The Roar of the Crowd: Winning Season #1 [Hardcover]

Rich Wallace (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Winning Season

It's Manny's first football season with the Hudson City Hornets and he's determined to get in the game and not warm the bench. Problem is, Manny's not a big guy and when he tries to tackle the offense, he's the one who ends up on the ground. Coach isn't too pleased, especially when the team starts losing. But Manny refuses to give up; he's as tough as anyone out there and he's fast. He's got the season to prove to Coach, his teammates, and himself, that he's got the talent to earn the roar of the crowd.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6–Diminutive Manny Ramos, a sixth grader, goes out for the football team at his New Jersey school. He weighs a mere 87 pounds while some of his teammates are closer to the 155-pound maximum. Although he is a fast runner, he hardly gets to play during practice. When he gets a chance to participate in the kickoff of the first game, he makes a couple of mistakes that contribute to the squad's loss. Then it's back to no action for Manny. Another opportunity results in success and finally he feels like he's part of the team. The family scenes are well written and believable. The close relationship between Manny and his five-year-old brother is nicely portrayed. A drawback is a description of a girl as "short but built," and again that "she's after" a popular boy. Later, Manny responds to an opponent with "Screw you." While probably realistic, this dialogue seems unnecessary. Still, this story conveys an important message about perseverance and making the most of one's strengths. Packed with plenty of action, it makes an OK choice for sports fans.–Kate Kohlbeck, Randall School, Waukesha, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Reviewed with Rich Wallace's Technical Foul.

Gr. 4-7. These books in the new Winning Season series follow two teams at Hudson City Middle School, which sits in the shadow of New York City. roar concerns Manny Ramos, a skinny kid whose size limits his possibilities on the football team until he finds how to maximize his strong points. In Foul the focus is on Jared, the star of the basketball team. As the best player, Jared likes to hug the ball, but it's not until he learns to be a team player that the team really starts winning. Although there's enough plot to frame a story, especially in Foul, most of the text is play-by-play action, which will engage young sports fans. The characterizations, however, are stock, and the dialogue is stilted, but this series is a throwback to earlier sports series that got boys reading, and perhaps the all-action device will work again. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (September 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670059404
• ISBN-13: 978-0670059409
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,201,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars THE NEW MATT CHRISTOPHER!, January 18, 2005

By 

A Reader in Iowa (Marshalltown, Iowa USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Roar of the Crowd: Winning Season #1 (Hardcover)

Author Rich Wallace is everything Matt Christopher used to be -- and more! Wallace's characters are honest, funny and real. They are not perfect, like most of us. Protagonist Manny Ramos and his teammates talk like real kids. They learn their own lessons, teaching each other -- instead of waiting for an adult to solve their problems, as in the old-fashioned sports novels. Best of all, Wallace writes unmatched sports game action. Knowing that he'll be using the same characters from the same school and town, I'll be anxious to read the other books in this series.