Two Hot Dogs with Everything

Haven, Paul

ISBN 10: 0375933484 ISBN 13: 9780375933486

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2006

Synopsis

The Sluggers are a baseball team whose past is filled with hundreds of defeats and near misses. Year after year, they play the kind of baseball that challenges the most faithful of fans. But when it comes to Slugger supporters, there’s a whole other category. Die-hard fans who rely on elaborate superstitions to support their team. Fans like Danny Gurkin.
When Danny and his friends learn that a mansion with ties to the Sluggers’ history is slated to be demolished, they make a desperate pilgrimage to see what can be done to save it. There Danny uncovers a flavor of gum created by the original team owner, a 19th-century bubblegum tycoon. Danny helps himself to a few packs and discovers that chewing the gum gives him the ability to alter the Sluggers’ future. But Danny’s secret comes at a price and before long he’s in hot water with just about anyone who has a stake in the game.


From the Hardcover edition.

About this title

About the Author

A born and bred New Yorker, Paul Haven has traveled around the world working as a reporter for the Associated Press. He currently lives with his wife and daughter in Madrid, Spain.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8 Eleven-year-old Danny Gurkin is a devoted Sluggers fan, even though the team has won only one championship in its 108-year history (and that took place in their very first season). Hope and superstition are the hallmarks of their doggedly loyal fans. During the season, Danny's life is dictated by a complex web of superstitions that dictate how and where he'll watch the games (always avoiding the wrong side of the sofa), what he'll wear, and what he'll eat (two hot dogs, though the toppings vary by circumstance: a rookie pitcher calls for extra onions, for example). Haven's first novel will delight readers with its whimsically exaggerated detail as he simultaneously celebrates and winks a knowing eye at baseball's cherished folklore and superstitions. The intricate plot, which begins with the curse of the poisoned pretzel, will keep readers on the edge of their seats right up to the glorious finale set during baseball's fall classic. Mysteriously odd characters disappear and reappear. Danny, his friends, and the Sluggers themselves are lovable underdogs, comically earnest, and recognizable to baseball fans everywhere. Haven's quirky style with an eye for oddball detail and comic hyperbole will remind readers of Roald Dahl and Eva Ibbotson. Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA
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Edition details

• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0375933484
• ISBN 13: 9780375933486
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 320