Doors to the World

Take Me Out to the Yakyu tells the story of a young boy who goes to baseball games in the United States with his American grandfather, and in Japan with his Japanese grandfather. From the very first page, the author shows the love that the bicultural protagonist has for baseball, whether it be in the United States or Japan. The boy describes the two distinct experiences of baseball in the two countries. Each page shows a part of the experience, first from the American perspective and vocabulary, and then contrasting that with the Japanese one. The boy shows the reader the social, cultural, linguistic, and technological differences in the two baseball outings. The illustrations depict the differences described, giving visual context to a young reader. At the end of the story, the author provides a bilingual glossary of baseball and other terms as well as a short history of the game itself.