite his parents' stereotypical attempt at getting Ludlow to act more like a boy by enrolling him in baseball, Ludlow can't seem to escape his imagination and turns his baseball experience into a more entertaining one by integrating his two worlds.
No characters were harmed by "monsters" in the making of this story.
The front cover features a baseball field with two trees framing the image, guiding the reader's eyes toward the center. In the foreground, we see a boy in a typical baseball uniform looking off to the side, almost as if to see what's happening behind him. In the background, centered on the cover is what looks like a group of bugs playing their own baseball game. We can see the stands, the pitcher, and the catcher on this side of the field. This image continues around to the back cover, displaying the entire picture of the outfield, scoreboard and all. The reader also sees a glimpse of what looks to be an alligator watching the game happening behind the boy. All of the illustrations were done with acrylic on paper, giving the look of a painted image.
The first opening of the story reveals the premise of the story - there are monsters in Ludlow's closet. The text is featured in an all white page facing a framed illustration of the boy's bedroom, illuminated by the light of the moon. In his closet, however, are not what you might expect to see when someone mentions monsters. On the contrary, the characters in Ludlow's closet look to be typical animals, but they're playing instruments, dressed in nice suits, and their facial expressions look quite friendly. At first, the reader is positioned at a distance, giving them some background before moving forward in the story. As they turn the page, the illustration becomes larger, still framed with a white border, but now encompassing one full spread and half of the adjoining page. Our character looks quite small in the image, suggesting there is a much larger world happening around him.
As the reader progresses through the story, the plot unfolds through two recurring structures. The author rotates between a plain white page containing only text facing a framed image on the accompanying page followed by a framed image that flows from one page onto half of the next, pushing the text to the side and giving the reader a more expansive look at what's happening. The circular story reaches full closure when the last image reflects the one on the first page, with an image of Ludlow's bedroom, lit by the moon, monsters still in closet, but this time, our character is pictured sound asleep. This final image suggests that the monsters were no reason to worry and that Ludlow is quite content with his imaginative world.
The Field Beyond the Outfield is a simple story blurring the lines between reality and imagination in a sweet, heartwarming way. Despite his parents' stereotypical attempt at getting Ludlow to act more like a boy by enrolling him in baseball, Ludlow can't seem to escape his imagination and turns his baseball experience into a more entertaining one by integrating his two worlds.
No characters were harmed by "monsters" in the making of this story.
October 16, 2013
The Field Beyond the Outfield by Mark Teague is a picture book racing with fantasy. The main character Ludlow Grebe is a young boy afraid of the monsters in his closet and sharks swimming outside every time it rains, so his parents decide he needs to get out more. This is when Ludlow is introduced to baseball. Playing baseball kept the monsters as bay only for awhile, as time based Ludlow had a had time holding back the monsters.
One day in a game his c couch asked him to play in the back outfield, only to find himself playing a different game of baseball. Ludlow found that he was playing baseball with a group of monsters. After playing with the monsters he realized they were not as scary of he once thought them to be. After that game with the monsters Ludlow never complained about the monsters in his closet and went on to be ballplayer.
The illustrations in this picturebook are bright and painted with acrylic. The end pages are illustrations of a baseball field and monsters playing baseball, which is part of the story. The remainder of the illustrations framed in white to bring the viewers attention to the colorful illustrations. The text is done in black on a white background, in some openings the text is on the pages on the left and illustration on the right. This is done because the viewer reads the story from left to right.
One day in a game his c couch asked him to play in the back outfield, only to find himself playing a different game of baseball. Ludlow found that he was playing baseball with a group of monsters. After playing with the monsters he realized they were not as scary of he once thought them to be. After that game with the monsters Ludlow never complained about the monsters in his closet and went on to be ballplayer.
The illustrations in this picturebook are bright and painted with acrylic. The end pages are illustrations of a baseball field and monsters playing baseball, which is part of the story. The remainder of the illustrations framed in white to bring the viewers attention to the colorful illustrations. The text is done in black on a white background, in some openings the text is on the pages on the left and illustration on the right. This is done because the viewer reads the story from left to right.
October 11, 2009
I am definitely a fan of Mark Teague books and this is one that a boy would definitely like! It’s about the game of baseball; there is a little boy who keeps thinking of monsters in his closet and sharks that swim outside so his parents put him into baseball to play. He, of course, is put into the outfield and it’s not surprising that he starts daydreaming! He was so far back ‘another game of baseball’ was going on and he started playing in that game where there were bugs playing! He was really nervous, but he stepped up to the plate where he hit the ball out of the park! He never thought the crowd would stop cheering! That night, he only dreamed of baseball and wasn’t scared because a good baseball player was always ready!
I liked this book, but it wasn’t my favorite that I’ve read by him. Of course, I liked the illustrations and thought it was still a cute story line. Kids can still get something out of it and they can learn things from it! You could read this book when talking about baseball thematically in a classroom.
I liked this book, but it wasn’t my favorite that I’ve read by him. Of course, I liked the illustrations and thought it was still a cute story line. Kids can still get something out of it and they can learn things from it! You could read this book when talking about baseball thematically in a classroom.
October 15, 2014
Mark Teague's "The Field Beyond the Outfield" is a charming glimpse into a boy's imaginary world. As with most parents who become concerned when it seems like their child's make-believe world is dominating their real life, they try to intervene. In this case, when Ludlow Grebe begins to dream nightly of monsters in his closet, his mom and dad decide to sign him up for baseball to get him thinking about other things. So he does, as he knows "a good ballplayer is always ready". When it is his turn to play though, his imagination jumps into high gear as the creatures from his closet take their places in the bleachers. What happens next will make all readers smile, especially the younger ones, who know that a little bit of fantasy makes everything just a bit better.
February 25, 2015
Plot: Ludlow has a vivid imagination which wonders as he's playing in the outfield. Soon he's getting the chance to play for an enormous crowd of...bugs.
Setting: United States
Characters: Ludlow, Mother,Father, Bugs,and Monsters
Point-of view: Third person
Theme: Comedy, baseball, imagination
Style: Children's fiction, short story,traditional story structure.
Notes: Good for a baseball lover in the K-2 range to read.
Setting: United States
Characters: Ludlow, Mother,Father, Bugs,and Monsters
Point-of view: Third person
Theme: Comedy, baseball, imagination
Style: Children's fiction, short story,traditional story structure.
Notes: Good for a baseball lover in the K-2 range to read.
December 6, 2012
I really like to read any book by Mark Teague. This book is more geared toward boys with it being about baseball and monsters, but some girls might enjoy it. I know that I did! This would be a great option to have in a classroom library because it would be a great book that students would enjoy reading.
November 11, 2010
He had animals in his closet.A new hope. I lke it. Raed the book!Have you?!
December 7, 2012
This is a great book for boys to read , and girls :) It is all about monsters, baseball, and imagination! I would use this as a creative writing assignment and also as a book share in the classroom.
September 18, 2013
The Field Beyond The Outfield was a good book. Interesting story line. Could be used as a creative writing prompt.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews