Return of the Home Run Kid

by Matt Christopher, Paul Casale (Illustrator)

Overview

Sylvester's baseball has been so dismal that the coach has him warming the bench. So when Cheeko offers to show him a few pointers, he eagerly accepts his offer. But Sylvester can't help thinking there's something fishy about Cheeko.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316142731
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	05/02/1994
Series:	Matt Christopher Sports Classics , #2
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.38(h) x (d)
Lexile:	740L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 18 Years

About the Author

Matt Christopher is the best selling name behind more than 100 sports-themed books for young readers.

Editorial Reviews

The prolific Christopher has written yet another action-packed sports story, this one a sequel to The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. A new baseball season has started, but Sylvester Coddmyer III is not hitting homeruns like last year. In fact, he is hardly hitting the ball at all, until mysterious Cheeko appears and teaches Syl about aggression on the field. Though the boy begins to play well, he cannot help but question Cheeko's advice and is even more confused when his evasive coach from last season appears and advises him differently. Ultimately Syl must make his own decisions about how to play the game. This tale aptly explores the intangible aspects of baseball: attitude, confidence, camaraderie and respect. The author successfully balances sizzling play-by-play accounts of games with brief, general descriptions, thus creating a quick-paced story that vividly captures the sport's sights, sounds and spirit. With many facets of his life addressed, Syl becomes a believable and likable protagonist. Ages 8-12. (May)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 4-6-- After starring as a power-hitting outfielder the year before, Sylvester Coddmyer finds himself relegated to the bench at the start of the new season because of a prolonged slump. He misses the coaching he received the previous season from the mysterious Mr. Baruth. Soon the boy is approached by the equally mysterious Cheeko, who offers to pick up where Mr. Baruth left off, and soon Sylvester is clobbering homers again. However, Cheeko also encourages him to play--some would say--an aggressive, dirty game. Sylvester's tricks and lack of team spirit eventually alienate him from everyone, including the reappearing Mr. Baruth, and these threads are not resolved in the conclusion. Also left ambiguous are the true identities of the coaches: Mr. Baruth is perhaps none other than the ghost of Babe Ruth, while Cheeko is probably the ghost of a pitcher discredited in the Black Sox scandal. All of this may be leading to a sequel that's reminiscent of the movie, Field of Dreams. This book, however, leaves everything hanging. --Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL

School Library Journal