Customer Reviews

Make-Believe Ball Player

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This book was very good. The reason I choose to read this wasbecause I read another book by Alfred Slote called "Finding BuckMcHenry" (which I highly recommend). This is about a 10 year old boy who is very clumsy but loves to play baseball. That is make believe baseball! It is a very good book and has a cute and happy ending I recommend it to ANYBODY!

This book reminded me of my youth. Henry is a clumsy, nearsighted ten-year old boy who plays imaginary baseball games, making spectacular plays on the baseball field. Enamored with baseball when I was young, I did the same thing. For hours, I would take a baseball bat and murder the pitches of Tom Seaver, Bob Gibson and Denny McClain.
When Henry gets into a game in order to avoid a forfeit, his attention wanders and he gets hit on the head by a batted ball. Forced to leave the game, he is taken home where he never wants to set foot on a real diamond again. However, Henry thwarts an attempted robbery at his house and is acclaimed a community hero. This puts him on the spot where he has to play and while he does not dazzle on the diamond, he uses his talent for voices to fool a base runner. After these successes, Henry tries out for the play and is an immediate hit. While he never reaches the point where he will play outstanding baseball, he does acquire the confidence to continue to play.
This is a story for the imaginative child rather than the physical child. Imagination is one of the most powerful weapons in the human arsenal. Properly channeled it helps us do great things. That is a message that all children should learn and adults should keep in mind.