Magic in the Outfield (Sluggers #1) [Paperback]

Phil Bildner (Author), Loren Long (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 24, 2009 | Age Level: 8 and up

Griffith, Graham, and Ruby's father passed away in the war. And now they must join their mother and their father's wartime traveling baseball team, The Travelin' Nine, on a tour of America to raise money. No one will tell the kids why the team needs money so badly. Their only clue is a baseball with a hole the size of an acorn in it that their Uncle Owen gave to them the night of their father's funeral. They know very little about its significance except that their father made it with his own two hands and carried it with him throughout the war. And when all three kids hold the ball, strange things begin to happen...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

#1 New York Times Best Seller LOREN LONG’s illustrations have received two gold medals from the Society of Illustrators and his first picture book, Angela Johnson’s I Dream of Trains, won the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Award for Illustrations and his inspired interpretation of Walt Whitman’s When I Heard Learn’d Astronomer was a Golden Kite Honor. A much sought after editorial artist whose work has appeared in Times, Sports Illustrated, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal and Atlantic Monthly, Loren is widely known for the illustrations in Madonna’s #1 New York Times Best Seller Mr. Peabody’s Apples. And Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could. He lives in West Chester, Ohio, with his wife, Tracy, and two young sons, Griffith and Graham.

Phil Bildner is the author of the New York Times bestselling Sluggers! series, the Texas Bluebonnet Award-winning Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy and its companion, The Shot Heard 'Round the World, both illustrated by C. F. Payne; and Twenty-One Elephants, illustrated by LeUyen Pham. His latest picture book is Turkey Bowl, illustrated by C.F Payne. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One: The Piggy Town Showdown

Two days earlier...

Graham had fire in his eyes. He stood toe-to-toe with the older boy, and no matter how hard Ruby tugged at him, he pulled away, refusing to back down.

"You think you can beat the Travelin' Nine?" Graham pointed at the boy's chest. "You don't know what you're talking about."

The older boy waved the flyer back in Graham's face. "You don't know what you're talkin' 'bout, pip-squeak!"

Graham clenched his fists. "The Travelin' Nine can beat any team from your piggy town!"

"Piggy town?" The boy laughed. "Try Porkopolis, small fry. That's what we in Cincinnati call our city. Porkopolis: the pork-packin' capital of the world."

"Piggy town!" Graham repeated, louder. "No piggy-town team can beat the Travelin' Nine."

Ruby grabbed at her little brother again, afraid that he would try to tackle the other boy right into the Ohio River.

"Let me tell you somethin' else." The older boy towered over Graham. "When it comes to baseball, we were first. We had the first pro team in the whole country. We here in Cincinnati take our baseball very seriously."

"So! Who cares?" Graham fired back.

"Listen, runt. You really think a team of Cincinnati ballists is gonna lose to some travelin'-sideshow band of barnstormers?"

That was the final straw. Graham lunged at the older boy and shoved him in the gut. The older boy winced and doubled over, but only for a brief moment, and for not nearly as long as Graham had hoped.

"Is that the best you can do, shrimp?" The older boy stood up taller than ever. He pushed Graham away. Graham stumbled but somehow managed to remain on his feet.

"Now you've done it!" Graham shouted. He lowered his head, drew back both fists, and charged. And as Graham leaped at his nemesis, from out of nowhere he was plucked from the air.

"Whoa!" Griffith said. "Easy, Grambo!"

"You're gonna be sorry!" the older boy said even as he backed off and away. "Sorry you ever came to Cincinnati!"

Graham struggled to escape Griffith's grasp, but years of wrestling with his big brother had taught him there was no use. He stopped flailing his arms and slowly unclenched his fists.

"Grammy, you can't do that." Griffith loosened his grip.

"He started it."

"It doesn't matter. We're new here. You can't go around picking fights."

"Why not?" Ruby flashed an amused smile at her older brother and pointed. "It worked."

In the distance they could see the boy pausing on the Roebling Suspension Bridge; he seemed to be reading the Travelin' Nine flyer. Then he quickly stuffed it into his back pocket before heading off.

"He started it," Graham repeated, crossing his arms over his chest.

Griffith sighed. He knew better than to continue arguing with his brother. Besides, they all had something more important to do. They had to promote the ball game. They had to help distribute the flyers that both Professor Lance and Bubbles were lugging in their overstuffed satchels farther up the road.

Griffith reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the flyers. He thought about his mother's words from earlier that day.

"We need people at the game, Griff," she had said when she pulled him aside. In her eyes he thought he saw something he'd seen once before, but it was so long ago he no longer knew if it was real or just a dream. "Lots of people."

