Out Standing In My Field [Paperback]

Patrick Jennings (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

A funny, insightful, and poignant story about a Little League loser whose tyrant father is the team coach, by one of Scholastic Press's favorite talents.

Ty has been named for baseball legend Ty Cobb, but the hero of Jennings' wonderful new novel isn't living up to his namesake's reputation when it comes to The Game. He loves baseball; he just isn't great at it, despite all the efforts of his coach and father, who himself once dreamed of playing in the majors. To complicate matters, Ty's older sister Daisy is a baseball whiz (as well as the school genius). In this sharply witty, deeply poignant all -American novel, Ty has to figure out just who he's trying to please -- his father, his teammates, or himself.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7–Ty Cutter loves baseball, but he is just not cut out to play the game. He is awkward and tentative and totally unlike his sister, Daisy, who excels at anything she tries. Worse yet, he has been forced to play every inning during the Pee Wee League season while the more talented players warm the bench because his father, "the Professor," coaches the team. This novel takes readers from the top of the first inning to the wrap-up of a humiliating playoff game. Ty tells his story in between the play-by-play and converses with the only teammate who will speak to him–Daisy, the scorekeeper. Runs are scored, runners are called out, balls are caught while the siblings banter and discuss their father's bullying behavior and their views on life. The book is funny, poignant, and deeper than one might think at first glance. Its deceptively uncomplicated plot makes it a great choice for reluctant readers and certainly for baseball players and fans.–Denise Moore, O'Gorman Junior High School, Sioux Falls, SD
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5. Told over the course of the last Pee Wee baseball game of the season for the Brewers of Babylon, Arizona, Jennings' novel lays out the inglorious career of narrator Tyrus Cutter. Although he has been named for Ty Cobb, 11-year-old Ty doesn't yet have the playing skills of his namesake, and he sees himself as a huge disappointment to his father, who is also his coach. Instead, Ty has mastered self-deprecating humor, which he delivers alternately from the dugout and right field. He distracts himself from suffocating heat and impending embarrassment with visions of Alaska, prayers for a rain-out, and conversations with his sister. Jennings captures both the petty tyrants some coaches become and the great drama of one baseball game, even at the Pee Wee level. On the field, Ty still trips on baseballs, but he gradually comes to understand what his wise, independent sister has been trying to tell him. The Brewers don't triumph in the last inning, nor is every strand of the story neatly resolved; but, as Ty Cobb used to say, baseball is "not pink tea," and neither is real life. Abby Nolan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439487498
• ISBN-13: 978-0439487498
• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 5.5 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,413,541 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

As a kid Patrick Jennings was afraid of African black mambas and tigers. He grew up in Northwestern Indiana.

He got his first pair of glasses when he was eight, and always wished he had a nickname like his friend, Mike. Mike was called "Tiger" by everyone, even the teachers. Wow.

Patrick Jennings may be called "Tiger," if you wish, or "Tigersnack." Both names are hidden inside his name. (As is "Rat" and "Ratpick," but he's not as fond of those and discourages their use. "Jetpack" is fine.)

Before he became a professional writer, in 1995, Tigersnack was a paperboy, a busboy, a fry cook, a hoddy, a record store clerk, a courier, a teacher, and a librarian. He has since published sixteen books for young readers. Can you find them somewhere on this site?

Jetpack's books have featured such creatures as electric dogs, rocket cats, grebes, coots, kangaroo rats, werewolves, scorpions, horses grown from seed, teenagers, gopher snakes, guinea dogs, and a lucky (or perhaps unlucky) sixth grader. Stinking Carp (he doesn't like this one) is currently working on books about a bat, a rat, alien dognappers, an owl in a suit, and, naturally, a tiger.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Out Standing In Brit's Field, December 6, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Out Standing In My Field (Hardcover)

This book is about a boy who plays baseball and his dad is a real fan of baseball player and names his son after him and tells him to do everything that baseball player did. Ty Cutter,the boy loves baseball.His postion is right field, but his problem is that he can't catch, can't hit.... He can barely keep from tripping over homeplate. Everyone knows his sister Daisy and , Daisy is a zillion times better at the game than he is. I think this book is a great book, every kid that loves sports or at least likes sports should read this book. It doesnt matter what age you are when you read this book, you will probaly like it. I recommend this book for everyone, I hope you like it !!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hack Cutter Ain't Cuttin' It, February 25, 2006

By 

Kool Fool (Umpteenth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out Standing In My Field (Hardcover)

This is such a funny book. I like that the protagonist doesn't take himself seriously and end up turning this book into another depressing book because he really can if he wants to--having one quite depressing life. I also like that for once the big sister is portrayed as one smart girl who's protective of her brother instead of the typical makeup/boy-obsessed snobby girl who wants to kill him. Then again, she's only twelve.

Which reminds me of something. When I first read this book, I couldn't help picturing a fourteen-year-old or someone of that age instead of the actual eleven-year-old boy. The characters here sound way too mature and complex for their ages. Not that an eleven-year-old is incapable of having complex thoughts, of course. Of course. But seriously, that Daisy is too confident and secure for a twelve-year-old I refuse to accept that she's only twelve.

Another problem is the use of some swear words. They're not too bad, but it's a Scholastic book, and I really don't remember reading those words in the older Scholastic books.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Endearing Story, March 30, 2005

By 

Gary H. Cassel "Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews" (Baltimore, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out Standing In My Field (Hardcover)

Ty Cutter, named after his overbearing father's favorite baseball player Ty Cobb, hates baseball. He wants nothing more than to quit his town's Pee Wee baseball team. His father "The Prfessor," however, has a different idea. Ty is terrible at the game but his father (also the team's manager) makes him a starter and team captain for every game. This causes resentment among him and his teammates. Ty has to persevere to prove to his father, his teammates, and himself that he isn't worthless.

This is an endearing story that seems appropriate for a young audience. Jennings has a dry sense of humor and makes puns at the drop of a hat. The easy style makes this book an easy, lighthearted read. For the sports fan (or maybe a klutz who wants some proof that sports aren't the only thing important in life), this is a great book.

Reviewed by Peter Harmon for Flamingnet Book Reviews (www.flamingnet.com)