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

Dan Gutman (Author)

Book Description

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

Ouchie and Squishy love bowling, even if it isn't the coolest sport. And their favorite place to bowl is Bowl-A-Rama. Squishy especially likes it because it's the perfect setting for a gory horror movie. Then again, he tends to imagine zombies and killer clowns around every corner. When the city council wants to condemn the decrepit bowling alley, Ouchie and Squishy are devastated. Then the boys meet Gazebo Zamboni, the rich, reclusive, totally nutty owner of Bowl-A-Rama. Despite Mr. Z's insistence that the world is ending soon-a ghost told him so-Ouchie and Squishy manage to convince Mr. Z to keep Bowl-A-Rama open. He allows the boys to restore the old alley, and even sponsors a million dollar strike contest to bring in customers. Just when things start looking up, the most nightmarish scenarios of Squishy's overactive imagination come to life. Someone-or something-wants Bowl-A-Rama's doors to close. Forever.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6–Ouchie and Squishy love to go to a rundown bowling alley owned by Mr. Zamboni, who talks to ghosts and believes that the world is going to end on January 1. When the town council wants to condemn Bowl-a-Rama, the boys befriend the eccentric man. They try to spruce it up and draw customers in with a million-dollar contest, but someone is using scare tactics to close the place down. From threatening notes to murder and terrorizing clowns, the story will keep readers guessing who is behind the mystery. Filled with humor and suspense, this fast-paced novel is a good choice for reluctant readers and young R. L. Stine fans.–Taja Alkoriji, Southwest Regional Library, Pembroke Pines, FL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-7. In this funny send-up of the horror genre, best friends Ouchie and Squishy work to save their hometown's ancient bowling alley, the Bowl-a-Rama. Owned by the eccentric and wealthy Gazebo Zamboni, the Bowl-a-Rama has been condemned by the city council. Narrator Ouchie and the perennially terrified Squishy become friends with Zamboni, despite his weirdness, and work with him to save the bowling alley from destruction, even though it soon becomes clear that someone wants Gazebo Zamboni out of the bowling game. Squishy's encyclopedic knowledge of the horror genre makes him fearful of every plot turn--he constantly wonders, for instance, whether he or Ouchie is the main character of their story, since the main character always lives and the best friend always gets the ax. Young bowlers will enjoy the behind-the-pins descriptions of life at a bowling alley and relish a story in which only the bowling alley is at real risk of death. John Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (September 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786818808
• ISBN-13: 978-0786818808
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,655,500 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:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Million Dollar Strike, February 26, 2008

A Kid's Review

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

When I first looked at the book I thought the book was going to be about a man who was in a bowling contest, and if he won he would win a million dollars. The cover illustrated the book quite well but it was about a boy who was picked to bowl for a contest and if he got one strike he would win a million dollars.

This book was an exciting story and had very funny characters. The two main characters were very interested in bowling and had very amusing names. The first character is named Ouchie because when he was a young boy he dropped a bowling ball on his foot and ran around saying ouchie. The second character is named Squishy because his brother used to sit on him and squish him. The other characters in the story are Mr.Z who owns the bowling alley and the evil Pinhead. This book is Fiction and is so exciting. In the story Mr.Z had bought a lot of comic books that were worth a lot of money and sold them for five million dollars. This helped him fix up the bowling alley and hold the million dollar strike contest. Everybody in town showed up for the contest. The mayor picked out the raffle ticket naming the challenger who was _____________.



This book was a great book in my opinion and I will tell you why I like it so much. This book relates to how crazy the real world is. If you like reading or don't like reading you will find this book addicting and will not want to put it down.


The challenger of the million dollar strike contest is Ouchie! Ouchie couldn't believe that he was going to try to win the million dollars. Ouchie winds up for his throw, he releases a beautiful toss down the alley but leaves the number five pin up. Suddenly a earthquake happens and the standing pin falls down. Ouchie is the winner of a million dollars! Unexpectedly, Pinhead comes in the door of the bowling alley and throws a bomb on the ground, which caused everyone to scream and run. The building was going to collapse any minute. Everyone is out of the building except for Pinhead and Mr.Z. Mr.Z escapes the building but Pinhead trips and could not escape in time. The fire department found Pinhead hurt and they cut the mask off to see who Pinhead was. It was the Mayor! Mr.Z had left town during the excitement but left the key to his safe for the winner of the contest. The town watched Ouchie open the safe but when he opened it there was nothing but an envelope that said, "I decided to move and keep the money for my family but you are now the owner of the Bowl A Rama." Ouchie said, "It feels good to be the owner of nothing." This book would be appropriate for kids 11 and over. I like this book and I hope you do to.

5-5 STARS*****


IT FEELS GREAT TO BE THE OWNER OF NOTHING.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Million Dollar Strike, December 10, 2004

A Kid's Review

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

Dan Gutman, the author of The Million Dollar Shot, comes back with a new book called The Million Dollar Strike. This book is hilarious. Ouchie, one of the main characters is in a Bowl-A-Rama with Squishy, another character.They have to get through the Bowl-A-Rama together. It was a bowling experience for the both of them.

I like this book because it is funny, and because it felt like I was Ouchie on the adventure. It was awesome. One thing that I didn't like about this book was that it was too short. I will give this book five stars!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Million Dollar Shot, December 9, 2004

A Kid's Review

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

Dan Gutman strikes again with one of his million dollar books, The Million Dollar Strike. This book is different from the others. This book is a mystery book. Ouchie and Squishy have to get the Bowl-A-Rama looking better.

They try their hardest to fix up the place. Mr. Z even helps by paying some of his money. He uses it from his so-called "bank". But, is someone trying to destroy the place? Ouchie and Squishy are on a case to find out. Can you solve this mystery?

I thought this book was awesome. I give it five stars. I wish it would have lasted longer. While I was reading this book I felt like I was one of the characters.