Babe Ruth and the Ice Cream Mess

by Dan Gutman, Elaine Garvin (Illustrator)

Seven-year-old George "Babe" Ruth, who would grow up to become a baseball legend, steals a dollar from his father's saloon to buy ice cream for his friends. Simultaneous.

Genres: Childrens

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

The author of over 80 books in a little over a decade of writing, Dan Gutman has written on topics from computers to baseball. Beginning his freelance career as a nonfiction author dealing mostly with sports for adults and young readers, Gutman has concentrated on juvenile fiction since 1995. His most popular titles include the time-travel sports book Honus and Me and its sequels, and a clutch of baseball books, including The Green Monster from Left Field. From hopeful and very youthful presidential candidates to stunt men, nothing is off limits in Gutman's fertile imagination. As he noted on his author Web site, since writing his first novel, They Came from Centerfield, in 1994, he has been hooked on fiction. "It was fun to write, kids loved it, and I discovered how incredibly rewarding it is to take a blank page and turn it into a WORLD."

Gutman was born in New York City in 1955, but moved to Newark, New Jersey the following year and spent his youth there.

Reviews

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the heck? This may be an incident from the life of Babe Ruth, but aside from the timeline (which kids on the level of the text of the tale won't read) there is nothing to tie it to him. There is no context of his life.

Historical fiction and biography for this age is usually a bland regurgitation of facts...so mini-kudos for trying to tell a story...but it's a bad one that teaches some awful lessons: Break windows and don't apologize. Steal to get people to like you. Run from your punishment...and Mom just sighs and wonders what will happen to him--well, he becomes one of the best known baseball players in history...so lie, vandalize, steal and run away, and you'll succeed! {I guess, if you're a straight white male in America...that's pretty much true}

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not easy to find books about historical figures involved in a moral dilemma that can be read by an emerging reader. TI found it all to be a stretch, but this will appeal to some young readers. It may find a spot in my classroom library.

[Nam · Rating 1 out of 5]

First, he didn't apologize to the lady for breaking her window. Second, his father went to paddle him. Why would I read this with a child????

[Cassidy Wells · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this book was going to have a good moral or teach children something but it didn't. It also didn't have anything to do with Babe Ruth's life as a baseball player so I don't know how I would use this book in the classroom either, so it wasn't my favorite beginning reader book. Beginning Reader.

[Maureen King · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found Babe Ruth and the Ice Cream Mess through a library search while planning a classroom guidance lesson related to stealing. Although it is recommended for ages 5-7, I consider the book to be inappropriate for young children. It references child abuse and children being permanently sent away for misbehavior. As an elementary school counselor, I would not consider sharing this book with any children in my school. I was shocked to see that it is an AR book which means kids will be drawn to it in an effort to rack up their points. Reader beware. ~ Maureen King

[Slayton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I made an 80 on this AR Test