Product Description
Explore the varied and colorful origins of the international passion for baseball through the eyes of those who played. In these uniquely personal accounts, given by dozens of people from all over the world, ?Sandlot Stories? invites its readers into the lives of everyday people as they look back and remember the sport they love. Watch through their own eyes as the multiple authors of all titles and descriptions relive the events that made baseball for them what it is to all those who have ever experienced and loved the great American game.

"This is my story, and yours, and that of every other kid that ever played the game. Reading these stories will bring back the smell of fresh cut grass, memories of friends long past, and take you back to a time when your life was all about just scoring the winning run."
- Robert J. Day
CEO, Pawnee Leasing Corporation
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Growing Up Baseball
Excellent little book about coming of age in the neighborhood sandlot. A great collection of stories from baseball loving adults about their childhood experiences with the bat and ball and also about the possible dream of making the big time.

Highly recommend it. If you have a baseball lover in your family or a friend, this is a great little gift. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Notable Sports Figures, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 2046 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Takes a close look at the people in sports who have captured attention because of success on the playing field, or controversy off the playing field. This work features biographies on more than 600 people from around the world and throughout history who have had an impact not only on their sport, but also on the society and culture of their times. It also includes not only the record-breakers that dominated and changed their sport, but also the controversial figures that made headlines even apart from athletic events. ... Read more

Product Description
76 page magazine featuring Zack Greinke on the cover and in a feature inside. Also in this issue: Kelly Slater, the NBA Playoffs, the NFL Draft, Daniel & Hank Sedin, and much more! This issue also includes the David Lee 'Right Guard' ad created on Celebrity Apprentice. ... Read more

Product Description
Roger Bresnahan is the same kind of a man. He thinks quickly, and is a brilliant player, but he never dodges anything. He is often hurt as a result. Once, when he was with the Giants, he was hit in the face with a pitched ball, and McGraw worried while he was laid up, for fear that it would make him bat shy. After he came back, he was just as friendly with the plate as ever. The injury of men like Chance and Bresnahan, whose services are of such vital importance to the "inside" play of a team, destroys the effectiveness of the club. ... Read more

Product Description

he authoritative sourcebooks for parents, players, and coaches

Baseball is a complicated game to learn, particularly for a 9- to 12-year-old's attention span.

Bewildered managers, coaches, and parents of the more than 2.5 million Little League Baseball- players need all the help they can get. Filled with fun and easy-to-follow instructions and advice on teaching the fundamentals of baseball, the bestselling Little League Baseball- series is sure to score with coaches and kids alike.

COACHING THE LITTLE LEAGUE- PITCHER

This book provides Little League coaches and parents with valuable information on how to help their pitchers improve, covering everything from the kinds of pitches and the strategic aspects of pitching to tips for keeping players healthy and fit.

Customer Reviews (4)

very simple and beneficial book
I was very pleased with this book.I coach little league baseball, and this year am moving up from coach pitch to kid pitch and wanted some help for coaching my new pitchers.I found this book to be easy to understand, and packed with plenty of usefull information.I have been playing baseball for 30 years, and learned a few things that I never knew about pitching in this book.I would strongly recommend this book to other little league coaches and parents.

excellent
Very good book for any coach of young players. Breaks down the steps to teaching a young pitcher so the coach can understand and relay the information to the player.

Very good starter book for those new pitching
I've been coaching little league baseball for about three years.When my son was old enough to move up to the pitching level, I purchased this book so I could teach the basics to those that wanted to pitch.I found the book very good for starting out new picthers.

When you need to know how to teach pitching...
When my son turned 9, and was going into kid-pitch for the first time, he thought he wanted to be a pitcher.What did I know about pitching?Not much.Randy Voorhees...if you read this...thank you.

This book let me turn a scrawny kid into not just a pitcher, but a closer.The drills in the book are simple to follow, and backed by intelligent explanations of WHY they work.By breaking the pitching motion down into a series of simple, understandable steps, my son and I worked together to build a delivery that focused on accuracy and control, not brute power and speed.

By the middle of his second season in kid pitch, he knew if he got the nod in the 4th inning, that it was his job to hold the lead...and he never failed.By learning to have control and accuracy, my son never worried about his ability...he simply learned to focus on each pitch, one at a time.He learned that with only modest speed and good movement on his pitches, he could beat 85% of the hitters on strikes, 10% on contact ground balls and pop-ups, and 5% of the kids were going to make good contact NO MATTER WHAT...and that's what fielders are for.

Why so much about my kid?Well, there's no better testimonial about a book than the great results achieved by following the advice therein.

Randy Voorhees...my son and I thank you for two great years in kid pitch, and two "World Series" trophies on my son's wall as proof of your program. ... Read more

Product Description
I -The Most Dangerous Batters I Have Met
II - "Take Him Out"
III - Pitching in a Pinch
IV - Big League Pitchers and Their Peculiarities
V - Playing the Game from the Bench
VI - Coaching Good and Bad
VII - Honest and Dishonest Sign Stealing
VIII - Umpires and Close Decisions
IX - The Game that Cost a Pennant
X - When the Teams Are in Spring Training
XI - Jinxes and What They Mean to a Ball-Player
XII - Base Runners and How They Help a Pitcher to Win
XIII - Notable Instances Where the "Inside" Game Has Failed
... Read more

Product Description

Josh feels like he's starting to make it big! Jaden, the school reporter, says he's going to take the baseball team to number one. Then his dad pulls him off the field and signs him up with Coach Rocky Valentine's youth championship team, the Titans. He says Josh has what it takes to be a baseball great—and the Titans will help him get there.

Now Josh is gulping down Rocky's "Super Stax" milkshakes to build muscle and trying to fit in with his new teammates—older, tougher kids who can suddenly become violent. All Josh really wants to do is play ball, but as he gets in deeper with the Titans, there are questions he's just got to ask. As Josh and his new friend Jaden investigate their suspicions, they find themselves in a dangerous struggle with a desperate man who doesn't want them to expose the nasty secrets they uncover.

Pulsing with action, baseball great offers a baseball story attuned to today's headlines, a totally involving, character-driven, sports-centered thriller.

Customer Reviews (19)

disappointed
My main disappointment is that this is supposed to be for the under 14 readers. It is not. I wish that authors would quit making 10-12yo kids into adults.

Great Books for Boys
My ten year old son loves this series of books.He is not really interested in sports, but loves to read these books.

A Great Child's Book,for adults too
Having grown up in the 60s with many bullies and some tough times in school, a great love of baseball at a time when Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, "Yogi" and all the greats played the game then and we kids would play baseball every weekend during the summer and dream of getting to the minors, let alone the majors... this book took me back in time as well as any a time machine could. It brought back the emotions, the bumps and bruises (both physical and phycological) and memories of growing up to me in a book that really draws the reader in right off in the very first chapter. I was not familiar with Tim Green until I read this wonderful book. Having researched his background, bio and his other books, I'm certainly delighted to be familiar with his name now! This book is about growing up, about dreams many kids have to aspire and be like our (sports) heros and of a parent that many of us have/had that wanted us to achieve more and have a better quality of lifethen they did, and who at the time we were kids, seemed quite harsh and tough with us until years later (gratefully) when we realized they had done it all to help us back then.A great book is one you have a hard time putting down, allows your mind to perfectly picture, like a movie, what the author wants you to see and hear and like a good movie, jerks your emotions and often brings back a moment in the past or an emotion or feeling that you'd thought you'd forgotten forever! While this book seems oriented for younger readers, it is still a book any parent would enjoy reading as well. This book would in fact make a great movie (many movies originated from a book!!), it's simple at best for a general theme and yet there's an interweaved and in-depth plot that brings in many components as would real life. Well done and worth the price you pay for this book. If you have an aspiring baseball player, a sports fan or a motivated "dreamer" in the household, this is one book they must read. Parents; This book is for you to read too!

BATTER UP!AUDIOBOOK REVIEW
A star defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons, Tim. Green played Little League baseball for a number of years before changing his focus to football. As of now he has worked as an NFL analyst for FOX Sports and an NFL commentator for National Public Radio. He knows what he writes about as many have seen in Football Genius and Football Hero - the same may certainly be said of Baseball Great, which is gauged for young readers ages 8 -12.

