Take Me Out To The Yakyu is indeed, a home run! This book is filled with affection and edification, and really highlights the global reach of baseball. In Take Me Out To The Yakyu, a little boy gets to see baseball through both Japanese and American perspectives. Filled with wonderful illustrations, and new words to learn (if you're unfamiliar with Japanese), this book knocks it out of the park! ( )

diverse picture book (in English with a sprinkling of Japanese words; baseball/sports, Japan, grandparents; for preschoolers age 3 and up).
* Prominently features diverse characters: starring a Japanese-American boy (grandpa Ji Ji lives in Japan, grandpa Pop Pop is American and has orange-brown hair on his arms and legs); the stadium crowds are generic/colorless but the baseball players are diverse (a Caucasian pitcher and a black batter on the American team; Japanese players on the Japanese team of course).
* Would work for a baseball- or sports-themed (or multi-cultural?) preschool storytime. The text on each page is pretty short and action-packed, but the overall story is longer so you'll may want to read this one earlier in your circle session, before the kids get too wiggly, and maybe you would skip some pages if your audience is still working on their "sitting quietly" skills.
Some of the story is conveyed through the vibrant and appealing illustrations, so this doesn't work as well for dial-a-story over the phone, but it definitely is good as a read-aloud to one or more kids in person. There is also a glossary in the back (including the Japanese writing for the Japanese words) but it doesn't provide a pronunciation guide, unfortunately. ( )

Adorable and informative...kids will love this introduction to Japanese baseball.

No matter where he is, in America or visiting Japan. It is always fun to go to the ballgame with his grandparents.

This is a book about the things that are different and the same in a baseball game in American and Japan. ( )