This was such a fun story! I can't wait to share this in a storytime! I think the kids will absolutely love this!

This is a great story that is based on a different versions provided by the Cherokee, Creek, Ojibwe, and Menominee nations in North America. The Great Ball Game folk tale gives a great explanation of animal categorization, team work, good sportsmanship, and the value in every player. I really enjoyed this story and sharing it with students!

Great story about an individuals unique gifts and how it can bring a community together! Really enjoyed this book!

Clever illustrations help tell the story of bat, who doesn't fit in with either team playing a ball game. Bat uses his abilities to shine his difference.

A bit wordy for story time and geared more at 1st-3rd graders.

This book would be a good addition to larger collections.

Definitely a book I want in my school library! Engaging art and story with a message that resonates with all audiences.

I received an electronic ARC from Storey Publishing through NetGalley.
Powerful message to celebrate differences rather than shut them down. The animals and birds learn a valuable lesson from Bat. He challenged them early in the book but neither side would let him play as he didn't fit their criteria. Then, he brings the ball back and proves that his gifts are special too. Terrific dialogue starter for classes and families who want to honor how each person is unique.
Sheir offers an explanation of folktales and further informative text about this Native American tale. She also offers activities for readers to do themselves to celebrate their uniqueness.

This is a “make a circle around” book. It’s supposed to bring old fashion folk telling to modern story times. This story is about a bat that wants to join one of the two baseball teams. One is filled with birds and one is filled with mammals. Bat does not fit. Eventually the two teams learn that the bat has a purpose. I like the illustrations in this book. They are different from modern norms. This folktale hails from Native American indigenous peoples, and that is felt in the artwork. Overall, the book works but it’s not one I would gravity gravitate towards again and again

A lovely children’s book that highlights the importance of diversity and the different strengths that everyone has. It spoke about the different iterations of this story from past cultures and how this has adapted over the years which I found was an interesting touch. This would be a lovely addition to any young child’s collection.

This book talks about how -‘we’re all different and that different can be good, different can be great! If we were all the same, Think what a boring world it would be!’- and this couldn’t be more true. It really seems to be the month of children’s books talking about feelings and how we are all different and should embrace this. This story does set itself apart due to it originating from a Cherokee, Creek, Ojibway and Menominee people of North America classic Folktale. This story has been tweaked a bit to engage an reach a larger audience. I love how the illustrations -the further you get into the story- seem to ‘fade’ more and more, making the difference less noticeable, just as they embrace more and more being different is great.

With thanks to the author, the illustrator, publishers Storey publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

This is an inspirational book, encouraging the idea of diversity in people for younger readers, and saying that it is OK to be different and not try to be the same as their peers.

The birds and animals are planning a ball game against each other to determine who is the best, but can find no place for a bat in either team because in their minds it doesn't belong in either of their teams. But ultimately, when the birds and animals both fail in their quest, the bat returns to demonstrate its value to both groups and show how its unique skills that neither of the teams has can make all the difference.

Apart from the main story, the book gives several ways in which young readers can expand on the story to further their learning, while it also has some notes from the author's research describing how similar iterations of the folktale on which the story is based have been told in different cultures. Finally, the inclusion of a QR code that when scanned will also allow the reader to listen to the Circle Round podcast episode of this story, make the book a very entertaining package!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this and review it prior to publication. Admittedly, I asked my 8 year old son to help me with this review. I thought it was important to get both the parent, and the child's, opinion on the story. We both loved the story and the illustrations. As a budding athlete, he was very interested in the teamwork aspect of the game. As a child with a disability, we loved that it taught about differences and how that is ok. Great, enjoyable book which was fun and full of lessons!

Always a pleasure reading these books. Moreover this one, although I got the Advanced Reader Copy with unfinished illustration, gave me faith that this will be one amazing book. The story's wonderful, the message was given in smooth way, and the games at the end of the book are entertaining. Go buy this book, it's worth your money.

I really enjoy the books in this series. This one is sweet and simple and would appeal to most children. As always, I enjoy the guidance at the end of the book. That is my favorite part of this series. I don’t love the cover of this one. I probably wouldn’t have picked it up if I hadn’t read and enjoyed other books in this series. I love the art on the inside cover of the book. I would still recommend this book because of the early literacy guidance at the end and because of the message of the story.

It’s a ball game and the stakes are high!

The animals decide to play a game to decide who is better. During the game, a bat appears and both sides decide that he does not fit in their group. The bat leaves rejected.
This is a great book that addresses the topic of being different. Sometimes what makes us different saves the day.

I was aware of the tale as my obsession with folk tales began when I was a toddler. Rebecca's version is different from the one I read but I appreciate the newer one and loved her reasoning behind the changes. It's worth mentioning that she also discussed other versions later. The message of the story is a beautiful one, all of us are different from one-another and it doesn't make us more or less capable. Every one of us is precious and able in our own ways. We should celebrate our differences instead of letting it create diversion. What I love most about Circle Round books are the interesting, unique and innovative activities they include at the end of the story for kids to engage in. It really seals the message in their mind. The illustrations are bright and colourful, overall a wonderful book.

I read this to my 3 and 5 year old. They both enjoyed this one and were fully entertained. They loved seeing all the different animals and birds, and how they were playing a game. They ended up loving the bat in the end. I love children’s books that have a good message within them. This message is one of my favorites that it’s much better be different than like everyone else. I recommend this book for your children.

This book touches on a very important concept, that our differences make us special. This book uses the folklore from Native Americans and gives it life in a way that is captivating for a child. My son liked the ball game and was rooting for the birds because they can fly. At the end he said his favorite character was the bat because he could fly but also looked like an animal and that was cool. I enjoyed the story and illustrations. The acknowledgment and “why” of the story from the author was also interesting and I appreciated the nod to each tribes folklore.

To be different is to be unique, is to be special. This is a great story to share with your kid and an even greater story to invite kids to learn to stand in someone shoes and experience the uniqueness of others. Lovely drawings, great wisdom. The interactive ideas in the end are just wonderful. Also adults may find the value of this story. I’d say translate this book in all languages and have all schools in the world have a copy to read and to explore.

The Great Ball Game takes an Indigenous folktale and makes it accessible to children from all backgrounds. Who hasn't felt left out at one point? Bat carries the reader on a journey of acceptance and acknowledgment of how everyone (and animal) is different, making our communities diverse and interesting. The illustrations are beautifully captivating, definitely inspiration for the ''invent a mashup animal" prompt at the end of the book. There are lovely crafted prompts for conversations with children at the end that will liven up any classroom or living room discussion.

What an adorable story! Thank you to #NetGalley for the advanced e-reader copy for review. It’s stated in the prologue that this is a Native American story or fable told many times over with many different versions. The overarching theme for young children is that being different can be a very good thing and doesn’t have to be scary. It shows that we are all unique and have our own special talents. Bat (Who is super adorable, by the way!) gets ridiculed by both teams, the Animals and the Birds, for not fitting either category… Ultimately telling Bat to go away…that they didn’t want him on either team.
Bat persists, however… demonstrating multiple times the unique talents he offers, he teaches them about differences and believes he really should be on a team. The ending is perfect. In the epilogue, the author offers many questions for young readers to answer, making it fun and making them dig deeper to find their unique self. 🥰 #LoveIt This book is meant for younger viewers but my 8yr old thoroughly enjoyed it and participated in answering all the questions enthusiastically! Excellent illustration as well.