A Little Pretty Pocket-Book

A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, intended for the Amusement of Little Master Tommy and Pretty Miss Polly with Two Letters from Jack the Giant Killer is the title of a 1744 children's book by British publisher John Newbery.

[1] It is generally considered the first children's book, and consists of simple rhymes for each of the letters of the alphabet.

Of baseball's English origin: "The game of Rounders has been played in England since Tudor Times, with the earliest reference being in 1744 in 'A Little Pretty Pocketbook' where it is called baseball.

"[4][5] "It is a striking and fielding team game, which involves hitting a small hard leather cased ball with a round wooden or metal bat and then running around 4 bases in order to score.

"[6] John Thorn, the official historian for Major League Baseball, has suggested that the game depicted may not have involved the use of a bat, and thus is a predecessor of sorts to punchball.