Shortly after we married, my husband announced that he would like to have eight sons so that they could all be on the same baseball team (with my husband acting as pitcher). I told him that I hoped his second wife would be agreeable to that plan.

Many years and two daughters later, we re-encountered the idea of an all-family baseball team in Audrey Vernick’s “Brothers at Bat.” With gorgeous retro illustrations, this book traces how the Acerra family of New Jersey formed their own semi-pro baseball team in the 1930s and became the longest-running all-brother team in history. Vernick celebrates the brothers’ sportsmanship and loyalty to family without slipping into sentimentality, lovingly celebrating America’s favorite pastime. Check it out for the baseball lovers in your life!