The barnstormers were trying to raise money. A lot of money. Thousands of dollars. Griffith knew it. Ruby and Graham knew it too. It was the reason the Travelin' Nine were barnstorming in the first place.

"What is it?" Ruby said.

"What is what?" Griffith replied, folding the advertisement back up.

"You know what I'm talking about, Griff. There's something you're not telling me."

"Ruby, how many times do I have to say it? I'm not keeping anything from you."

"I know Uncle Owen told you something the night of Daddy's funeral. I know he did, but I don't understand why you won't tell me."

Griffith sighed. "Come on. We need to catch up to Bubbles and the Professor. We have work to do."

Text copyright © 2007 by Phil Bildner and Loren Long

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (February 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416918841
• ISBN-13: 978-1416918844
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #139,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Sports & Activities > Sports > Baseball

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An old-time baseball story, must-read adventure, July 26, 2009

By 

Lori Calabrese "Children's Books Examiner... (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Magic in the Outfield (Sluggers #1) (Paperback)

Published as Barnstormers: Game 1, Magic in the Outfield (Sluggers) is an old-time baseball story that is a must-read adventure.

The story begins as Griffith, Graham, and Ruby have just attended their father's funeral, and the siblings are left with many questions.

"Mother said we're going to be barnstormers. What does that mean?" Ruby asks. Uncle Owen explains that barnstorming is when folks travel around the country presenting plays, giving lectures, or performing exhibitions like dancing, tightrope walking, or baseball.

Turns out, barnstormers can make a lot of money which is why the kids must join their mother and their father's wartime traveling baseball team, The Travelin' Nine, on a tour of America. No one will tell the kids why the team needs money so badly. Their only clue is a baseball with a hole the size of an acorn in it that their Uncle Owen gives to them the night of their father's funeral. They know very little about its significance except that their father made it with his own two hands and carried it with him throughout the war.

Uncle Owen not only entrusts them with the ball, but lets them know that great danger lies ahead and they need to be together, always.

In this first book in the series, the Travelin' Nine head to Cincinnati to take on the local team. As the game progresses,the kids learn that when all three of them hold the ball, strange things happen. What would you think if a massive locomotive came thundering in the outfield during a baseball game? To make it even more mysterious, only the Travelin' Nine and the kids are the ones to witness the marvel.

Since this is the first book in the series, many questions are left unanswered that make you want to pick up Sluggers 2. The story ends with the siblings and the team questioning the strange occurrences and preparing to board a steamboat that will take them to Louisville for their next game.

What I love about this book is the mystery involved. It's enough to keep you satisfied, but also enough to make you want to read on. You get a feel for old-time baseball with baseball lingo defined in the margins, and you're pulled into a magical world where strange things are abound. Loren Long's illustrations are absolutely amazing and add to the allure and mystery. It's a book that will appeal to any baseball lover, but also those interested in mystery and fantasy.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for baseball loving kids above the age of 7, January 2, 2012

By 

J. Golton (California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Magic in the Outfield (Sluggers #1) (Paperback)

My 6 year old son loves baseball and before the holiday season asked for a gift that met the following criteria:

* about baseball

* has chapters

* has magic

* is scary

Yes - he really did ask for that, I'm not kidding.

This set of books met these criteria so I bought the first 4 in the series for him as a gift. I've read him the first 2 books so far and they both had some great things going for them which combined to make you feel like you were truly in another time and place:

* great black and white artwork

* use of colorful, old-time baseball language

* colorful, memorable characters

However, this first book ended in a way that felt like it was half way through a book - a book without a conclusion. The combination of this book and Horsin' Around (book 2) would have made for a much better, more complete book, as it clued you in more as to what was actually going on with the story. More importantly, it had a satisfying conclusion (though strong hints of more to come).

My son agreed with me but for different reasons. In both books, he totally loved the old-time language like "daisy cutters" and "pill" and "hurler," etc. He thought both books were good but in the second, the baseball game is far more exciting. He also didn't think the books were all that scary and it took explaining from me for him to understand subtleties like why it's scary to have very rich person aligned against you or in book 2 how gambling and debts can get you into trouble. I think these books are aimed at kids who are a couple years older - though my son totally loves all the baseball parts. It will be nice for him to read these again in a year or two when he's able to easily read books on his own.

In conclusion, I think this series is great for the kid that loves baseball and likes reading series, including my own son. However, just understand that you'll be left unsatisfied if you simply read this as a stand-alone book. You'll need at a minimum to read the first 2 books, and more likely than not you'll want to keep going after book 2 as well.