Home Base: A Mother-Daughter Story

by Nikki Tate, Katie Kath (Illustrator)

Overview

In this empowering picture book perfect for young feminists, a gutsy baseball-playing girl and her bricklaying mom celebrate when love and hard work triumph over nerves.

A young pitcher steps up to the plate.

A hardworking mom interviews for her biggest job yet.

Girls and women aren't always welcome in the worlds of baseball and bricklaying. But with practice, the right gear, and a whole lot of determination, this intrepid mom and daughter thrive under pressure. Readers get to see their parallel narratives unfold in tandem, coming together at the end for a sweet reward: ice cream!

With fun, punchy writing and radiant illustrations, this touching story will be a hit for budding activists, kids who love sports, and the moms who cheer them on.


An American Library Association Notable Children’s Book
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
A Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Book

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823436637
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	03/24/2020
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.82(w) x 11.25(h) x 0.32(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Nikki Tate was born in Birmingham, England, and spent her childhood roaming the globe. She is the author of more than three dozen books for children. Over the years, she's worked as a book reviewer, a bookseller, a professional storyteller, and a farmer. Nikki's home base is in the Rocky Mountains, but she loves to travel, particularly if she can find a rock to climb or an ocean to sail.

Katie Kath graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with an MFA in illustration. Some of the books she's illustrated for children include the Nora Notebooks series, by Claudia Mills. Her books have been recognized by folks like the Bank Street College of Education, the New York Public Library, the Children's Book Council, and the Junior Library Guild. Katie's home base is in North Carolina, where she plays with her dog and cat, draws cartoons, and counts the days until Christmas.

Editorial Reviews

★ 04/27/2020

In this rhythmic celebration of family and self-reliance, a mother and daughter embark from their shared home into parallel story arcs—the single parent begins a bricklaying job, while the child joins a baseball team. Tate conveys the duo’s journeys in analogous staccato lists (“Cap. Glove. Shoes” for the girl; “Gloves. Goggles. Boots” for her mom), offering each undertaking equal importance and underlining the idea that small steps and practice (“Catch./ Toss./ Grin” at the ballpark; “Butter./ Scrape./ Smooth” on the job site) can meaningfully accumulate. Kath’s pastel and watercolor illustrations enliven the text, with vibrant, nostalgic-style panels that align the two narratives. A full spread of the girl pitching (“Straight. Fast. Strong”), the mother’s level achieving an even plane underneath, stands out, and a celebratory end-of-book ice cream date connects the independent duo back to their shared love for each other. This picture book unobtrusively featuring women in nontraditional roles empowers, as does its message of teamwork and support. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

★ "The graphic-novel illustration style, in which windows of alternating action move the storyline forward, adds to the feeling that this duo of everyday heroines is unstoppable. A celebration of female perseverance and success: brava!"—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

★ "In this rhythmic celebration of family and self-reliance, a mother and daughter embark from their shared home into parallel story arcs . . . This picture book unobtrusively featuring women in nontraditional roles empowers, as does its message of teamwork and support."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"The spare narration perfectly complements Kath’s rhythmic watercolor panels, and the independence and mutual support between tattooed mom with her shaved and curly blond hair, and bronze-skinned, long-haired daughter shines through every scene. Kids who gravitate toward Bob Graham’s picture books, with their tight-knit, gently norm-tweaking families, will feel right at home."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books  

"This family is real. Red-haired, freckled mom has tattoos and is worrying over meals and bills, but she also is a successful businessperson and skilled tradeswoman. The daughter, of light-brown skin and hair, does her chores and her homework and then is ready to step up to the mound and pitch at Saturday’s game. The watercolor-and pastel illustrations depict the concurrent story lines through panels, contrasting the two characters in a humorous and effective way."—Booklist

"With only a few descriptive words displayed on each page, the illustrations truly carry this story. Loose watercolor and pastel panels depict both characters' determination, commitment, perseverance, and love for their respective activities.—School Library Connection

"What’s touched on in the text is made specific in Kath’s watercolor and pastel illustrations. . . . . Details such as the umpire’s bubblegum bubble as our ballplayer prepares her pitch, or Mom’s colorful arm tattoo, add comfort and, for many, familiarity to this welcome and unconventional family story."  —The Horn Book

From the Publisher

03/06/2020

PreS-Gr 2—Told mostly with illustrations, this is a story of a mom and daughter who are both entering male-dominated fields. The daughter, who has light brown skin and long black-and-purple hair, is trying out for a boy's baseball team. The pale-skinned, freckled, and tattooed mom is beginning a job as a bricklayer. Mother and daughter receive simultaneous callbacks after their stressful day of "tryouts." They both work hard and are triumphant. One spread shows the girl's progressive pitching form at the top of both pages. The artwork blossoms from a rough sketch of her pitch wind-up to full-color detail when she releases the ball. On the bottom of this same spread, the mother's level is underlining the action. The level's bubble is perfectly centered. The sparse text, "Straight. Fast. Strong," on this page and similar well-chosen words on all the other pages make this story effective and delightful. VERDICT This is an appealing story with a simple message of equality, as mother and daughter challenge gender stereotypes on the baseball field and on a construction project. The artist's portrayal of the pair's very different physical appearances is a matter-of-fact nod to diverse families.—Elaine Fultz, Oakwood City Schools, Dayton

School Library Journal

★ 2020-01-26
A fair-skinned, freckle-spattered mom and her brown-skinned, dark-haired daughter each feel the nervousness that comes with approaching a new experience.

In a remarkably sparse text—sentences are often single words and only twice more than three words in length—the pair’s story unfolds side by side. Daughter is a plucky pitcher out to prove herself and improve her skills on the baseball field. Mom is a tenacious mason looking to secure a new job and execute it with excellence. Both are fiercely hardworking and determined, emphasized through the use of minimal words and the illustrations’ focus on the tasks at hand. After each secures her position, the bulk of the story depicts the daily grind required to reach her goal. Between pages of work, softly textured cartoons show mom and daughter taking respite at home, where it is just the two of them and their cat. While there is much to be done and each is tired at the end of the long days, there is no sense of struggle implied; empowerment abounds. The graphic-novel illustration style, in which windows of alternating action move the storyline forward, adds to the feeling that this duo of everyday heroines is unstoppable.

A celebration of female perseverance and success: brava! (Picture book. 4-9)

Kirkus Reviews

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