You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?!

Author: Jonah Winter
Illustrator:   Andrew Carrilho
Publisher:  Random House
Publication Year:   2009
Location: Knox County Public Library- Powell

Awards:   ALA Notable, Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor book, NCSS/CBC Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies,  Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Books 

Summary:  "You gotta be kidding! You never heard of Sandy Koufax?! He was only the greatest lefty who ever pitched in the game of baseball." As accessibly written as the companion book about Willie Mays, this book tells the story of the life of Sandy Koufax who grew up Jewish in Brooklyn and was a star at every sport he played. As a rookie pitcher, he had an out of control arm and didn't make friends, but in the 1960s he became a starter for the LA Dodgers. His first season was dismal, but he eventually became a star. In the 1965 World Series, Koufax sat out the first game because it was a Jewish High Holy Day and became a hero in the American Jewish community.

Classroom Ideas: classroom studies of the 1960s, world religions, Judaism, biography

Extras: Detailed facts given in small pink "tickets" included within the text, glossary, resources, quotations, author's note, lenticular cover