From bullpen to student's pen

BURLINGTON - If the Red Sox call on closer Jonathan Papelbon at the end of a game during the World Series, it's probably because the game is on the line. The 26-year-old pitcher is expected to come into pressure situations, stare down Colorado Rockies sluggers, and blow them away with his 90-plus-mile-an-hour fastball.

But come Nov. 5, you might find a softer, but no less competitive, image of Papelbon - in a new children's book.

"Pitching with the Papelbons," illustrated by Burlington High School senior Rachel Gregorio, is a tale about Papelbon and his younger twin brothers throwing a combined shutout during a Little League game. Complete with drawings and family photos, the book is also supposed to be a lesson to children that winning isn't everything - even though it sure is a lot of fun.

Like big bro, Jeremy and Joshua Papelbon are pitchers, and they are aspiring to follow his footsteps to the Major Leagues. (Joshua is making his way through the Red Sox organization, and Jeremy is in the Cubs'.)

While growing up, the three J's played together on teams in Mississippi coached by their father, John. But all three have their own pitching style. Jonathan had the right-handed heat. Jeremy is a southpaw. Joshua throws submarine style.

Coauthor Jon Goode, vice president of communications for the Lowell Spinners, said he came up with the idea for the book after getting to know the Papelbon family and the brothers' love for the game. Jonathan pitched for the Spinners in 2003 and Joshua played for the team in 2006. During both seasons, Goode helped parents John and Sheila find hotel rooms and checked on them while they were in Lowell to watch their sons play. It was then that Goode realized how important family is to the Papelbons and saw signs of their strong upbringing.

"I thought to myself, 'Family, baseball, and good values. This would make a good children's book,' " said Goode, 32, who got the OK from Sheila Papelbon. "It was a no-brainer."

Along with his wife, Lauren, 25, Goode began writing drafts of the book with the help of the Papelbon family. What the Goodes found out was, according to Sheila Papelbon, the boys had always been competitive but maintained a loose side for the right moments.

(It was something Jon Goode knew when he met Jonathan in 2003 as a Lowell Spinner. The first time Jonathan beat the Yankees was in a promotional cow-milking contest against another player for a Yankees farm team.)

Goode then enlisted Gregorio, a talented 17-year-old artist who had drawn caricatures of Spinners players.

Gregorio said she could capture the younger Papelbon boys after looking over old family photos borrowed from the family. Even in Little League Red Sox uniforms they looked liked they meant business, though they had boyish grins. "I think they are so cute," said Gregorio, who re-created Little League scenes by drawing and by using computer graphics.

The book begins with the boys eating a pregame meal, then follows them through their combined shutout as each brother comes in and shuts down batter after batter (only Jonathan gives up a hit). After the game, their parents are shown high-fiving each other while the boys jump up celebrating (no Irish jigs).

After talking to Sheila Papelbon, Gregorio said, it was then easy to imagine the family gathering around the table for breakfast while her husband lectures about trying their best before a game.

The book goes on sale after the World Series and can be purchased through the website pitchingwiththepapelbons.com. Proceeds from the book will benefit C2 Mission, a nonprofit that helps New England families affected by cerebral palsy and cystic fibrosis.

Now that one of her subjects is in the national spotlight in the World Series, Gregorio said she looks at the Red Sox closer differently, even when he's giving hitters the stare.

"It's so cool," said Gregorio, who hopes to study art and communications at Boston College, "because now I can say I've drawn him."

Russell Contreras can be reached at rcontreras@globe.com.

Visit boston.com/northwest to view a slideshow of the new children's book, "Pitching with the Papelbons."