Author having a ball

Jeff Benson

A quick guessing game. Who is this?

“Kick me or boot me, hard or with finesse.

When I play in the mud, I become a mess.

I like to roll around,

And on the grass is where I will be found.

I’m a special ball, you can bump me with your head.

But use your foot, I prefer instead.”

Surprise! It’s a soccer ball, one of the bouncier, rotund

characters found in Cari Garfield’s new book, “After All, I’m Just a

Ball.”

Garfield, a Lido Isle resident and tennis coach at the Marriott

Newport Beach, recently issued her second children’s book to bridge

her loves of poetry and sports in a form palatable for children as

young as 5.

All kinds of sports balls come to life in the illustrated book --

each with its own personality -- and they try to make children guess

which sports they represent. Among those personified are tennis

balls, racquetballs, volleyballs, baseballs, ping pong balls and polo

balls -- chased by a horse, of course.

Balls can be round or oblong, big or small. They can soar over

walls, knock down pins or trickle into holes. And they can bounce

high or bounce nigh.

“I’ve always been infatuated with the balls,” said Garfield, 43.

“I used to draw balls, and when I was doodling in school I’d always

draw them with faces and make them alive. I think they’re just happy,

probably because sports has kept me happy.

“I think of it as a fun thing that’s kept me alive.”

Garfield has taught tennis for 15 years at the Newport Beach

Marriott. A former state champion and two-time All-American doubles

player in college, Garfield added to her athletic talents with

degrees in English and in telecommunications. She retired from the

pro tennis tour at 30 and decided to devote her time to coaching.

She currently coaches “kids” as young as 5 and as old as 80, and

volunteers to reads her book to classrooms in the Newport-Mesa area

and in Laguna Niguel and Huntington Beach.

Andersen Elementary School students Annika Gerken, 12, and her

10-year-old sister, Marika, have each taken tennis lessons from

Garfield for two years. The sisters said they enjoyed the book,

having read rough drafts before it came out.

“You guess which ball it is, and the pictures made the balls come

alive. It was really fun,” Annika said.

Marika enjoyed the book’s rhymes and thought it was funny. But her

true emphasis was on the fact that her tennis coach is so in tune

with her students.

“That’s really cool, because we can talk to her and see what she’s

doing and how she writes it,” Marika said.

When Garfield reads to students at their schools, she can barely

get past the first sentence before students pick up on which type of

ball she’s introducing, she said.

“They always shout it out,” Garfield said. “I tell them to put up

their hands and guess what kind of ball’s talking. They can’t wait to

say it. This one’s really brought out a lot of excitement.”

She wrote her first book, “Cari’s Characters,” in 1992 while she

was on the tennis tour. “Cari’s Characters” is a collection of random

children’s poems that urges children not to be afraid of the dark and

teaches them how to tie their shoelaces, among other things.

“After All, I’m Just a Ball ...” will be released Jan. 31 and is

available for purchase at https://www.authorhouse.com and at

bookstores nationwide.