Three Strikes for Rotten Ralph (Rotten Ralph Rotten Readers, 5) - Hardcover

Gantos, Jack

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374363544 ISBN 13: 9780374363543

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2011

Synopsis

Before he tries out for the new Fighting Squirrels baseball team, Rotten Ralph is sure he is going to be a superstar. Never mind that he doesn't have any skills and doesn't want to practice. While his owner, Sarah, is doing everything she can to make the team, she tries to help Ralph do his best, too. But with his imagination running wild, Ralph's worst is what comes out.

About this title

About the Authors

Jack Gantos has written books for people of all ages, from picture books and middle-grade fiction to novels for young adults and adults. His works include Hole in My Life, a memoir that won the Michael L. Printz and Robert F. Sibert Honors, Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, a National Book Award Finalist, and Joey Pigza Loses Control, a Newbery Honor book. Jack was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and when he was seven, his family moved to Barbados. He attended British schools, where there was much emphasis on reading and writing, and teachers made learning a lot of fun. When the family moved to south Florida, he found his new classmates uninterested in their studies, and his teachers spent most of their time disciplining students. Jack retreated to an abandoned bookmobile (three flat tires and empty of books) parked out behind the sandy ball field, and read for most of the day. The seeds for Jack’s writing career were planted in sixth grade, when he read his sister’s diary and decided he could write better than she could. He begged his mother for a diary and began to collect anecdotes he overheard at school, mostly from standing outside the teachers’ lounge and listening to their lunchtime conversations. Later, he incorporated many of these anecdotes into stories.  While in college, he and an illustrator friend, Nicole Rubel, began working on picture books. After a series of well-deserved rejections, they published their first book, Rotten Ralph, in 1976. It was a success and the beginning of Jack’s career as a professional writer. Jack continued to write children’s books and began to teach courses in children’s book writing and children’s literature. He developed the master’s degree program in children’s book writing at Emerson College and the Vermont College M.F.A. program for children’s book writers. He now devotes his time to writing books and educational speaking. He lives with his family in Boston, Massachusetts.

Jack Gantos and Nicole Rubel have created the Rotten Ralph Rotten Readers, which launched in 2001 with Rotten Ralph Helps Out. Ms. Rubel lives in Aurora, Oregon.

Reviews

Grade 1–3—Rotten Ralph has his future planned out. He's designed his own baseball card, embellished his uniform with the words Superstar #1, and practiced how he'll sign autographs and give interviews with the media. He hasn't worked on his hitting, throwing, or running skills though. After tryouts, Ralph's owner, Sarah, makes the team, but Ralph is designated the new "cat boy." His duties include washing socks and sweeping the dugout. During the season, he is given different responsibilities, but his dreams of stardom never materialize. Ralph's antics on and off the baseball field may seem rotten to some, but he manages to remain a superstar in Sarah's eyes. There is never a dull moment in this colorful and appealing early reader.—Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada
(c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Preparing for baseball tryouts, Sarah encourages her incorrigible cat, Rotten Ralph, to practice his skills, too. But during tryouts, Ralph gets beaned as he daydreams about superstardom and cheering fans. Chosen as the bat boy, his one chance to play in a game results in a comic disaster. This colorful volume from the Rotten Ralph Rotten Reader series counterbalances Sarah�s good advice and experiences with Ralph�s bad attitude and results. A quirky but warmhearted baseball story that will amuse young readers, sports fans or not. Grades 1-3. --Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0374363544
• ISBN 13: 9780374363543
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Rubel Nicole
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48