Maniac Magee
by Jerry Spinelli
from Little, Brown Young Readers
- Made with the Best Quality Material with your child in mind.
- Top Quality Children's Item.
After his parents die, Jeffrey Lionel Magee's life becomes legendary as he accomplishes athletic feats and other extraordinary exploits that awe his contemporaries. Paperback.
Maniac Magee is a folk story about a boy, a very excitable boy. One that can outrun dogs, hit a home run off the best pitcher in the neighborhood, tie a knot no one can undo. "Kid's gotta be a maniac," is what the folks in Two Mills say. It's also the story of how this boy, Jeffrey Lionel "Maniac" Magee, confronts racism in a small town, tries to find a home where there is none and attempts to soothe tensions between rival factions on the tough side of town. Presented as a folk tale, it's the stuff of storytelling. "The history of a kid," says Jerry Spinelli, "is one part fact, two parts legend, and three parts snowball." And for this kid, four parts of fun. Maniac Magee won the 1991 Newbery Medal.
Simon's Hook; A Story About Teases and Put-downs
by Karen Gedig Burnett
from GR Publishing
Simon is having a bad day; a bad hair day. First his sister gives him a strange hair cut, then his friends tease him. Simon doesn't know what to do. Lucky for him he runs into Grandma Rose. After listening to his sorrowful story she helps him learn an important life lesson; how to handle teases and put-downs. By comparing teases to fishing hooks she tells him a tale of how fish learned not to bite. With fanciful characters such as Harmony Hippy Fish, Freddie Fang, Max the Mouse Fish and more, Simon learns that he, too, can swim free from the teasing hooks that people toss his way.
Go Long! (Kickoff)
by Ronde Barber
from Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
It's Tiki and Ronde's second year on their junior high school football team, the Hidden Valley Eagles. The eighth-grade season is here, and the boys have come together as a team. Now key starters, Tiki and Ronde are ready for a great season, and with hard work and determination, maybe they will even go all the way to the State Championship!
But when Coach Spangler announces that he has been asked to move up to the high school team, and Mr. Wheeler, the science teacher, is tapped for the head coaching job, the season seems over before it begins. Sure, Coach Wheeler played college football until he was benched by an injury, but it just isn't the same. Tiki wants to give Coach Wheeler a chance, yet the team's loyalties are divided. What does a science teacher know about the game of football? Can the team work together, get behind their new coach, and play smart?
Inspired by the childhood of NFL superstars Tiki and Ronde Barber, Go Long! is a story of teamwork, perseverance, and what it takes to be a champion.
Heat
by Mike Lupica
from Puffin
Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life. Newly orphaned after his father led the family’s escape from Cuba, Michael’s only family is his seventeen-yearold brother Carlos. If Social Services hears of their situation, they will be separated in the foster-care system—or worse, sent back to Cuba. Together, the boys carry on alone, dodging bills and anyone who asks too many questions. But then someone wonders how a twelve-year-old boy could possibly throw with as much power as Michael Arroyo throws. With no way to prove his age, no birth certificate, and no parent to fight for his cause, Michael’s secret world is blown wide open, and he discovers that family can come from the most unexpected sources.
The Big Field
by Mike Lupica
from Philomel
For Hutch, shortstop has always been home. It's where his father once played professionally, before injuries relegated him to watching games on TV instead of playing them. And it's where Hutch himself has always played and starred. Until now. The arrival of Darryl "D-Will" Williams, the top shortstop prospect from Florida since A-Rod, means Hutch is displaced, in more ways than one. Second base feels like second fiddle, and when he sees his father giving fielding tips to D-Will--the same father who can't be bothered to show up to watch his son play--Hutch feels betrayed. With the summer league championship on the line, just how far is Hutch willing to bend to be a good teammate?
Mike Lupica returns to the big field for the first time since his #1 New York Times bestseller Heat and delivers a feel-good home run, showing how love of the game is a language fathers and sons speak from the heart.
Q&A with Mike Lupica
Q: Where did the idea for The Big Field come from?
A: If it has one starting point, it was when Alex Rodriguez came to the Yankees and left shortstop to play third base. It wasn't so much that Rodriguez was the best all-around player in baseball at the time. It was that I knew he'd always thought of himself as a shortstop. I'm not sure he still doesn't think of himself as a shortstop. And suddenly he was a third baseman. Hutch isn't the best player in this book; Darryl Williams is. But Hutch had been a shortstop his whole life, it defined him as a ballplayer, and now because of the presence of Darryl on their American Legion team, he has to go to second base. It's the starting off point in a book that is ultimately about fathers and sons. But it's about a player having to leave his best position for the good of his team.
Q: In The Big Field, the emotional heart of the story is Keith "Hutch" Hutchinson's relationship with his father, a washed-up ballplayer and former boy phenomenon who never advanced past the minor leagues and who completely soured on the game, setting the stage for a distant relationship with his son. Why did you decide to focus on the father-son dynamic in this novel?
