BONUS BOY

by Gene Olson ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 29, 1963

Here's a homer for Gene Olson who writes sports stories about boys who have families, schoolwork, and girls as well as game tension -- in a word, athletes who have an existence off the field of play. Using a familiar situation in a way that makes it seem new, the author presents Ki Collison, his family, his teammates his coaches and his problems with the big league scouts who are after his good left arm. His professor father can't see baseball; his semi-invalid grandfather can't see anything else. His baseball coach is a wonderful person, but the coach's boss is a dictatorial percentage man for the scouts. All of them push and push at Ki -- his father hoping that educational reason will prevail in his son's future; his grandfather uses the ""dying wish"" blackmail for a baseball career; his coach asking for the best for the boy; and the athletic director asking for his pound of flesh. The dialogue is reasonable -- these are people talking -- and the affectionate insults that fly between good friends as well as the moment when a younger sister stops being ""a butterfly"" and becomes a person to her harried brother add up to good writing joined to fast ball games.

Pub Date: April 29, 1963

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dodd, Mead

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1963

Categories: NONFICTION