Twelve-year-old twins Tiki and Ronde Barber live with their single mother and play football as often as possible. Now they are starting junior high and ready to try out for the school team. Unfortunately, things aren’t going as planned. Their mother has requested that they be in separate classes, and neither boy feels comfortable raising his hand, for fear of being mocked. Tough kids are present and need to be dealt with, and worst of all, while both make the football team, neither is first string. Each problem is addressed in turn: Through her participation in an environmental campaign, their mother proves that speaking out can be important; the tough kids calm down once football begins; and while the boys spend most of their time practicing and warming the bench, they both get to play in games and assert their individuality in the process. A straightforward, appealing read inspired by the experiences of the Barber twins, two real-life NFL superstars, this will be particularly popular with boys and sports fans. Includes a glossary of football terms. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-4169-3618-3
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2007
Stories of time travel have appealed to readers for generations. Self-hypnosis, machines, time warps, and countless other devices have propelled heroes into amazing adventures. Thirteen-year-old Joe Stoshack has a unique method. He can travel back to any time period by holding on to an appropriate antique baseball card. Using this device, he has met Honus Wagner, Jackie Robinson, and Babe Ruth. In this fourth installment in the series, he travels to the year 1919, when America is reeling from the losses of The Great War, and even more so from the influenza epidemic that has killed millions, and when baseball is nearly destroyed as a result of the notorious “Black Sox Scandal.” Our hero “Stosh” overhears notorious gambler Arnold Rothstein and his cronies as they plot with members of the Chicago White Sox to throw the World Series. Shoeless Joe Jackson wants no part of the fix. When one of the players gives him $5,000 “on account” from the gamblers, he tries to give it to team owner Comiskey and warn him of what is to come, but he is not believed. Joe plays his heart out, but cannot overcome the maneuvers of those in on the fix. Stosh tries desperately to help Jackson, but he is unable to change the outcome. Jackson will be banned from baseball for life as one of the “eight men out.” In charming subplots, Stosh saves the boy who would be his great uncle by giving him the flu medicine he has carried with him into the past and, by virtue of obtaining rare, authentic autographs from the nearly illiterate Jackson, he saves his friend’s business when he returns to his own time. Gutman keeps the action fast-paced and exciting. He creates a strong sense of time and place, using photographs and newspaper clippings, as well as Stosh’s acute observations, in a neat interweaving of fact and fantasy. In an afterword, he sets the record straight by clearly distinguishing the two elements. An entertaining romp that will appeal to those who love baseball, history, and fantasy. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-029253-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
So who wouldn’t want to hang out with Michael Jordan? That’s how Telander’s protagonist, 11-year-old Robbie Denwood, feels about Jasper Jasmine, the Jordanesque phenom of Robbie’s favorite basketball team, the fictional Thunder. Robbie yearns to be a winner like Jasper—on his school’s basketball team and in life. He’s always picked last to play on the team; his dad walked away from his family; and his mom and teen sister are constantly at odds. Whenever Robbie’s tired of being a loser, which is most of the time, he retreats from his misery to a secret fort he’s built in the woods behind his home. Here he keeps special treasures, like toy soldiers who obey his every command, a salamander, a spider, and numerous photos of Jasper Jasmine. Then, one particularly depressing day, Robbie runs away into Chicago and sneaks into a Thunder game, where he manages to meet and briefly speak to his idol. Something about the boy touches the star’s heart and he invites Robbie to become the team’s ball boy for a few weeks, much to his family’s and friends’ amazement and envy. Even better is the close bond that develops between hero and worshipful fan. Jasper becomes the only person Robbie has ever invited to the secret refuge. There, Jasper confesses that he, too, harbors personal heartaches. By novel’s end, Jasper Jasmine has taught Robbie a few life lessons and has learned some himself. Robbie develops in self-confidence and self-acceptance. Sure, this is all fantasy, but who would begrudge anyone the right to dream? Telander, lead sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, has penned an enjoyable, very readable story that boys especially will appreciate and relate to. Robbie’s a nice kid, and Jasper’s a really nice guy. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8126-2657-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Cricket
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002
© 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.