Green begins his story with young Josh wondering why when something really good happens, something else comes along to spoil it. Kids his age have probably wondered the same thing numerous times. However, chances are what they consider a spoiler may not be as dramatic as what faces Josh.

Josh is happy playing baseball with his school team. Not only happy but optimistic as a new girl from Texas, Jaden Neidermeyer, is the school reporter, and she has big plans for the team, even to calling him the school's best hope for a first ever citywide championship. But then Josh's Dad intervenes by taking him off the school team and signing him with Coach Rocky Valentine's youth championship team. Undoubtedly, this was well meant but it doesn't turn out to be a good move after all.

The other kids on Valentine's team are not only older but tougher, a rough bunch. Josh doesn't really fit in with them for countless reasons including possible steroid use.

What price a championship? Young readers will not only enjoy this exciting story but may find they have much to think about as they examine their own standards.

- Gail Cooke

Steroids, sex talk among 12 year olds, not believable
The story is about a 12 year old who is very good for his middle school team so much so that the school newspaper says he's the star.Then his dad, a former baseball player himself, takes Josh off the school team and puts him on a traveling team.

The coach of the traveling team gives steriods to the other kids and they try to make Josh eat the "gym candy" as well.There's a short but nasty fight in a public bathroom, a bunch of 12 year olds are talking about making out, it's all just too unbelievable.I have boys in this age group and on baseball teams and there's no way parents would go for this kind of behavior.And most boys at 12 cringe when you mention anything about girls, they still have cooties.

Now if it was 14-15 year olds, it might be a different story.But anyway, it's an easy read.My 12 year old didn't finish it because he didn't get the stuff about steroids or girls and it made him uncomfortable, so don't give as a gift to a young boy.I'd pass on this one. ... Read more

Product Description
This Halcyon Classics ebook edition contains the collected baseball stories of Zane Grey, prolific western and adventure novelist.Includes an active table of contents.


Contents

The Shortstop
The Young Pitcher
The Redheaded Outfield
The Rube
The Rube’s Pennant
The Rube’s Honeymoon
The Rube’s Waterloo
Breaking into Fast Company
The Knocker
The Winning Ball
False Colors
The Manager of Madden’s Hill
Old Well-Well
... Read more

Product Description
Having finished the previous season a mere game behind pennant-winning St. Louis, the Detroit Tigers entered spring training in 1945 determined to complete their drive to the top. Led by the pitching duo of Hal Newhouser and Paul Trout, benefitting from the signature career year of Roy Cullenbine and Eddie Mayo, and buoyed by the July return of Hank Greenberg, the team battled past the Browns and Senators for the American League title. In the World Series that followed, the Tigers and the last of the great Chicago Cubs teams of the century squared off in a memorable, seven-game World Series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great baseball read!
A well put together book for baseball lovers.Would make a wonderful Christmas present. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Winnipeg Free Press, published by Thomson Gale on September 29, 2007. The length of the article is 847 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Awards races prove as tight as Mets fans' stomach knots.(Sports)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Winnipeg Free Press (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 29, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: d7

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Before 1918, the Boston Red Sox were unstoppable. They won World Series after World Series, thanks in part to their charismatic pitcher-slugger Babe Ruth. But some people on the Red Sox felt the Babe was more trouble than he was worth, and he was traded away to one of the worst teams in baseball, the New York Yankees. From then on, the Yankees became a golden team. And the Red Sox? For over 80 years, they just couldn’t win another World Series. Then, in 2004, along came a scruffy, scrappy Red Sox team. Could they break Babe Ruth’s curse and win it all?


From the Trade Paperback edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great story and message for readers of any age
Boys and girls who like baseball--or comeback stories--will enjoy this tale of Babe Ruth and the Boston Red Sox. The story of Babe Ruth and his history with both the Red Sox and the New York Yankees -- and the ups and downs of both teams from 1915 to 2004 -- is told in a fresh and engaging way. The successes of Ruth and the teams are pegged to qualities that anyone can benefit from--taking responsibility for one's actions, working hard and being persistent can reap huge rewards, believing in one's abilities, staying positive. A very enjoyable and informative read.

