Dugout Rivals (Fred Bowen Sports Story Series) - Softcover

Bowen, Fred

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1561455156 ISBN 13: 9781561455157

Publisher: Peachtree, 2010

Synopsis

Jake Daley loves baseball. He loves playing for the Red Sox in the Woodside baseball league. He loves playing short stop. Most of all, he loves to win.
Jake is excited when newcomer Adam Hull is selected to play for the Red Sox. Adam can do it all―pitch, hit, and field. But as the Red Sox rack up win after win, and Adam’s talents dominate every game, Jake can’t help but wonder: Do he or the other players even matter? When Jake’s father tells him the story of Babe Ruth and the 1927 Yankees, though, Jake sees how even the best players must rely on their teammates.
Author Fred Bowen continues his Sports Story series with play-by-play action that’s sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats! An afterword provides the real story of the 1927 Yankees, the group that many have called “The Greatest Team of All Time.”

About this title

About the Author:

Fred Bowen is the author of Peachtree’s popular Fred Bowen Sports Story series. A lifelong sports fanatic, he has coached youth league baseball, basketball, and soccer. His kids’ sports column “The Score” appears each week in the KidsPost section of the Washington Post. Bowen lives in Maryland.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5–8—In Dugout Rivals, Jake Daley is looking forward to a new season of baseball. Since he was voted "Team's Best Eleven Year Old" last year, he's sure he is going to be the shortstop for the Red Sox. Then Adam Hull moves in. He can do it all: hit, field, and pitch. Suddenly, Jake has competition for the MVP trophy. Over the course of the season, he must come to terms with his shortcomings as Adam works through his own set of problems—his parents' bitter divorce and the uncertainty of moving again. During the championship game, both boys learn why there is "no 'I' in team." Similarly, in Hardcourt Comeback, Brett Carter is the big man on the courts, but after missing a crucial game point, forgetting the answer to an easy question in Brain Bowl, and becoming paralyzed with fear on the rock-climbing wall, his self-esteem is as deflated as an old basketball. Can he regain his confidence before the big game? While the characters are much more self-aware than most seventh graders (and families and coaches feel like they were made for a TV movie), Bowen's stories move along briskly with rapid-fire action sequences and end with surprising twists. Less-athletic readers may be unfamiliar with plays and sport-specific lingo. Both books conclude with a "Real Story" section that references real players' life events to underscore the motivation for coaching pep talks in the books.—H. H. Henderson, Heritage Middle School, Deltona, FL
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Peachtree
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1561455156
• ISBN 13: 9781561455157
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128