Price : $7.99
Product Features
- 28" in length
- 20 oz. weight
- 6061 T6 aluminum construction
- 2.25" barrel
- PU bat grip
Product Description
Brian is living every baseball kid's dream: he is a batboy for his hometown Major League team. Brian believes that it's the perfect thing to bring him and his big-leaguer dad closer together. And if that weren't enough, this is the season that Hank Bishop, Brian's baseball hero, returns to the Tigers for the comeback of a lifetime. The summer couldn't get much better! Until Hank Bishop starts to show his true colors, and Brian learns that sometimes life throws you a curveball.
Mike Lupica's book Batboy focuses on baseball and family. Both Brian and his mom are working through Brian's father's abrupt departure for Japanese baseball and a divorce. Brian snags a dream job as the Detroit Tiger's batboy for the summer, and also is playing his regular school league team - more than enough to take his mind off these events. Then Brian's idol, Hank Bishop, gets re-signed to the Tigers team, slightly shy of his 500th home run. He is in career repair mode from a steroids use charge and a hinted at divorce. Both, though they do not realize it, have entered recovery.Both Brian and Hank can't seem to get to first base communicating at work. Both have serious mid-summer slumps to contend with. Hank, in fact is nearing dismissal from the team.Figuring his batting slump is due to not being able to practice for his league play, Brian and his fellow batboy Finn stay after a game, and hit ball after ball in the batting cage to find out what his swing needs. Out of the dark, Hank Bishop shows up, unasked for, but with freely given advice and suggestions that by the end of practice look to be connecting Brian's swing with the ball. Out in the parking lot, Hank meets Brian's Mom and gets invited to dinner. Brian notices for the first time in a long time, his Mom is interested in baseball or is it in Hank?In a nice move to fix Hank's slump, Lupica makes great use of all the DVDs and sports footage ever stared at by any baseball fan or player anywhere. Brian, in the midst of viewing Hank's old games spots a critical change in Hank's batting stance. Hank brushes off Brian's efforts to communicate, until Brian finally blurts out what he saw. Hank, man enough to recognize a fan can spot something useful, views the footage after dinner and stays to look at more games and more games and more games with his biggest fan.The rush toward the end of the season is given in fine detail and includes a visit from Brian's Dad. When his Dad focuses on baseball business matters and ignores being with his son, Brian comes to understand the difference between his Dad and Hank - one truly is focused only on the game. Hank, Brian's new friend and his Mom's new date, relates to both the game and the people who play it and knows why both are important. The final games are a nice "I am moving on and it is OK now" ending for Brian, Hank and his mother.Game descriptions: Very Good - a real sense of being there - particularly showing how many variables actually contribute to a good or bad game.Grade level appeal: 3rd grade on up, but especially for those in middle school sportsRead Aloud/Read and Share: Excellent for parents to share both sports and personal talk in the course of reading about the game.Reading Skills: Great for extra reading practice.
ReplyDeleteThjs book always kept you on your toes. You could guess what would happen, but there was still so much tension in the air. I also like how they built Hank's character. I was hoping for a different ending. Hank and Liz would marry and Brian's dad would be his hero.
ReplyDeleteThe Batboy by Mike Lupica was written in 2010 about a 14 year old boy who is the son of a former major league baseball player. The main character is also the bat boy for the Detroit Tigers.This is a youth book which is geared toward 10 years of age and up. I am a grandpa myself and loved this book and will save it for my own grandsons who will undoubtedly enjoy reading this and others written by Lupica in just a couple of years.The bat boy deals with the problems of idolizing his father as well as other star athletes, but understands that these idols can be entirely different when they are not at the center of attention while in their own element. Throughout the story, Brian, learns about current problems in professional sports such as steroids, role models or not, as well as the love of the game of baseball.He too is a baseball player on his town team while also holding down a full time job as batboy of the Tigers. He juggles both responsibilities to the best of his abilities, keeps his grades up in school, responds to his single mother like he knows he should, and hopes for a happy ending to this years' baseball season. Will the aging star of the Tigers get his 500th homerun of the season? Will his town team make it into the State Championship Series?You've got to read this book to find the answers!
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