A: Sometimes with fathers and sons, when they can't communicate, they fall back on sports. It is like some universal language for fathers and sons. But at the start of The Big Field, Hutch and his dad don't even have that. And their journey, both of them, and I think it's a great journey, is finding that language again, finding a bond they never really lost. And finding each other.
Q: Can you offer any advice for aspiring sports writers?
A: Read the best guys, in books and newspapers and magazines. And then find ways to write. Write for the school paper, write anywhere you can, but write. I believe strongly that if you have the talent and the spirit, somebody will find you.
Q: When writing a young character do you find yourself looking back to yourself at that age? Or your children?
A: I look back to myself, and remember how important sports were to me, the fellowship, just the sheer fun of having a game with my buddies even if it wasn't organized. I tell people all the time that I still go to games thinking I might see something I've never seen before. I still have that feeling. But more than that, I see sports through the eyes of my children, too. See what they think is good, or cool, or worth watching. See what excites them. They've made me smarter about sports, they really have. But then that always happens when you hang around smart people.
Q: Have you started working on your next book? Can you give us a sneak peak?
A: My next book is already finished. It's about a young foster child, and his love for baseball. He's a catcher. And I think you're going to like him. The book is called "Safe at Home." The book I'm writing right now is my first soccer book. That's all I'm going to tell you!
Playing shortstop is a way of life for Hutch—not only is his hero, Derek Jeter, a shortstop, but so was his father, a former local legend turned pro. Which is why having to play second base feels like demotion to second team. Yet that’s where Hutch ends up after Darryl “D-Will” Williams, the best shortstop prospect since A-Rod, joins the team. But Hutch is nothing if not a team player, and he’s cool with playing in D-Will’s shadow—until, that is, the two shortstops in Hutch’s life betray him in a way he never could have imagined. With the league championship on the line, just how far is Hutch willing to bend to be a good teammate?
Long Shot: A Comeback Kids Novel (Comeback Kids)
by Mike Lupica
from Philomel
Pedro Morales has always been content helping others look great. The epitome of a point guard, he plays the game to set up his teammates—Ned, in particular, the star forward on the receiving end of Pedro’s pinpoint passes. Pedro wants to make his father proud, and so he runs for class president. Yet doing so means going one-on-one against Ned, easily the most popular boy in school. And Pedro learns the hard way that being a good teammate doesn’t mean that others will return the favor. Now Pedro wants to win more than ever—but this time, it’s for himself.
Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping (I Can Read Book 2)
by Peggy Parish
from HarperTrophy
Camp Out
Amelia Bedelia has never been camping in the great outdoors before. She's trying her best to do exactly as she's told, but pitching a tent is not the same as throwing it into the bushes, and catching a fish with your bare hands isn't easy. As usual, the mixed-up housekeeper makes this camping trip one hugely entertaining adventure.
The Clique Summer Collection #2: Dylan (Clique Series)
from Poppy
Game, Set, Match... Dylan? Dylan and her TV-host mom are off to Hawaii's Aloha Tennis Open. While Merri-Lee interviews tennis's wild child Svetlana "Tennis the Menace" Slootskyia, Dylan lets the tropical sun melt away the memory of getting dumped by two guys at the end of seventh grade. But between avocado mud masks and poolside naps, she falls in love with a preppy, tennis- obsessed hawtie. Dylan soon realizes the only way to score a date with him is to master the game. Can she convince moody Svetlana to spill the secrets of her tennis success, or will she end up oh-for-three in summer love?
Peak
by Roland Smith
from Harcourt Paperbacks
Kickoff!
by Tiki Barber
from Aladdin
"Hut! Hut! Go long, Tiki!"
Tiki and Ronde's twelfth summer is winding down--the nights are getting shorter and the evenings cooler. That means two things: The first day of junior high is just a few days away, and it's almost the start of football season at last. With two championships and an 8-2 season last year, Tiki and Ronde are ready to graduate from the Peewee League and hit the field as starting players for the Hidden Valley Eagles.
But junior high is a lot bigger than elementary school. The competition for starting spots is stiff, and seniority rules. If Tiki and Ronde make it past tryouts and cuts, will they get the chance to play, or will they have to spend the season watching from the bench with the other seventh graders?
Inspired by the childhood of NFL superstars Tiki and Ronde Barber, Kickoff! is a story of teamwork, perseverance, and what it takes to be a champion.
Amazon.com Exclusive Q&A with NFL Superstars Tiki Barber and Ronde Barber, Authors of Kickoff!
Amazon.com: How do the lessons learned on the field benefit a player's academic life?Tiki Barber: The structure and discipline that it takes to understand schemes and game plans are great tools that transcend the playing field and carry into the classroom. Additionally, because of the strict academic guidelines for athletes, doing well in school is often a requirement for participation.
