This nonfiction picture book tells the story of Lena Blackburne and his Baseball Rubbing Mud, which major league teams (and many other teams) use to take the shine off brand-new baseballs. This is also a story of how failure in one area led to triumph in another. Illustrations.

Comic and touching, with an awareness of the natural world, The Monster of the Madidi introduces travel writing that every fan of Redmond O'Hanlon and Eric Newby should enjoy.