Rookie of the Year (Odyssey Classic) [Paperback]

John R. Tunis (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Odyssey Classic

The complex web of relationships that make up a major league baseball team is the heart of this story about a rookie pitcher who becomes a threat to his team’s chances for the pennant. Introduction by Bruce Brooks.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Here is the good, honest thrill of a sport that has its devotees in far-flung camps and outposts all over the face of the earth."--THE SATURDAY REVIEW OF LITERATURE

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

JOHN R. TUNIS (1889-1975) was considered one of the finest writers for young people during the 1940s and '50s. He wrote more than twenty books, many of them award winners. The timeless appeal of his novels has made them enduringly popular with readers of all ages.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (March 15, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152688803
• ISBN-13: 978-0152688806
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,285,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John R. Tunis (1889-1975) was a novelist and sportswriter best remembered for his series of novels about the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1940s and '50s. Born in Boston, Tunis graduated from Harvard University and then served in the Army during World War I. He began writing sports columns in 1925 and was soon contributing to dozens of publications, including the New Yorker, Reader's Digest, Esquire, and the Saturday Evening Post. A tennis player himself, Tunis broadcast the first Wimbledon match to air in the United States in 1934.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rookie of the Year is a Home Run, April 13, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Rookie of the Year (Odyssey Classic) (Paperback)

If you want a great, suspenseful, exciting, realistic fiction novel, then read Rookie of the Year, by John R. Tunis (no, this doesn't have anything to do with the movie). It starts off with the newly acquired player/manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Spike Russell, trying to get his team back into the playoff race. It's in the middle of the season and the Dodgers are 10 games behind the division leading Cardinals, and even though his team is way behind in the standings, Spike keeps hope alive and believes that with his leadership and his team's skills; they can go to the World Series. This goes into the books ongoing theme, if you really believe you can really achieve. It seems like the team really has their work cut out for them, huh, but to add to their already full plate, someone part of the organization is trying to frame the team's star rookie pitcher and get him kicked off the club. Will Spike's group of players come out on top? Will he overcome his pitcher obstacle? Read the book to find out.
There are so many reasons why this book is so great. One of them is because it's really suspenseful and exciting. In the book, the author writes about the team during game time. He describes the games in great detail, which makes me want to read on. I really feel like I'm right there on the field with the team, or like I'm in my very own game. A good example of this is (add quote from book). Another reason is that you get to know the characters well. He tells their personality and their traits, almost like they were real and I knew them completely.
I would definitely recommend this book to others because it's really exciting and interesting to find out if the underdog comes out on top. I would recommend it to any baseball lovers out there and anyone who likes quick-paced, in the action, suspense novels. I would also recommend it because of the author's craft. The author builds the plot of the novel very well by adding numerous problems on top of the already intense playoff race and pitcher situation. He describes games extremely well and puts vivid images in the readers mind by using great descriptive adjectives.
The wonderful way John Tunis writes this novel makes it a great story for many to read. It's a great book with action-packed chapters, nail-biting games, and a very powerful, intriguing plot. The fact that it's a book about a struggling underdog team with hope to win it all makes it a fantastic, incredible story. This book is definitely worthy to be read by many.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars NOT THE BEST OF TUNIS OFFERINGS, BUT STILL A DECENT READ, February 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Rookie of the Year (Odyssey Classic) (Paperback)

Along with "Schoolboy Johnson," this is the least among the eight Brooklyn Dodgers series written by John R. Tunis. Actually, there are a number of similarities between Bones Hathaway in this novel and the aforementioned Johnson: Both have great natural talent, both start out strongly before hitting the skids in midseason, both are headstrong and somewhat egotistical. In "Rookie Of The Year," however, Hathaway's comeuppance comes as a result of one the few honorable things he does during the first half of the book. One of the neat things about Tunis is that while the central figure in his stories are easily noticed by the reader, other people also play a major part. In "World Series," for instance, Brooklyn manager Dave Leonard is as important in the story as Roy Tucker; in "Keystone Kids," Jocko Klein is perhaps more important than the Russell brothers. In "Rookie Of The Year," Bones Hathaway just disappears for a stretch while manager Spike Russell assumes the spotlight. In many ways, this book is as much about Spike's coming of age as a manager as it is about Hathaway's coming of age as a man. Again, it's not the strongest in the Dodger series, but still worth a read.

5.0 out of 5 stars Baseball fiction at its best, February 25, 2011

By 

BRUCE M BROWNELL - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rookie of the Year (Odyssey Classic) (Paperback)

Nobody does it better than John R. Tunis. The characters, the language, the morality on and off the field. Tunis builds a world, populates it from rookie to grizzled vet, and lets them have at it, with the characters aging in succeeding books. A master.