The Baseball Player and the Walrus

The Baseball Player and the Walrus written by Ben Loory and illustrated by Alex Latimer (2015)

Once there was a very unhappy baseball player. He was a very good baseball player. He had a lot of fans. And he made a lot of money. But he was not happy. Then one day he saw a walrus at the zoo. He spent the whole day staring at the walrus. And when he got home he dreamed about the walrus. He knew what he must do. He convinced the zookeeper to sell him the walrus. He made a special pool for the walrus. He bought truckloads of walrus vitamins and fish. He was very happy with his walrus. When the baseball player had to go back to work he missed his walrus so much that he quit his job and hurried home. But when he got home, he realized that he didn’t have enough money to buy everything the walrus needed. He couldn’t go back to the baseball team and he couldn’t find any other job, so he called the zookeeper and said good bye to his walrus. Now he was a very unhappy person again. He had no job and he had no walrus. One day, he went back to the zoo to visit the walrus and he saw a sign ‘Walrus Caretaker Needed’. The baseball player knew exactly what he could do to make money and to see his friend everyday!

Now I want a walrus! Don’t say you don’t too! This is a perfect opportunity to talk to your child about working for something (a walrus) he/she wants. Work together to make a list of chores and payments. Maybe have a sticker chart to earn a big prize (a walrus). Whatever you decide, be sure you have enough fish and walrus vitamins!

Look at all these cute walruses you can make at home!

And cupcakes, don’t forget the cupcakes!