Ronde Barber: I honestly donÂ’t think they benefit it in a direct way. To me, playing lessons are more life lessons. What you are as a student is more a reflection of what you are willing to put into your schoolwork. And in that way I guess it correlates but only because in sports, if youÂ’re talented enough and have enough drive, you will reap the rewards of the hard work you put into it.
Amazon.com: In Kickoff! Tiki and Ronde are faced with a tough decision: Should they stick with the team even if it means riding the bench? What advice do you have for kids who love their sport but arenÂ’t getting a lot of playing time on the field?
Ronde: You are the only one who can control how hard you work regardless of your current amount of playing time. There may be better players on your team, but that doesn't mean you can't outwork them. It takes absolutely no talent to work hard, do your best, and be the most focused guy. Eventually we all get our opportunity.
Tiki: I would encourage them to keep their eyes on the prize. If you never stop trying then you will never fail. I would also tell them to try and differentiate themselves by developing a specific skill or to consider a different position that may suit their talents better.
Amazon.com: How important is a positive attitude to a team's success?
Tiki: A positive attitude is critical to a teamÂ’s success. There was a poster in our locker room that speaks specifically to this: "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're probably right!" It's the belief that you can be successful that pulls you through the tough times, on the field and off.
Ronde: You only get out of anything what your mind is willing to accept is possible. The best way to gain success is to prepare for success and then see it through. So if you don't believe it is possible, chances are it wonÂ’t be.
Amazon.com: How can a player get the attention of his or her coach?
Ronde: Do the right things and take coaching well. No one, especially a coach, likes a negative attitude.
Tiki: A good way to get a coach to notice you is to volunteer to do things that other players might shy away from. For example, in football, being a special teams player is important but lacks that glory that athletes crave. By volunteering to do the grunt work, you show your coach that you have the passion to be on the field and help the team win.
Amazon.com: Growing up, what was the most important thing you learned from your coaches?
Tiki: That even though you put all of your energy into something, and still fail, don't be discouraged, because in actuality youÂ’ve learned a valuable lesson that will help you be successful in the future.
Ronde: Well, I had lots of coaches growing up and they all had important influences on me. It would be hard to say any one is more important than another. But what sticks out to me is the idea of just playing hard. Expect adversity. And force your will on your opposition.
Amazon.com: What advice do you have for students who have a difficult time balancing school and sports?
Ronde: To me the best part of playing sports in school was that it made me organize my time in order to get everything done. Unlike regular kids, student athletes have less free time to commit to their schoolwork. So I would encourage them to schedule their day around their sport. You know when you have to be at practice, and you know when you have to be at school. The time in between you can get a lot done, so make it a routine that you can stick with.
Tiki: Make lists. It allows you to prioritize the important things in your life. When you can systematically check off the dayÂ’s tasks, youÂ’re more able to focus on completing them.
Amazon.com: Growing up, did you ever get nervous before a game or in the classroom? How did you handle it?
Tiki: I was always nervous before every game and in the classroom, at test time for instance. I was always able to handle it by visualizing success: Playing the seAmazon.comuence of events through my head helped prepare me for what was ahead.
Ronde: Everyone feels nerves or anxiety at times. I think of it as excess energy. There is nothing you can really do to get rid of it. The best way I know how to deal with it is to make sure you are prepared to succeed. If you know you have studied enough for a test or practiced enough for a game, then you can expect to know how you will do, and in that way you can embrace those nerves and use that energy to your advantage.
Amazon.com: Kickoff! delivers the message that "players make plays, but teams win championships." How does this message apply to sports and life?
Ronde: I donÂ’t think we can ever really accomplish anything in life by ourselves. We always have parents, friends, coaches, teachers that lift us up and help us along. In a sense, that is your team in life just as a good Amazon.comuarterback needs good receivers to help him or a good running back needs a good offensive line. Only together can they succeed. So when we compete or when we test, yes, itÂ’s the individual that has to make the "play" but it's the whole team that wins in the end.
Tiki: We all have individual responsibilities in sports and in life. Personal focus and dedication are paramount to being successful individually, but it is the coordinated effort of the many that ultimately brings fulfillment. That applies to a team, a marriage, a job, etc. We are all components of something, and the strength of all components determines the viability of the whole.
"Hut! Hut! Go long, Tiki!"
Tiki and Ronde's twelfth summer is winding down -- the nights are gettingshorter and the evenings cooler. That means two things: The first day of junior high is just a few days away, and it's almost the start of footballseason at last. With two championships and an 8-2 season last year, Tiki and Ronde are ready to graduate from the Peewee League and hit the field asstarting players for the Hidden Valley Eagles.
But junior high is a lot bigger than elementary school. The competition forstarting spots is stiff, and seniority rules. If Tiki and Ronde make itpast tryouts and cuts, will they get the chance to play, or will they haveto spend the season watching from the bench with the other seventh graders?
Inspired by the childhood of NFL superstars Tiki and Ronde Barber, Kickoff! is a story of teamwork, perseverance, and what it takes tobe a champion.
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