This is a great book for the die-hard baseball fan or the casual reader.
Going, going, gone!Aaron Boone's "walk-off" homer won the game for the Yankees.It was 2003 and they were going to the World Series again.Anyone who knows baseball knows the disappointment of that game for the Red Sox.It has been rumored that ever since they traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920 they'd been jinxed.They say that the "Red Sox were doomed to fail because of Babe Ruth and the baseball curse."No kidding!

George Herman Ruth wasn't the luckiest kid in the world.He was so much trouble he got sent away to St. Mary's, a school mostly for orphans and "incorrigible" kids like "Babe."The only thing good about it was that Brother Matthias taught him to play baseball and eventually he signed on with the Sox.He still acted like a kid and claimed he could "burp louder than a tractor."Even if he was kind of childish acting, he was considered to be one of the best pitchers in the world and was getting to be pretty hot in the hitting department.He still was a rule breaker (so what!?) and he was asking a lot of money. Solution?Sell him to the Yankees.It was the start of the "Curse of the Bambino."

And perhaps you know the rest of the story.This is a great story of Babe Ruth, wild and crazy, full of fun and smooth.David Kelly has a real page turning hit here.There are lots of stats for the avid young fan to digest, but even if the reader isn't a die-hard baseball fan the story has a great flow and is fun to read.Did Lee Gavin really break that curse?You'll just have to decide for yourself. ... Read more

Product Description
This Halcyon Classics ebook edition contains the collected baseball stories of Zane Grey, prolific western and adventure novelist.Includes an active table of contents.


Contents

The Shortstop
The Young Pitcher
The Redheaded Outfield
The Rube
The Rube’s Pennant
The Rube’s Honeymoon
The Rube’s Waterloo
Breaking into Fast Company
The Knocker
The Winning Ball
False Colors
The Manager of Madden’s Hill
Old Well-Well
... Read more

Product Description
Fourteen-year-old Cody Martin is up to bat, and the pitcher is none other than 'Madman' Madison, master of the 70-mile-per-hour blazer. It's been a rough season with more losses than wins, and the game is a squeaker when Cody's win-crazy coach insists he 'take one for the team.' Cody's already gone the extra inning for his teammates, but what more will he be willing to sacrifice---especially considering what happened exactly one year ago? In the end Cody learns that while some sacrifices result in pain, others lead to healing. ... Read more

Product Description

The ball hit me. It sounded like a bomb going off in my head. Everything went dark. The last thing I remember was hearing somebody yell, "Call 911!"

When Stosh gets hit in the head with a baseball, he's lucky to survive. Then he learns about another player who wasn't so lucky—Ray Chapman, the only player in major league history to get hit by a ball and die. If only they'd had batting helmets back then . . .

Get ready to go back in time as Stosh travels to 1920 to try to save Ray—and meets Babe Ruth, Tris Speaker, and even Harry Houdini. This baseball card adventure is a wild ride to a moment that changed baseball history forever!

Customer Reviews (6)

Ray Chapman
I enjoyed this book, just as I have enjoyed all the books in this series.

A Spectacular Baseball Adventure
.....Dan Gutman's "Ray and Me" is an excellent baseball fantasy story. The story follows Joe Stoshack, better known as Stosh, who has the ability to travel back to any point in time by holding a baseball card from that year. After his Little League coach, Flip, asks him to pitch instead of playing shortstop, he is hit in the head with a baseball and wakes up from a coma two weeks later in the hospital. Flip, now sorry he insisted Stosh play pitcher, tells him about Ray Chapman. Chapman was a major league baseball player who, on August 16, 1920, was hit in the head by a pitch from Carl Mays and died that night. That one pitch ended Chapman's life and essentially ended Mays's career. Knowing about Stosh's powers, Flip gives him a Carl Mays baseball card and encourages him to travel back and try to save Chapman's life. He is shocked to realize his power no longer work. It is only after a few weeks of recovery that the tingling sensations from holding a baseball card return to Stosh, and his powers work again. He immediately goes back in time using the Mays card. He tries to save Chapman's life, bringing a batting helmet with him (a safety device that didn't exist in the 1920s).
.....This story is a fantastic combination of baseball history and time-traveling fantasy. It combines the life of Ray Chapman, a real person who is the only major league player to die from a pitch, with thelife of Joe Stoshack, a fictional Little Leaguer with the power to travel back in time. It fantastically depicts what might have happened on August 16, 1920. This is why I think "Ray and Me" deserves five out of five stars.

