The Million Dollar Putt (Million Dollar Series) [Hardcover]

Dan Gutman (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Million Dollar Series

Edward Bogard – Bogie for short – may be blind, but he can learn just about anything he sets his mind to – riding a bike, parasailing, or playing guitar. His dad encourages all of his interests, except one: golf. So when a few of Bogie’s classmates invite him to a driving range, no one is more surprised than Bogie when he turns out to have the swing of a natural player. But blind golfing is a team sport. Now what he needs is a coach. Enter Birdie, the kooky girl next door. Birdie seems to have no friends, creates elaborate worlds in miniature in her basement, and has managed to make it to age twelve without ever riding a bike. As these neighbors team up to conquer the greens of Hawaii, they learn about more than just golf. Then someone mysteriously enters Bogie in a golfing tournament—with a million dollar prize. Could Birdie be the unlikely key to Bogie’s million-dollar win?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8–A sweetly told story about the budding friendship between two young people and their understanding of one anothers differences. Bogie is a blind teenager with a lot of insight when it comes to taking chances, seeing the world, and eventually mastering the game of golf. Birdie has asthma and lacks the confidence even to ride a bike, until she finds her purpose: assisting Bogie with his game. When they consider the idea of entering a golf tournament, Bogies family secrets are divulged, helping to clear up some of the mysteries surrounding his mothers death and his fathers lack of interest in golf. This novels appeal is enhanced by humorous, lively dialogue; the innocence of the main characters; and the positive portrayal of their relationship and disabilities. An interesting read.–Hope Marie Cook, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Dan Gutman is the author of many novels for children, including four other Million Dollar books. He is also the author of theFunny boy books,andVirtually Perfect(winner of the Nevada Young Readers' Award and a Virginia Young Readers' Award Nominee). He lives with his family in New Jersey.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 174 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (April 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786836415
• ISBN-13: 978-0786836413
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,470,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

This is hard. I'm a pretty regular Jersey guy who spent fifteen years trying to write newspaper articles, magazine articles, screenplays, books for adults, and just about everything else before I discovered the one thing I'm good at--writing fiction for kids. I aim for kids who DON'T like to read, and hopefully the kids who DO like to read will enjoy my stuff too. For all the gory details about me, check out my web site.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars read this great golf adventure, January 3, 2009

By 

Mid-Prairie Teen - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Million Dollar Putt (Paperback)

The Million Dollar Putt had a lot of things in common with me. This book is mainly about golf, and I like golf a so that is the main reasons I chose this book in the beginning. There were many things that made this book interesting; however, there were parts that got a little boring.

The two main characters are Birdie, and Bogie. Birdie is a girl that is a neighbor of Bogie and is kind of weird. The blind man Bogie, likes playing guitars and playing golf. Bogie makes this book really good because you always think he is going to mess up, or something bad is going to happen. You have many doubts about him, for example, most people would predict that a blind man would never go out for golf, and if they did they would be horrible. He makes the book a lot more interesting

Overall, this book had a lot of ups and downs, but it was still good. You might like this if you like unpredictable books. I think anyone that does play golf would like this, especially people that like putting. I think blind people are underestimated and can do a lot more than people would think. That is why I think the point Dan Gutman was trying to make is you can do almost anything if you really try.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Million Dollar Putt, February 22, 2008

By 

K. Mantych "is the teacher for this NMS student" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Million Dollar Putt (Paperback)

Bogie was able to do many things even though he is blind. This made me wounder if i could do all the things i do if i was blind or not. He was able to tech himself to play the guitar and even learned how to golf. being blind did not stop him from competing. I wounder if bogie was more determined because he si blind and felt that he had to prove he could do what other kids could do. I rated this book 4 stars because it left you wanting to know more about Bogie and what he would accomplish with the rest of his life. I think anyboby that has dreams would enjoy this book. It makes you feel like you can do anytyhing if you set your mind to it. I can tell you if Bogie won the golf tournament you will have to read the book your self to find that out. Which I recomened you do. The Million Dollar Putt by Dan Gutman is a fantastic book for all ages of kids. THis book is a sports-fiction so if you like sports books go and get this book at your local book store today.

by: Jake G.



Read This Inspriational Book!!
The Million Dollar Putt, written by Dan Gutman, is a powerful book that shows that blind or disabled people can do more than they think they can do. He has courage stand up to bullies, and enters the golf tournament with the help of BIrdie. This sports fiction tells the tale of a blind kid named Bogie taking the unbelievable challenge. I gave this book a 5/5 rating because it was a very well written book with a good message to disabled people. Children of all ages will enhoy The Million Dollar Putt. I would highly recoomend reading this inspirational book.
By: E.G.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Million Dollar Putt, January 14, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Million Dollar Putt (Million Dollar Series) (Hardcover)

The best book I've read this year was The Million Dollar Putt by: Dan Gutman

The two main characters in the book were Bogey and Birdie. Bogey was a twelve year old boy who liked to play guitar and golf. His best friends name was Birdie, she was the one who taught him how to play golf. Birdie was a twelve year old girl who didn't have many hobbies. Bogey taught her how to play the guitar. They learned how to play golf together and eventually Birdie became Bogeys coach.

The plot of the story is when Bogey finds his mom's old golf clubs in their basement and decides he wants to learn how to play golf. Golf is not easy for a blind person to learn but Bogey seemed to be a natural! The first time Bogey ever played he hit a hole in one and that made him determined to learn the game of golf. One day Birdie read a book called Golf for Morons and this changed everything! After Birdie read the book Birdie and Bogey decided that Birdie would become Bogeys golf coach. With Birdie as his coach Bogey went on to play a lot of good golf.

The main setting in the book takes place on the golf course where Bogey learned to play golf.

The main theme of the book was friendship. Birdie and Bogey had an awesome friendship. They learned a lot of things together but most importantly Bogey learned how to play golf.

The Million Dollar Putt was one of best books I've ever read because the book was about golf and I love golf. It was also so exciting and had so many adventures. I would definitely recommend this book to anybody!