AUTHOR: Matt Christopher
ILLUSTRATOR: Anne Dewdney
ISBN#: 978-0316141987
PUBLISHER/YEAR: Little, Brown Young Readers (April 1, 1997)
SUBJECTS: Baseball, Guilt, Sports, Feelings, Determination
READER LEVEL: READER, JR.
RATING: 
Review
Highlights:
Laugh Meter
|
not a comedy |
giggles |
laugh out loud |
can’t stop laughing |
Fear Factor
|
no fear |
needs explanation |
cover the eyes |
bad dreams |
Subject Matter
|
light : “G” |
mild concerns |
caution ahead |
needs supervision |
This series is author, Matt Christopher's, foray into literature for a younger audience. It has all the hallmarks of his older books: sports, real life situations, setting seems to hark back to a simpler time (when children rode their bikes to practice and let strangers fix their bike chain) and ends with a good message, but written for the Reader, Jr.
I think this book would be perfect for a sports crazed, reluctant reader. All-Star Fever is written about Bus Mercer, who is trying to make the county All-Star team. In the midst of the three games that the All-Star scouts are watching, Bus make many errors on the field and in his life. The former caused by the guilt of the latter.
Bus receives a belated birthday present from his parents in the form of a brand new mountain bike. He is thrilled to receive the exact bike he wanted and not really concerned about the three rules his parents have given him with the bike. However, the first day he breaks 2 of the three rules due to peer pressure and the guilt it causes eats away at him and his ball playing, hence the game errors.
I actually thought the play by play of the games a bit boring, and it was more than a little difficult to keep track of all the players. But young boys who live and breathe sports will eat it all up.
I perked up a bit with the resolution, which happens in an unexpected way. The resolution touches all the bases a parent wants to see, including honesty (Bus comes clean with his parents) and good sportsmanship is just as important as athletic talent. This is the first in the series.
IF YOU LIKED THIS, TRY:
Backyard Sports, Michael Teitelbaum and Ron Zalme
Jake Maddox Sports Stories, Jake Maddox, Bob Temple, and Sean Tiffany
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