Guys Read: The Sports Pages [Paperback]

Jon Scieszka (Author), Gordon Korman (Author), Chris Rylander (Author), Dan Gutman (Author), Anne Ursu (Author), Tim Green (Author), Joseph Bruchac (Author), Jacqueline Woodson (Author), Dan Santat (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: July 10, 2012 | Age Range: 8 and up | Series: Guys Read (Book 3)

Ten stories guaranteed to put you in the ring, under the basket, and right behind home plate, from the following perennial all-stars:

Dustin Brown
James Brown
Joseph Bruchac
Chris Crutcher
Tim Green
Dan Gutman
Gordon Korman
Chris Rylander
Anne Ursu
Jacqueline Woodson

with illustrations by Dan Santat

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jon Scieszka is the National Ambassador for Children’s Literature emeritus and the bestselling author of more than twenty-five books for kids, including The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, Math Curse, Robot Zot!, and the Time Warp Trio series. Jon founded Guys Read to encourage a passion for reading among young boys, with the philosophy that boys love to read most when they are reading things they love. A former elementary school teacher, Jon lives in Brooklyn with his family.

Dan Santat, the author and illustrator of The Guild of Geniuses. He's also developing his own animated television show.

Gordon Korman has written more than fifty middle-grade and teen novels. Favorites include the #1 New York Times bestseller The 39 Clues: One False Note, Son of the Mob, and Schooled. Though he didn't play football in high school, Gordon's been a lifelong fan and season ticket holder. He says, "I've always been fascinated by the 'culture of collision' in football, and wanted to explore it—not just from the highlight films, but from its darker side as well." Gordon lives with his family on Long Island, New York.

Chris Rylander is the author of the Fourth Stall saga, of which you are holding the final installment in your hands right now. A fan of strawberry jam, one-armed cowboys, and the Chicago Cubs, he lives in Chicago.

Dan Gutman is the author of the Baseball Card Adventure series, which has sold more than one and a half million copies, and the My Weird School series, which has sold more than 5.5 million copies!

Thanks to his many fans who voted in their classrooms, he has received fifteen state book awards and thirty-eight state book award nominations. Dan Gutman lives in Haddonfield, New Jersey, with his wife, Nina, and their two children, Sam and Emma.

Anne Ursu is the author of the three middle-grade novels that comprise the Cronus Chronicles trilogy: The Shadow Thieves, The Siren Song, and The Immortal Fire. She teaches at Hamline University's MFA program in Writing for Children and is a lifelong Minnesota Twins fan. Anne lives in Minneapolis with her son and cats.

Tim Green played Little League baseball for many years before specializing in football. After graduating as co-valedictorian from Syracuse University, he was a first-round NFL draft pick and played as a star defensive end for the Atlanta Falcons for eight years.

When his sons began to play baseball, Tim drew on his early love of the game to coach their teams. His exciting books for young readers include Unstoppable, Pinch Hit, and Rivals as well as the New York Times bestsellers Baseball Great and Best of the Best, starring Josh, Jaden, and Benji. He has also written the novels Football Genius, Football Champ, Football Hero, and Deep Zone, starring Troy White and Ty Lewis.

Tim Green lives with his wife, Illyssa, and their five children in upstate New York.

Joseph Bruchac is the author of Skeleton Man, The Return of Skeleton Man, Bearwalker, The Dark Pond, and Whisper in the Dark, as well as numerous other critically acclaimed novels, poems, and stories, many drawing on his Abenaki heritage. Mr. Bruchac and his wife, Carol, live in upstate New York, in the same house where he was raised by his grandparents.

Jacqueline Woodson was awarded Newbery honors for her books Feathers and Show Way and was a National Book Award finalist for her books Hush and Locomotion; the latter also received a Coretta Scott King Honor, as did her books I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This and From the Notebooks Of Melanin Sun. Miracle's Boys won the Coretta Scott King Award.

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Walden Pond Press (July 10, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061963771
• ISBN-13: 978-0061963773
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,355 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #96 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Short Story Collections

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Home Run for Guys Read: The Sports Pages July 11, 2012

By Trudy

Format:Paperback

I have become a big fan of the Guys Read Short Story Series edited by Jon Scieszka. With ten authors writing ten different short stories, it's easy to find one that will appeal to any reader.

Guys Read: The Sports Pages hits a home run for it's mix of stories from great children's authors like Gordon Korman and Chris Rylander to real athletes like Dustin Brown and James Brown. It's not just a football book, The Sports Pages artfully weaves in stories from a full gamut of sports, like track and martial arts, to complement the basketball and football one would expect to find in a sports book.

Sometimes it's not always about the game. In The Choice, by James Brown, a real athlete recounts what happens when life gets in the way of the sport and how it can lead to a different course than what you expected. On the humorous side, Maximillan Funk convinces himself that his participation in tennis is too nerdy to be cool. In Max Swings for the Fence, by Anne Ursu, Max concocts a story he thinks will garner respect. The consequences play out in a whopper of a strike that will have the reader snickering at Max's stupidity.

Dan Gutman, Tim Green, Jacqueline Woodsen, Chris Crutcher, and Joseph Bruchac add to the talented list of all stars. However, I couldn't help but choose a favorite. I Will Destroy You, Derek Jeter, by Chris Rylander hits it out of the stands for funny. When Wes becomes obsessed with humiliating a New York Yankee, he winds showing why a rookie doesn't always stack up against an all star. Just how far he will go to prove a point, ends up in the kind of witty and humorous tale Chris Rylander is so good at creating. Highly Recommended for not only the boy who loves to play sports, but for those who sit on the sidelines as well.

This review is taken from my blog [...] I received the book at no charge from the publisher to facilitate my review. NO financial compensation was received.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Installment September 24, 2012

By R. Scott

Format:Paperback

Edited by Jon Scieszka (Guys Read, The Time Warp Trio) and illustrated by Dan Santat (Time Out Kids, The Replacements), Guys Read: The Sports Pages is the third volume in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading (preceded by Guys Read: Funny Business and Guys Read: Thriller). Like the previous installments, GR:TSP is a collection of works by a number of popular writers for young readers, including Chris Crutcher, Tim Green, Gordan Korman, and Anne Ursu. The pieces are united by a common theme--in this case, sports--but written in a variety of styles.

Anne Ursu's "Max Swings for the Fences" is an amusing short story about a tennis player who moves to a baseball town and tells a little lie that rapidly spins out of control. Gordan Korman's "The Trophy" is a fun tale about an elementary basketball team that sets out on a quest to find its stolen championship trophy. Dan Gutman's "How I Won the World Series" is a clever creative non-fiction piece about favorite teams and sports superstitions. And both Dustin Brown's "Against All Odds" and Jame's Brown's "The Choice" are autobiographical, but Dustin recounts his journey to the NHL in a sort of snap-shot essay (I'm defining that as an essay with various topic headings), while James tells his life in basketball as a narrative.

And for a volume with just ten entries, Scieszka has "covered his bases" well, representing baseball, basketball, football, track, mixed martial arts, and (at least a mention of) tennis. I guess it could have been more inclusive, but the stories told are more important than the sports that serve as their settings. And at any rate, baseball, basketball, football, track, and MMA are probably the most popular sports among boys 8-12, anyway.

What I've liked most about this series (thus far) is that the writers selected manage to craft intelligent, character-centered stories that demonstrate a meaningful change in their protagonists (while still being fun and interesting and page-turnery). The stories in this collection are no exception. Sure, at times, some characters actions are certainly more in service to plot than to character development, but there are also shining examples of interesting protagonists with complex problems. In Tim Green's "Find Your Fire," Jake is confronted with a life-changing situation that actually pits him (and his new selfish, angry motivation) against his best friend. The title character in Anne Ursu's "Max Swings for the Fences" is 100 percent responsible for the mess he gets himself in, and we squirm uncomfortably along with him as he struggles to clean it up. And in Chris Crutcher's "Meat Grinder," we see the impact a single peer in his corner has on young, suffering Mack.

