Sports camp! Fun or intimidation? Maybe a little of both. It is Riley Liston’s first time away at sports camp, Camp Olympia. He doesn’t have any friends at camp and he is the youngest and the smallest. He is eleven and all the other boys are either twelve or thirteen. In spite of these facts, Riley is competitive and he loves sports.
This short story of a two week sports camp experience is chock full of successes and failures, tentative new friendships, and the formation of a team from kids that were just assigned to the same cabin, Cabin 3 – Threshers. There are also pranks and ghost stories, after lights out retaliations and spooky happenings. Looming over all is the threat of Big Joe, a huge snapping turtle which supposedly inhabits Lake Surprise and is capable of biting off a swimmer’s arm or foot. This adds a lot of drama to the last, big swimming competition.
This is a fun, quick read sprinkled with Camp Olympia Bulletins which give the highlights of the sports events of the day and give the standings of the teams. Recommended for boys 5th grade through 7th.
Posted by: Fran
This is a wonderful book about a girl who has lost her father. He had died recently in a car crash. Now she has to figure out how to live with that reality. Her mother has become very distant. A woman who loses herself in online shopping . She no longer has the vitality to fix dinner and Molly misses that time that they would spend together making dinner. Now they just argue. To let off some steam, Molly goes outside to pitch a few balls. Her father had taught her how to play catch and how to pitch. They had shared an enthusiasm for baseball which her mother couldn’t relate to. As she throws her first pitch, her knuckleball, a pitch that flutters and flits, she realizes that she wants to play boys baseball this year. She wants to be a pitcher. Her best friend is supportive but she’s afraid to tell her mother about her decision.
Matt Pin lives what seems an ordinary life for a 7th grader—he has tried out for his school’s baseball team and is on his way to being its star pitcher, he has parents who love him, and a little brother who adores him. But Matt is not an ordinary boy, not exactly. Born in Vietnam to a local mother, and an American-soldier father who took off as soon as his Tour of Duty was up, Matt witnessed the bombings and brutalities of the War first-hand. His mother had him airlifted to the States, where a wonderful couple adopted him. Now two years later, Matt is haunted by the memories of his biological mother’s ‘abandonment,’ of the bombs dropped on him, and of the wounded little brother he had to leave behind.
This is a good sports book. The main character is in 8th grade but I think it will appeal to younger readers also. Roy loves baseball and has always played on the traveling team. This year is very important because the high school coach scouts the traveling teams for potential high school players. Unfortunately, Roy is kind of a cutup at school and he does well in classes that interest him but History isn’t one of them. He is getting a D. His parents are divorced but put up a united front about his grades. Both agree that he will have to play on the recreational team this year.
We live in a 30 second world. Today people IM because it takes too long to talk. They “tweet” to inform us of their every thought and movement. “News” is available on TV or online—even on our phones!–24 hours a day. Everything happens fast; yesterday’s news is ancient history. Kids may not believe it but, it wasn’t always that way.
Keith Hutchinson had always played shortstop, just like his Dad. This year that has changed. The team has a new player who is even better than Hutch and he is playing shortstop. Hutch is playing second base. Their team makes it to the finals and Hutch has gotten some press for his performance but not all is going smoothly. The shortstop has an irritating attitude, Hutch’s dad is as reserved and distant as always and Hutch misses playing the shortstop spot. Thanks goodness, Hutch has a supportive and understanding mother and the best friend ever, Cody, who also plays on the team. This is an interesting book and will speak to all the kids who dream of having a professional sports career. Hutch has hopes for one but his Dad is dead set against it because his professional career died and it broke his heart. The book doesn’t give any answers but explores these issues and the last baseball game is really exciting!
When you are watching football games do you follow the patterns of all the plays or do you just enjoy the action and the touchdowns? Troy could follow the patterns of all the plays and predict what the other team would do and what his team should do. But could he convince anyone to follow his football advice? His two best friends believed him, his mother believed him. Could he get an Atlanta Falcons player or coach to believe him? The author, Tim Green played for the Atlanta Falcons so he knows NFL football and describes football plays in great detail. He’s also good at describing the relationships of Troy and his friends. This book is a first down. Keep going with some of his other books including Football Hero and Football Champ.
Are you ready to read about Colorado in the 1940s, complete with rattlesnakes, a flash flood, and the adventure of riding in a rodeo? Now add in fifteen year old Will and his mentally handicapped twin brother Denny. You can really become involved in the coming of age adventures of this cowboy whose father, brother and a small white scar keep pulling him in a different direction. Girls and boys in sixth to eighth grade can appreciate the adventure and the family emotions that shadow the action.
Being a good soccer goalie in spite of having to wear thick glasses for an eye problem should make your parents proud. But Paul Fisher’s parents are so absorbed by his older brother’s football prowess, as they hope for him to fulfill his dad’s football dreams, that they don’t pay much attention to Paul’s soccer skills. They also ignore the older brother’s violent streak. The family has just moved to Tangerine, Florida, and has to cope with lightning strikes, sink holes, and burning muck. The intensity and suspense of the story combined with insight and humor make it more than just a sports story. Kids in middle school and high school will find a lot to think about in Tangerine. So will adults.
Twelve-year-old House Jackson and his baseball team’s one and only game is scheduled on July 4th. The team really has been looking forward to this game ever since they were defeated by the Redbugs last summer, when House, their star pitcher, had a broken arm. The Aurora County Birthday Pageant, to be performed entirely by children, promises to be THE event of the year and it is also scheduled to be on July 4th. All the Mamas have signed-up their children for the pageant, including the entire baseball team. Now this creates a problem – a big problem – a very big problem.
