Before Babe Ruth was a hard-hitting, hard-partying baseball player, he was a kid named George getting in trouble on the streets of Baltimore. In 1902, his frustrated parents sent him to Saint Mary's Industrial School for Boys, where he became one the "inmates." A lot about Saint Mary's was harsh, but there was also baseball and Brother Matthias, who spent hours teaching young George how to improve his game. Because of his youth, George was given the nickname Babe in his early days in the Major Leagues. He went on to become a huge celebrity but he never forgot Saint Mary's as Matt Tavares reveals in this surprisingly warm story about a not-quite-larger-than-life figure who had a soft spot for his old school and teacher and helped them through one particularly challenging time. (Ages 6-9)

Matt Tavares’s striking homage to one of baseball’s legends offers a rare view into Babe Ruth’s formative years in "the House that built Ruth."

Before he is known as the Babe, George Herman Ruth is just a boy who lives in Baltimore and gets into a lot of trouble. But when he turns seven, his father brings him to the gates of Saint Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, and his life is changed forever. At Saint Mary’s, he’s expected to study hard and follow a lot of rules. But there is one good thing about Saint Mary’s: almost every day, George gets to play baseball. Here, under the watchful eye of Brother Matthias, George evolves as a player and as a man, and when he sets off into the wild world of big-league baseball, the school, the boys, and Brother Matthias are never far from his heart. With vivid illustrations and clear affection for his subject, Matt Tavares sheds light on an icon who learned early that life is what you make of it — and sends home a message about honoring the place from which you came.