THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED

A lad and his pop find a way to renew their sports bonding after their favorite baseball team moves away in this engagingly illustrated tribute to a legendary football game. Sam’s disappointment when his father’s new job prevents them from going to Giants games together is redoubled by the team’s move from New York to Los Angeles. Reluctantly, he starts to follow his town’s other Giants, the football team, and when he scores a pair of free tickets to its 1958 championship game with Johnny Unitas’s mighty Colts, he drags his stubborn father along. Bildner delivers a sketchy but dramatic account of the now-famous contest, but what comes through most clearly is Sam’s delight as his dad’s enthusiasm rekindles—a delight enhanced by the wonderfully expressive faces in Pullen’s meticulous caricatures. Readers will enjoy the period detail, the recognizable-but-even-larger-than-life football heroes on the field and the reminder that shared pleasures are best. (afterword) (Picture book. 7-9)