Tennessee Council of Teachers of English

Reviewer:  Melissa Comer

Christened as America’s pastime, readers explore the early days of baseball in Barbara Gregorich’s verse novel, Jack and Larry: Jack Graney and Larry, the Cleveland Baseball Dog (2012). The story opens in 1912 and follows the career of Jack Graney, his love of the game, his pursuit of the pennant, and his devotion to Larry, his bull terrier. Coming up short, Graney faces disappointment as he watches other teams win the pennant, teams that aren’t his, the Cleveland Naps (later known as the Cleveland Indians). Through it all, Jack’s friendship with Larry grows. He teaches the bull terrier tricks, and Larry, in turn, teaches Jack what it means not to give up on a dream. More than that, perhaps, is that Larry also teaches the Cleveland Naps what it means to be a team, a team that has “togetherness.” In a tale of firsts (first team to wear numbers on their uniforms, first batter to swing against Babe Ruth, first team to have a dog as a mascot), Jack and Larry reminds readers “that life is a tornado that swoops us up, slaps us around, and drops us, black and blue but still standing.”

Gregorich pulls readers in, those who are fans of the game and those who aren’t. The reader is able to form an emotional connection with both Jack and Larry, experiencing the ups and downs of the world of major league baseball as Jack faces disappointment, joy, and heartache. The verse format of the story is offset with historical facts, written in prose, which results in a unique reading experience. In place of chapters, Gregorich uses poem titles for each section of the novel. The titles entice reading and set the stage for the content of that particular part, each poem building on the previous one. Jack and Larry is more than a story about baseball and a man and his best friend; it is a life-lesson in pursuing dreams, in never giving up, and in putting it all on the line for the love of the game.