The Hit-Away Kid (Peach Street Mudders Story) [Paperback]

Matt Christopher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 1990 | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Peach Street Mudders Story

Barry McGee, hit-away batter for the Peach Street Mudders, enjoys winning so much that he has a tendency to bend the rules; then the dirty tactics of the pitcher on a rival team give him a new perspective on sports ethics.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-4 Descriptions of strategies, both offensive and defensive, abound in Christopher's latest sports story, and an understanding of baseball terms and plays would be helpful for enjoying the action that is described. Barry McGee, a left fielder and hit-away batter, learns an important lesson in fair play after his sister sees him cheat. Character development has been sacrificed for action and description, but younger readers should enjoy this for the excitement of the game and the typical dialogue of young players. The book can also serve older readers who need high-interest material with easy vocabulary and sentence structure. Janice C. Hayes, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 60 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (April 2, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316140074
• ISBN-13: 978-0316140072
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.2 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,150,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Matthew F. Christopher was born on August 16, 1917, in Bath, Pa. He was the oldest of nine children and a talented athlete, playing baseball, football and soccer in high school. He became interested in writing at the age of 14 and in 1940 had his first story published in a detective magazine. He began writing children's books in the mid 1950's with the publication of THE LUCKY BASEBALL BAT (Little, Brown and Company).

Christopher became well-known for his sports fiction novels for children with over 130 titles bearing his name. He was awarded numerous writing honors from state organizations as well as the 1993 Milner Award. Besides books, he had about 275 short stories and articles published in over 65 children and adult magazines over the years. He is considered America's best selling sports book author.

Matt Christopher and his wife Cay were the parents of four children and the grandparents of ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He died in 1997 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good story about the long-term value of good sportsmanship, July 26, 2008

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Hit-Away Kid (Peach Street Mudders Story) (School & Library Binding)

Barry McGee is an outfielder for the Peach Street Mudders and a superb player. He takes his baseball very seriously, willing to do almost anything to win. The story opens with him chasing down a fly ball, dropping it out of sight of the umpire and then raising it as if he caught it. His sister and a few of the people in the bleachers know what happened, but in the interests of victor, Barry says nothing in order to preserve the out.
This leads to a problem when Alec finds a small figurine that Barry's sister had dropped and refuses to give it back. Alec taunts Barry and says he won't give it back unless Barry hits two home runs off of him in the next game. Barry agrees but this challenges his honesty during the game, as there is another questionable play. Fortunately, Barry learns that honesty is a better way to win friends and he gets the figurine back.
This is a nice little sports story where the emphasis is on being a forthright and honest person. A baseball game is just a game and in a short time, no one will remember or care who won or lost. However, your integrity is something that will be yours forever and keeping it intact is one of life's greatest challenges and leads to the greatest rewards.

4.0 out of 5 stars Baseball and Sportmanship, May 3, 2002

By 

Brando and Peter (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hit-Away Kid (Peach Street Mudders Story) (Paperback)

The Hit-Away Kid by Matt Christopher is a story about baseball and tell telling the truth. Barry, the main character, is a good baseball player who stretches the rules a bit. He learns that he is not perfect at everything and this makes him feel better about playing baseball. We recommend this book a lot.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars i like matt christopher books, January 10, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Hit-Away Kid (Peach Street Mudders Story) (Paperback)

The Hitaway Kid is about a boy that loves baseball. Barry is the hit away kid. Barry plays left field. he almost caught a ball.