An Excellent book
I was truly surprised with this great book from Dan Gutman, this was much better than his last books.

Another great baseball book
My baseball loving son and I always enjoy Dan Gutman's baseball stories.This is no exception.

Another great book
My 12 year old son is not much of a fan for reading, but the minute he finds out that another of the Dan Gutman Baseball card adventures is available we get it. He read this one in one day. For moms of boys who don't like to read, try this series. It will be a hit! ... Read more

Product Description
In this sports series, Three Strikes "The Sports Guys" Series you’re introduced to Nick and Speed. They are best friends and have been since grammar school. Both young men are natural athletes, and just all around good guys. This story is set in their senior year of high school at Valley High.
This baseball season is not like any other for this duo, when their friend Vince is exposed to great danger, scandals, and illegal drugs. This adventure is full of twists, turns, and mystery. But, baseball fans ages eight through eighty will enjoy the intense play by play action.
Come along with Nick, Speed, Vince, and their teammates as they battle to win baseball games, and stay on the right side of the law.
The Author
My family and friends refer to me as the “The Sports Guy.” It’s not unusual for me to receive a phone call to settle a sports trivia dispute; past to present rankings of a player or team, I’m your man. This is my passion today and in my yesterdays: Sports.
Since childhood I remember hiding a transistor radio under my pillow to listen to the ball game at night or a flashlight to read my latest sports story from the local library. If you didn’t find me playing a sport surely I’d be watching, listening or reading about it.
Today a survivor of a severe brain injury I’m not able to physically participate except as a fan. But I have found a way to capture the sports spirit within and channel that energy into a series of sports books committed to a positive message throughout.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great sports action and suspense action adventure book
Chris Papas has written a great action adventure fiction book about sports, young men, friends and suspense. It will capture you whether you're a sports lover or not with its well-written and interesting story. Chris Papas has the rare talent of being able to say alot in a few words and say it well! You won't want to put this book down until you've finished it and I'm glad to know there will be more coming in this series. Thanks Chris for telling a great story that also inspires and teaches young adults positive lessons of life. I can't wait to read the next one.

A Baseballbook at its best.
This book has all of the workings of a sports fans dream. Loaded with play by play action, exciting to everyone not just the baseball fan. Sports lovers alike will love the trials and tribulations of true athletes in their fight to overcome the pitfalls of real life sports.I can't wait to follow the characters through the next page turner this author has to offer. ... Read more

Product Description
Eight-grader Roy Morelli can’t wait for baseball season to start so he can take his rightful place as shortstop for the Pilchuk All-Star team. Being on the All-Stars is just the warm-up for the big leagues: the varsity baseball team at the high school Roy will go to next year. But when Roy’s divorced parents find out he’s failing history, they make him quit the All-Stars. It’s not his fault the only thing interesting about history class is Valerie Hopkins, and she won’t even give Roy the time of day.

Now Roy is stuck on a losing team in the wimpy rec league, and instead of playing ball every spare minute, he’s spending his afternoons with a tutor—who just happens to be his dad’s brainiac girlfriend. If Roy’s going to impress the varsity baseball coach, he’s sure he should be looking out for number one, not wasting his time studying. After all, baseball is what Roy does best. But when his grades continue to slide and his teammates get tired of his know-it-all attitude, Roy Morelli will need to step up to the plate. . . .


