Matt Tavares brings to life a winning tale of the shortest home run in history with the help of his luminous artwork and an infectious love of the game. CRACK! Somehow, Andy's bat had hit the ball. Everybody heard it . . . but nobody saw where it went. Andy Oyler is the shortest player on his baseball team, the Minneapolis Millers, not to mention the whole league. And no matter how hard he tries, he just can't seem to get a hit. But one fateful spring day in 1903, a sudden change in the weather leads to a change in Andy Oyler's luckand as Andy soon discovers, even the shortest player can become the game's biggest hero! Matt Tavares brings one of baseball's legendary stories to life and champions the underdog in all of us. Helping readers keep score is a bibliography and final note from the author about this uplifting all-American tale.

Matt Tavares is the illustrator of 'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and the author-illustrator of ZACHARY'S BALL and OLIVER'S GAME. He says of MUDBALL, "We have all found ourselves in situations where we feel helpless, small, and ready to quit—but as Little Andy Oyler's story demonstrates, good fortune may rain down on us when we least expect it."