Customer Reviews

The Lucky Baseball Bat: 50th Anniversary Commemorative Edition (Matt Christopher Sports Fiction)

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After reading the first couple of chapters of THE LUCKY BASEBALL BAT, I had to go back to the copyright page to see just when this book was written. After all, the hero of the story, a young boy named Martin and his younger sister Jeannie are invited into the house of Barry Welton, a teenager they had just met after Martin had an unfortunate incident on the ball field that left him sad and disillusioned.

Can you imagine something like this being written in 2004, without sinister consequences? But a brief look indicated that this engaging story was written in 1954; it has been re-released by Little, Brown to celebrate the Golden Anniversary of the first offering of the prolific children's author Matt Christopher.

Indeed, reading THE LUCKY BASEBALL BAT is like stepping into a time warp, similar to viewing an episode of "Leave it to Beaver" or "Father Knows Best." If only we could enjoy those simpler days again, when parents didn't have to worry (as much) about the intentions of strangers; when kids were grateful for small pleasures, such as succeeding in sports, without the distractions of television, computers, or other impediments to childhood. Martin's depiction, as well as the exposition of his family's relationship, is so foreign to modern sensibilities (unfortunately so) that Christopher could well have written his debut book in 1854.

Even the simple illustrations by Robert Henneberger denote an era long gone, before manga became the dominant expression artwork directed at young people.

Martin is the new kid in town, anxious to prove himself on the diamond. First impressions get him off to a poor start until Barry, a star athlete, gives him one of his old bats, which transforms the youngster into a hitting machine and helps change the minds of his formerly ambivalent teammates.

When the bat is broken during a game, Martin, with the help of some other newfound friends, learns that the power lies within him, not in a piece of wood. The lesson seems obvious in today's know-it-all world, but it still has a certain charm, at least to people of a certain age. Indeed, parents (and grandparents) might find this tale more enjoyable than their offspring.

Progress has offered kids and their families vast opportunities. Still, there's something to be said for the simple pleasures of a less hectic period.

--- Reviewed by Ron Kaplan (ronk23@aol.com)

Good book to use as first chapter book with boys reading (instructionally) at early third grade level. The names are kind of outdated, but it's hard to find a real book at lower reading levels. This one fills the bill.

This book is perfect for the little ones into baseball!! My sons both wanted to keep reading chapter after chapter! It is such a warm, loving story with great values!

I bought this for my seven year old grandson. His parents read it to him over a few nights. He truly got into the story and the suspense and the feelings of the characters. My daughter-in-law said she wished modern books were so engaging for children. No wonder it is still selling.

This book is good clean fun with a message about superstitions -- it is NOT the lucky bat that makes Martin a good hitter. There is also a theme in the book about waiting and not jumping to conclusions -- Martin accuses a boy of taking his bat, when that other child was not to blame. Very easy first chapter book. Good baseball in there, too.

My dad used to tell me about playing pick up baseball when he was a kid. He bragged about fielding two teams of nine and playing all day every Saturday. Since at best my pick-up games were played two-on-two (see discussion blog below), I of course was extremely jealous. This book gave me a glimpse of what that life could have been like. It felt very wholesome, safe, and pure. This book is worth picking up for that alone, but the important messages it leaves for readers--the kind of messages we parents aim to instill in our kids--are the real gems to this story.

My six year-old baseball-loving son really liked this book. It has a good message about confidence, and lots of play-by-plays. The book's quite dated -- kids go off to play unsupervised in the town's field, and the boy befriends a strange teenager in his small town -- but it was easy for me to explain these anachronisms to my son, and they give a sweet glimpse of 1950's life. Matt Christopher is no Dickens, but since we have to read sports books in my house, he's good enough for us.