Get a Hit, Mo! (Mo Jackson Series #2)

by David A. Adler, Sam Ricks (Illustrator)

Overview

A companion to the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award-winning Don't Throw It to Mo!

Baseball season has arrived and Mo is all set to play with his team, the Lions. But Mo always bats last, and he always plays right field—and no balls ever come to right field. Will Mo ever get his chance to help the Lions win? This Level 2 reader about a little African-American boy with a big passion for sports is a funny, motivational companion to the winner of the 2016 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698136168
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	02/16/2016
Series:	Mo Jackson Series , #2
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	818,010
File size:	53 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 7 Years

About the Author

David A. Adler is the author of more than two hundred children's books, including two Level 3 easy-to-read series, Young Cam Jansen and Bones. Visit David at davidadler.com.

Editorial Reviews

Reviews for Get a Hit, Mo!:

"The text is appropriately simple, yet Adler cunningly coaxes emerging readers to use their understanding of narrative conventions and their prediction skills to make savvy inferences. African-American Mo and his multiethnic, mixed-gender, woman-coached team make for a nicely inclusive read." – Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

12/01/2015
Gr 1–3—Mo Jackson is a little kid with a big love for baseball. Unfortunately, he is smaller and younger than the rest of the players on his team, the Lions. When Coach Marie assigns the batting order, Mo bats last (usually the spot for the weakest hitter). When she assigns field positions, Mo gets right field (few balls ever go to right field). As the opposing team scores two runs, Mo worries that he will not get a hit. A brown-skinned boy with curly locks that peek out from under his helmet, Mo strikes out his first two times at bat. In the ninth inning with two outs, people are cheering and Coach Marie is shouting. When he turns to hear what she is saying, Mo accidentally hits the ball. The ball then rolls past the pitcher and keeps on rolling, bringing in Mo and the two other players who are on base. In an ending that is neither original nor a surprise, Mo's home run wins the game; even the youngest baseball-playing reader is going to wonder how a slight tap of the bat propelled the ball to roll far enough to bring in three runs. The illustrations are fun with good use of color and perspective, and they depict a multicultural lineup. VERDICT An additional purchase for beginning reader collections.—Jennifer Steib Simmons, Anderson County Library, SC

School Library Journal

2015-11-17
In this tale of overcoming odds, Mo Jackson, the youngest, smallest player on his Little League team, is excited about helping the Lions to a win. Will he be the hero? Or will he strike out? "One more strike and the game is over. People are standing. People are cheering." Adler zeroes in on that crucial last-inning, last-out opportunity to bring the runners home, overcome the deficit on the scoreboard, and become the most unlikely team hero. The odds are predictably insurmountable. The team places him in right field because "no balls ever come to right field." Offensively, Mo has already struck out twice before in the same game. Coach Marie stands across from Mo at the plate, shouting something readers never find out but can only imagine to be "Swing!" Mo turns to hear her better, and the bat turns too. Crack! Such a fortuitous accident leaves everyone confused, including Mo—there's nothing to do but run! His teammates on base break for home and tap the plate just in the nick of time. The text is appropriately simple, yet Adler cunningly coaxes emerging readers to use their understanding of narrative conventions and their prediction skills to make savvy inferences. African-American Mo and his multiethnic, mixed-gender, woman-coached team make for a nicely inclusive read. This second in the Mo Jackson series is a home run for the home team of early readers. (Early reader. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews