Customer Reviews

Hang Tough, Paul Mather (A Harper Trophy Book)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
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Hang Tough, Paul Mather Harper Collins Publishers, ©1973, 156 pp., $3.95
Alfred Slote ISBN 0-06-440153-7

Paul Mather is a 12 year-old all-star pitcher. He's pitched no-hitters, shut-outs, you name it! Then it hit. Leukemia hit. Because of his leukemia, he and his family have to move to Michigan so that he can visit his new doctor, Dr. Kinsella. After his first visit with Dr. Kinsella, Paul found out that he was banned from the sport he loves so much, baseball. But he did meet a few other kids from the neighborhood who play on a baseball team. They find out how good he is and tell their coach about him. Their coach tried to persuade Paul's parents to let him play, but they rejected the offer. His father kept the registration, though, and Paul stole it. He filled out the sheet and forged his father's signature. He snuck out and played a baseball game for the team that he met on the street. During the second inning of the game, he collapsed. By that time his father had figured out where he was and took him straight to the hospital. After being in the hospital a few months, he tries to persuade Dr. Kinsella to let him go to a baseball game, but will Paul ever get his chance to play the game he loves so dearly?

This is probobly one of the best books I' ve ever read! On a scale of one to ten, I would rate it a ten because of all the excitement. You never know what is going to happen next. This book is special because it has that extra pizzaz to it. I would recomend this book because it is the type of book I love - baseball and action. I wouldrecomend this book to anyone at any time.

Jayson M. , Grade 5
Bales Intermediate, Friendswood, Texas

I first read this book when I took a course in children's literature in college (17 years ago). I thought the book was good then, but just last night I finshed reading it again, this time to my three older children (ages 9.5, 8, and 6 yrs). It was a wonderful experience. They didn't want me to stop reading! The book captivated them and led them to ask great questions about leukemia and challenges the main character, Paul Mather, faced in the book.

Without giving away anything about the guts of the book, Paul Mather is a 12 year old baseball pitcher. He lives, breathes and drinks in baseball. It's his life. But, as you soon learn, he is hampered in his dream world of baseball by a disease that sidelines him.

This book is a true treasure for anyone looking for a character with a noble and hopeful spirit in the face of desparation and illness. This may be a great book to share with ill children. It's got a lot of "atta-boys" in it.

You keep hanging tough, Paul Mather!

5 stars all the way!

Alan Holyoak

This book must be wonderful for me to remember it years after I read it. I am 29 now and first read it in my early teens. It has so much to say about courage, character and dignity. I think it helped shape my views of what's really important in life. I hope that some kids come upon this book and read it, and that it affects their lives as it did mine.

Paul Mather is a character that any baseball fan can relate to. Paul has a passion for pitching that is so strong, not even a incurable blood disease can stop him from getting on the mound. This is not only a story about baseball, but a story about life. I am an elementary eduacation student, and I hope to use this book in my classroom. The way Alfred Slote develops Paul's character through the story is amazing. As I read I felt like I was going through everything with Paul. If you have ever enjoyed books by Matt Christopher this is definetely a book for you to read. I would recommend this book to anyone age 9 and up.

This is a heartwarming tale of a young boy with leukemia and a zest for baseball. The theme of going after your goals, regardless of the obstacles, is personified in the main character of Paul Mather. Though set in the 1970's, this story transcends time to today. Many children are still fighting Leukemia, as well as many other illnesses.
Children will connect with Paul forging his parents name on the permission slip for baseball. What child has not forged a signature, or thought about it, and then was caught? This experience by Paul is universal.
Childhood love of activity, also gives universal appeal, through Paul's love of baseball. Many young boys, and some girls, can name their favorite player's statistics. Paul, the main character, is the same. This book is a wonderful story to share. I would use this in a middle school English classroom.

The book is a very touching account of how twelve-year-old Paul Mather deals with his inner struggle of having cancer. He wants to play baseball so badly that we can honestly feel it inside of ourselves as we read the book. The reader can't help but feel all of Paul's emotion as we go on the neverending roller coaster ride of his young life. A must read. Kids will cherish it.

In the mid-1970s, when I was around ten years old, I used to read this book over and over. It's not a long book, and it only has a few major scenes, but they're powerful moments, and Alfred Slote writes baseball action perfectly--the strategy, the required skill. As a boy I never understood what having leukemia really meant, except that the main character was sick and weak in the hospital. As a grown-up, I find the book very moving because cancer has appeared in my life a few times over the years. It's still one of my favorite books, but now that I'm a dad it brings tears to my eyes.

Reviwer:Auston October 26,2001
This is my first time reading this book. Hang Tough Paul Mather is a book about a boy named Paul Mather who loves baseball but he has a disease that causes his parents not to let him play. Unless his doctor say it's OK, he can't play. But he plays anyway without doctor's permission. I would recommend it to any one(except a baby). It's a Great book.

This is a very good book. It is for 5-7 grade students. If you like Thomas J. Dygard books or "Finding Buck McHenry", you will like it.