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The story of a sports-loving boy who sees no need for school
Thatcher Heldring's ROY MORRELLI STEPS UP TO THE PLATE tells of an eighth grader who can't wait for baseball season to start so he can take his place as a shortstop for the all-star team. But when his parents find out he's failing history, they make him quit. Stuck on a losing team in a smaller league and spending time with a tutor, Roy finds his attitude needs adjustment in this story of a sports-loving boy who sees no need for school.
... Read more

Product Description

Sometimes you can change history . . . and sometimes history can change you.

When Stosh travels into the past to meet Roberto Clemente, a legendary ballplayer and a beloved humanitarian, he's got only one goal: warning Roberto not to get on the doomed plane that will end his life in a terrible crash. In the sixties, Stosh meets free-spirited Sunrise, and together they travel across the country to a ball game that leaves them breathless—and face-to-face with Roberto. But when the time comes for Stosh to return to the future, he finds that the adventure has only just begun. . . .

Join Stosh and Sunrise on a journey that will take you into the past, from the excitement of Woodstock to a life-changing encounter with Roberto Clemente—and into a surprising future!

Customer Reviews (5)

Pretty decent book.
I think this book is good for all ages. the only downside is it doesnt have anough pages and it had my son believing wild things

Stretched my suspension of disbelief thin.
My five-year-old son loves baseball.He loves it when we read him books in approximately the age range for which this book was intended.He was interested in finding out about Roberto Clemente.I am fascinated by time travel, and I love kids'/young adult books.I am a liberal and very much in favor of protecting the environment, cutting carbon emissions and use of petroleum products, etc.So this book should've been a hit with us on all fronts, right?
But to begin with, it wasn't very engaging.The first pages, instead of drawing us in, bored my son almost to the point that he didn't want to keep reading.Since we hadn't read the other books in the series, the characters weren't beloved to us, and they didn't do anything to become so.The focus of the book wasn't really on Clemente to any major extent.We had just read Lucky:Maris, Mantle, and My Best Summer Ever by Wes Tooke and enjoyed it.I imagined that Gutman's hero, Stosh, would get to know Clemente the way Lucky got to know Maris and Mantle, but in reality we barely saw Clemente in the book.So the giant word "Roberto" on the cover of the book was misleading; the book was about Stosh, first and foremost.
I was willing to suspend my disbelief that baseball cards could send Stosh back in time.One of my favorite kids' books features a talking blue moose as one of the major characters.If it makes sense within the flow of the story, that's fine with me.But the time-travel thing became ridiculous to me the moment Stosh landed himself in the middle of Woodstock.Not just the town, but the FESTIVAL.I had trouble buying the "he just happened to randomly show up in this place and moment out of all the places and moments in 1969" thing.And Jimi Hendrix was on the stage--how convenient!
Stosh got beaten up by hippies who thought he was trying to hurt Jimi, then joined a 1969 girl just about his age to make his way to where Clemente would be.Of course he managed to find Clemente (this time getting beaten up by a full-grown man in the process) and warn Clemente to stay away from the airplane on which he was destined to die.I won't post spoilers of that part of the story, but I did feel like Stosh could've learned something that he didn't actually learn.
So Stosh went back to his world.His mom didn't seem surprised or concerned at his appearance, despite the fact that he must've looked like he'd been hit by a truck by this point.The night of his return, his great-grandson showed up from the future.Surprise!So Stosh got to take another trip, this time to a post-apocalyptic future where tornados came every week, no one had electricity, and kids ran around the bases clockwise.The great-grandson, Bernard, still managed to have new baseball cards for Major League players even though there were supposedly no cities left.Bernard's parents managed to farm despite the weekly tornados and Dust Bowlesque landscape.Bernard wasn't sure the human race would last much longer--which you'd think would kill the market for baseball cards, but apparently not.
Stosh's great-grandson seemed to lay all the blame for the melting of the polar ice caps on Stosh.Bernard was adamant, even angry, about the fact that recycling and taking shorter showers weren't NEARLY enough.No, Stosh must stop the world from using petroleum.So this kid who couldn't even be legally employed yet, much less vote, was instructed to somehow get everyone to use alternative fuels.A worthy task, to be sure!
Frankly, I'm surprised that Bernard's terrifying world didn't give my son nightmares.Heck, I'm surprised that it didn't give ME nightmares.And I find it frustrating that Gutman suggested that the little things we do don't make a difference.Most of the kids in his target audience won't be able to convince their parents to buy solar panels, given the upfront cost of solar panels even after rebates.The parents may want an alternative electricity source but not be able to afford it.However, the kids MAY be able to influence their parents to recycle, switch to more efficient light bulbs and appliances, buy reusable things instead of disposable ones, use petroleum-free dish soap, etc.Any positive action is better than no positive action, and discouraging small efforts is not going to help anything.
Basically, I'm glad that authors like Gutman get sports-loving kids who maybe aren't interested in reading anything that isn't about sports to pick up books and, perhaps, broaden their horizons--but I found this book to be far-fetched and less than pleasant.

