Duel on the Diamond (Alden All-Stars) [Paperback]

Tommy Hallowell (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Series: Alden All-Stars

Four junior high school friends find that their "war" with another clique of boys is costing their baseball team a championship season.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Seventh-grader Dennis Clements is looking forward to the upcoming baseball season. With Dennis and his three best friends in the starting lineup, the team can't lose. That is, until Dennis and Duane Potter have a disagreement that eventually divides the team in two. Suddenly the two boys' friends are feuding and pulling pranks on one another that become more dangerous than amusing. As the team's morale declines, so does their winning record. When Duane gets kicked off the team, Dennis decides it is time for everyone to settle their differences and earn some victories. Together, Dennis and Duane manage to hold the team together and accomplish this difficult feat. One of two titles in the new Alden All Stars series, Hallowell's fast-paced story is sure to be a hit with young readers. Ages 8 - 12.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-- Strictly for baseball enthusiasts, this book centers around the Alden Junior High Panthers, who are more concerned about competing among themselves than with their opponents. This dissension between the team's two distinct cliques leads to nasty pranks and verbal and physical exchanges. As their losses mount and the rivalry intensifies, one of the players realizes that unless some sort of harmony is struck between the feuding groups, the season will be a total loss. A truce is finally reached and the players pull together and begin to become a team in the true sense of the word. Hallowell obviously knows baseball; the story is full of game description, strategy, and technique. Other than the coach, there are no adult characters of any substance and females are virtually nonexistent. To Hallowell's credit, a predictable "fairy tale" ending does not occur. In fact, the team loses their last game and finishes the season with a losing record. To his discredit, a particularly painful stereotype appears early in the book: "Alden was a lot like every junior high. It had seventh and eighth grades, librarians with thick glasses . . ." Although the characters are of junior-high age, this is a suitable sports story for upper elementary grades. --Tom S. Hurlburt, formerly at Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (February 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140329102
• ISBN-13: 978-0140329100
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,905,481 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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