Baseball Great

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

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 life then 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!

"Baseball Great" is a topical book about baseball and steroids. I suppose the target audience is boys, but these days, almost half of baseball fans are female, and girls grow up playing Little League and softball, so girls may enjoy it, too. Also, girls use steroids a lot more than you might think (though their motivation is often to lose weight, not to get an edge in sports). The author, Tim Green, is a former pro football player. He obviously understands the game of baseball, and his descriptions of games are a lot of fun for a baseball fan. His grasp of the business end of minor league baseball seems more nebulous, but I doubt young readers would notice (or care). The story is fast-paced and interesting. It's set in Syracuse, NY, and residents of the area will no doubt get a special charge out of his depictions of the local landmarks. The ending is predictable, but hey, it's a kids' book. There's mild violence (a fight between school boys), and a brief mention of off-screen premarital sex. Young Josh reveals that he's the reason his parents got married - the result of their celebration of his dad being drafted in the first round out of high school. It's pretty mild compared to some of the stuff you find in books these days, but I thought I'd mention it, just in case. All in all, a book any young baseball fan will enjoy.

This book is ideal for middle and highschool students even though it will be a quick read. It is relevant, humorous, serious, and intriguing. I read it at bedtime to my 8 and 9 yr old sons and heard, "Read another chapter!" from them just about every single night I read it to them. There is a bit of mystery and detective work, as well as both moral and ethical dialogue. I thoroughly enjoyed reading such a realistic book that did not shy away from uncomfortable topics as bullying, peer relationships and trials, economic hard times, illegal steroid use in minors, knowing right from wrong and doing the right thing even when faced with adversity. When I finished the book one of the first thoughts I had was wondering if the other books the author has already written are equally good. I am familiar with Syracuse, NY where the book takes place and it was funny to read the local businesses mentioned in the book. My kids gave it two thumbs up!

My 5th grade son loves books about sports. He's grown out of (the great) Matt Christopher books, and I am always on the lookout for YA sports books. Last year Tim Green, a former Atlanta Falcon, wrote 'Football Hero' and 'Football Genius'. I immediately snapped them up for my son, and he devoured them and begged for more like them. We were sad to discover that although Tim Green has written other books, they are adult novels. So I was thrilled to see a new YA sports-themed Tim Green book released. My son read 'Baseball Great' in one day and gave it a 10 out of 10 rating! This is a story about Josh, a 12 year-old who moves from town to town because his domineering Santini-esque father is a minor league baseball player and keeps getting traded. Josh plays baseball too, he's got talent, and baseball season is about at his new school; he's excited to play for the team with his friends, and to maybe the star of the team. But his father yanks him off the school team and forces him to try out for a traveling U14 youth league team, the Titans, run by Rocky Valentine. Rocky makes his boys lift weights, drink 'Super Stax' shake supplements, and work hard. Despite being only 12, Josh makes the team. Now his school friends are mad at him for leaving the team, and the travel team kids hate him for causing one of them to be cut to make room for Josh. Things, of course, get worse from there, and Rocky is indeed the villain. 'Baseball Great' is an exciting, fast-paced book that should appeal to most YA readers (I would think that boys ages 10-13 would most enjoy this book). You don't have to be a sports fan to enjoy it, it has plenty of middle-school themes, but a sports-oriented kid will really love this book.