It's not without its (minor) faults, but the clear language, swift pace, and solid variety in Guys Read: The Sports Pages makes it a perfect pick for boy readers--especially reluctant ones.

Recommended for ages 9+.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Hit for the Guys Read Series! July 18, 2012

By Heather

Format:Paperback

So, I don't really read about sports. I don't watch sports. I do have a favorite team, my college team, but I don't watch them, I am superstitious as they always seem to start losing when I watch. And I really only care if they beat the Georgia Bulldogs and FSU. Yep, I'm a Florida Gator in case you haven't read my profile. And as much as I try to understand my husband's stories about playing football in high school and college, the intensity of it, I just didn't get it. But I have never been disappointed by these short stories in Guys Read and I still haven't. Yeah, it's sports, but I discovered some things as I read.

First, the stories are really varied, as much as sports are. MAX SWINGS FOR THE FENCES is written by Anne Ursu, author of BREADCRUMBS. and though it isn't fairy tale like in any way, there is a definite and funny lesson to be learned when you claim your dad is a famous baseball player for the Minnesota Twins and he comes to town. I really felt sorry for Max, the new kid in school, who just wanted to fit in so he told a tiny white lie. But Max, and guys, don't ever underestimate girls. I'm sure Max won't ever again.

My husband played football, in his free time, in a men's league when I met him, in junior high, high school and on a scholarship in college. Yeah, he is INTO football. It's rare that the t.v. isn't tuned in to some game, usually college, during the fall. But I found out he's been holding out on me. Read the story FIND YOUR FIRE by Tim Green and like me you might find out there is a lot of emotion in sports. Who would have guessed. I found myself tearing up at the conclusion of that one. So you want your son to open up about his feelings? Talk in sports metaphors if nothing else works. It's not that they don't want to talk about their feelings, it's that they are saving it for the game!

Dustin Brown, Captain of the Los Angeles Kings,(NHL hockey for the sports impaired) wrote a really informative and thoughtful recounting of his journey to where he is today in AGAINST ALL ODDS. I rarely watch hockey, been to a few minor league games here in Charlotte, but now I appreciate what it takes for these players to get where they are, the dedication and the sacrifice. I think they are some of the youngest players on professional teams and Dustin Brown's decision between going to college and trying to be one of two hundred out of 30,000 players in Junior Hockey to be asked to the NHL Draft was a life altering decision at such a young age. At 18, the time we will be sending our kids to college, or most of the kids reading this will be going to college, Dustin was playing for the NHL. That's HUGE! It was a definite dream come true, but you need to read his story to see how it wasn't just handed to him. He worked for it. Hard! It's a great story.

What about the rest of the stories? They are all great! I loved the story Chris Rylander wrote I WILL DESTROY YOU, DEREK JETER! And wonder of all wonders, my reluctant reader caught me reading it to my husband (another reluctant reader at 50) and they both want to read it! I'm still not quite recovered but will be handing this off shortly to the younger of the two as soon as my review is done!
THE TROPHY by Gordon Korman is a great competitive story about finding friendship through sports in the most unlikely of circumstances. CHOKE by James Brown was a great story about taking the fight from outside the ring into it and the joy of knowing, win or lose, you've done what you set out to do.

I think beginning the book with Dan Gutman's HOW I WON THE WORLD SERIES and his lucky grapefruit (he's superstitious, too, though he can watch his team play) and ending it with I WILL DESTROY YOU, DEREK JETER was perfect! I don't care how much you don't like sports, you will find something in each of these stories to take away and remember. And if you're lucky enough like me, you'll find two reluctant readers in your house that want to read it even if one of them is older than you!

This is definitely for your middle grade and above readers. Reluctant readers especially will enjoy the short stories. Again, I enjoy and appreciate short stories for the fact that I can put them down and pick them up again without having to remember where the story was when I left off. This is something I think reluctant readers also appreciate. But make no mistake, anyone will enjoy these stories. I did, and I am no fan of sports! These stories will stick with me. I may even discuss them with my son....!