Light on actual baseball action, but the empowerment message comes through loud and clear.
A bully’s threats complicate a young baseball lover’s chance to try her hand at announcing.
Baseball may be the milieu—and the author, as part of a network announcing team for the San Francisco Giants, has plenty of specifics to impart about how the game is played and scored—but the real topic here is what girls (or women) who want to be involved in a field usually reserved for boys (or men) will have to endure or overcome. Eleven-year-old Marty is delighted to be asked at the last moment to announce her little brother Mikey’s Little League games, doing a fine job too. But then Sammy “the Smash” Simpson, slugger on a rival team, leaves her in tears (“Girls suck, and you stink as an announcer. Everyone was laughing at how bad you were. Stick to softball”) and doubting herself. Worse, the bully goes on to threaten Mikey with a beating if she doesn’t quit, and even Mikey suggests that her displays of baseball smarts are embarrassing. Marty is made of sterner stuff, though, and after pep talks from teammates and parents, she regains her self-confidence. It’s a purposive tale, only somewhat mitigated by late-inning nuance added to Sammy’s character. In Killoran’s realistic illustrations, Marty and her family look white, but her best friend and many of the players around her do not.
Light on actual baseball action, but the empowerment message comes through loud and clear. (author interview) (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: March 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-944903-08-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Cameron + Company
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2017
When a bull calf is born on Christmas Eve, nine-year-old Eli Stegner is awash with love and pride. This calf will be his first to train and show at the fair. Maybe he will win a blue ribbon, just like Pa and Grandpa. Yet the thought that his calf, named Little Joe, will become someone’s Sunday dinner casts a dark shadow on the tenderhearted boy’s hopes. Pa warns, “No use naming something that’s gonna get eaten.” The milestones in Little Joe’s training propel this thoughtful, character-driven story forward. The rhythm and sometimes-harsh realities of farm life are convincingly intertwined with Eli’s growing attachment to Little Joe. His overworked and careworn family offers Eli love, guidance and support, but throughout the months, Eli wonders about Pa’s brusqueness and lack of emotion toward their cows. It is only after Grandpa shares a secret that Eli understands. The ending may well please animal lovers, but it will likely seem unrealistic for those familiar with Eli’s milieu. Plenty of detail on raising livestock authenticates the story, and Elliott’s pencil sketches enhance the text. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-375-86097-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
Unassuming prose does the trick for this sad and funny tale with a warm ending. (Fiction. 8-10)
A family struggles to get back on track after a bereavement.
“Monday—149 days since Mammy died,” heads chapter one, conveying the shape of Mimi’s world. Mimi walks through her days leaning on routine: “Monday is Granny’s day,” when she visits Granny and Grandad after school; Tuesday it’s one aunt, Wednesday another. Older siblings Sally and Conor meet her there, and they converge back at home for the evening, where Dad nightly burns a pizza that Mimi tosses to the dog. Grieving dysfunctionally, Dad barely registers his kids besides scorching supper for them. Mimi does no homework; tooth-brushing is ignored. Newman’s simple, uncluttered narration skillfully reports action more than emotion, even when the action is crying. Buoying the vibe is ongoing humor—would a goth kid enjoy burnt food because it’s black? Why is the pregnant teacher having “contraptions” in class? Mimi seeks connection to Sally via reading Sally’s hidden diary, which Sally accusingly addresses to a certain younger-sister spy. Missing Mammy (and Dad, although he’s right there), Mimi confronts a school bully and processes her own wish “that I hadn’t gotten slanty eyes.” However, readers are secure that this extended Irish family considers (adopted, Chinese) Mimi to be 100% their own beloved girl.
Unassuming prose does the trick for this sad and funny tale with a warm ending. (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5415-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2011
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