Exactly the kind of book I would want to read if I were a kid
Dan Gutman's Baseball Card Adventure books make for great reading, especially for those in the target audience of ages 10-14.I have to believe that most boys still entertain dreams of playing in the Major Leagues, so these books serve as a great hook for introducing the joy of reading to even the most reluctant of young readers.Not only do these books allow the reader to learn more about some true legends of the game, they also offer mini-history lessons on the times in which those players played.In this case in particular, readers are also exposed to an extraordinary role model who played the game the way it was supposed to be played and also devoted his life to making the world a better place.

Roberto Clemente has been called baseball's last great hero.He was a great hitter and a truly exceptional outfielder who left an indelible mark in the record books.He also helped pave the way for Latin American players in the Major Leagues.Above all else, though, he was a great humanitarian, which is why baseball's highest honor for community service is named for him.His life came to a tragic end on December 31, 1972, when he was killed in a plane crash attempting to deliver much-needed aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.

After learning of a personal connection between his Spanish teacher and Roberto Clemente, Joseph "Stosh" Stoshack decides to go back in time and warn Clemente not to board the doomed flight.Stosh, you see, has the unique ability to travel through time by way of baseball cards.All he needs is to get his hands on a Clemente card, and he will be transported back to the year of the card.In this case, he ends up with more of an adventure than he bargained for when he is transported to Woodstock just in time to hear Jimi Hendrix's legendary performance.Hitching a ride with some hippies to Cincinnati, he learns about the anti-war movement and goes on his first date (with a girl who is rather hilariously clueless about the game of baseball) to see Clemente and the Pirates take on the Reds.But will he get a chance to meet Clemente?And can he convince # 21 not to board that fateful plane on New Year's Eve of 1972?

I really enjoyed reading this book, and I have to say I learned a lot about Roberto Clemente's life and legacy in the process.I have to admit that I was a little turned off when the author chose to introduce a wholly unrelated political agenda (complete with the standard scare tactics associated with it) toward the end of the story, but the rest of the book is too good for me to give it any less than five stars.I doubt that baseball cards are as integral a part of childhood these days as they were for me, but I have no doubt that many young boys - and more than a few young girls - will love this book and yearn to read more of the growing number of books in Gutman's Baseball Card Adventures series.

Dan Gutman hits a homerun with Roberto & Me!
I am 8 years old and have read almost all of Dan Gutman's Baseball Card Adventure books.Roberto & Me is awesome!It was really cool how Joey travels through time.I loved the book so much I read it all in one day.
Mom's turn-My son likes to put off his reading homework until the last minute.Dan Gutman's adventure books have changed his whole attitude towards reading.They are exciting to read, mixing baseball reality with baseball fantasy.What a fun way to combine history with adventure.Congratulations to Mr. Gutman as he hit another homerun with Roberto & Me!

Dan Gutman's best book
I have read almost everything by Dan Gutman and this was by far the best book of his. It was interesting to learn more about Roberto Clemente. I like the books in this series where Stosh tells people that he is from the 21st century and this one was especially good because the people believed him. It was so good that I had to reread it right after I finished it! ... Read more

Product Description
This is the story of two young very active boys growing up in a rural area of south Texas in the mid l950's.This is what the world looked like thru the eyes of two young boys. ... Read more