Book Review: ‘Go Cubs Go’

You probably know Marv Levy best as head coach of the Buffalo Bills, who he led to four Super Bowls in the 1990s -- though they didn’t win any of them, which certainly must have felt familiar to Levy, a Chicago native and huge Cubs fan.

Levy attended the 1945 World Series as a young man and then, as you probably remember, was honored as a World War II veteran during Game 3 of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field.

Now, Levy has written a children’s book called “Go Cubs Go! Baseball’s Never Give Up Story,” which tells the story of a bear named Bruno as he follows the Cubs from 1929 right up to Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.

Bruno and his grandchildren sit down to watch Game 7 and he tells them stories about great Cubs teams of the past, and even though they never won the World Series, they never gave up.

You know how this story ends -- with victory and a parade. But the point of the book, which appears to be at kids around age six or seven, is to teach them to never give up, no matter what they seek. A child that age can either have this story read to them, or for young readers, read it themselves.

Rob Peters’ illustrations (one shown above) are fun, and also historically accurate (including showing the Wrigley Field marquee in its original blue for one of the historical scenes).

Author George Castle collaborated with Levy on this book and includes a timeline of Cubs history as well as some “Words, Terms and Quotes” all about the Cubs, something a child who reads this book can learn as they get older and into all things Cubs.

Congratulations to Marv Levy, who’s now 91 years old and is one of the generation who waited a very long time to see what we all witnessed last November 2, on this fun kids’ book. It’s a must for any family with young Cubs fans.