Shakespeare Bats Cleanup [Hardcover]

Ron Koertge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2003

A straight-talking, fourteen-year-old first baseman, benched by mono, decides to take a swing at writing poetry in Ron Koertge’s clever, compelling new novel written in free verse.

Their pitcher walks our leadoff man.
Greg moves him up to second with a perfect
sacrifice. Fabian loops one into right.

I’m up. Two on, one out. I’m the cleanup
man. My job is to bring these guys home.

MVP Kevin Boland gets the news that he has mono and won’t be seeing a baseball field for a while, and he suddenly finds himself scrawling a poem down the middle of a page in his journal. To get some help, he cops a poetry book from his dad’s den. Before Kevin knows it, he’s writing in verse about stuff like, Will his jock friends give up on him? What’s the deal with girlfriends? Surprisingly enough, after his health improves, he keeps on writing - about the smart-talking Latina girl who thinks poets are cool, even about his mother, whose death is a still-tender loss for which he finally finds the words.

Written in free verse with examples of several poetic forms slipped into the mix, including a sonnet, haiku, pastoral, and even a pantoum, this funny, poignant story by a master of dialogue is an English teacher’s dream - sure to hook poetry lovers, baseball fanatics, mono recoverers, and everyone in between.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-Like his earlier The Brimstone Journals (Candlewick, 2001), Koertge writes this novel in highly accessible free verse. Fourteen-year-old Kevin Boland is an MVP first baseman whose whole life revolves around baseball. Diagnosed with mono, he is forced to stay at home for months while he recuperates. Bored, Kevin borrows his father's book of poetry and starts writing his own. At first, he just has fun imitating haiku and sonnets, but he soon begins writing insightful verse, both funny and serious, in which he records his candid observations about life in junior high, romance, his dreams of baseball stardom, and his grief over the recent death of his mother. This funny and poignant novel celebrates the power of writing to help young people make sense of their lives and unlock and confront their problems. The cover will lead readers to believe that this is about baseball, but they will quickly realize there is much, much more to this finely crafted story.
Edward Sullivan, White Pine School, TN
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. Koertge has written a standout among the growing number of young adult novels told through verse. Faced with months at home because of a bout of mono, 14-year-old Kevin Boland begins to write poems, using a book from his father's collection to guide him. He writes about such things as the recent death of his mother, his love of baseball, and his make-out sessions with girls. When he recovers, he continues his writing habit and finds a new girlfriend, experimenting with different forms of poetry along the way, including free verse, haiku, sonnets, ballads, and even a sestina. Koertge does an excellent job of creating the authentic voice of a teenage boy exclusively through poems. The poems are funny, touching, and always energetic, and they show both Kevin's growing love for poetry and his struggles as a writer. Several of his attempts at difficult forms break apart in the middle, and some poems have rough edges, giving an extra dose of realism to the somewhat artificial concept of the book. Readers will find themselves identifying with Kevin and perhaps come to understand his attraction to poetry. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 116 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; 1st edition (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763621161
• ISBN-13: 978-0763621162
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,832,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to Enjoy, July 25, 2003

By 

Cameron M (Toronto, ON) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shakespeare Bats Cleanup (Hardcover)

Although I never thought of myself as a fan of poetry or novels in verse, I have to admit this genre is growing on me.

When Kevin is forced to stay in bed for a month with mono, the prospect of missing out on baseballs games and hanging out with his friends does not excite him. But when he casually starts writing some words down on a page, and secretly borrows one of his writer father's poetry guides the exile starts to become more bearable. He slowly recovers, all the time writing about the death of his mother, past and present loves and his discovery of a whole new way of expressing himself.

If I had to describe this book in three words it would be 'short and sweet'. It's fun and cheerful (although I have to admit I didn't "get" the title until I was finished reading it).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shakespeare Bats Cleanup: book review, February 15, 2009

By 

Robert Espenscheid (Lamoni, Iowa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shakespeare Bats Cleanup (Paperback)

14 year old Kevin Boland's life, recently devastated by the death of his mother, grinds to a complete halt with his contracting mono. Friends, school, and his starting spot on the centerpiece-of-his-life HS baseball team are all on hold. Confined to bed and home, his dad, concerned over his son's physical and mental health, suggests he keep a sort of therapeutic diary. The literary trick here is that Kevin's efforts not only be heartfelt and entertaining, but that they be written as a beginning writer-poet might create them. That author Koertge pulls off this feat with aplomb is remarkable. A love interest in the second half is a solid plus. You're really rooting for this kid. An overly strict father's cell call on a first date is hilarious. Lots of humor here and amongst all the teen and team anguish is an astute baseball novel. Mr. Koertge knows the game, lovingly so. SBC is wonderfully creative and astute. Don't miss it. Beware the white owl.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shakespeare Bats Cleanup, March 17, 2006

By 

Elizabeth Thompson (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shakespeare Bats Cleanup (Hardcover)

Shakespeare Bats Cleanup is a funny, breezy, cute book. I don't think it relies as much on the themes of baseball, or even poetry, as it does on the theme of young love. Occasionally this theme becomes inappropriate as he writes poems about making out with girls in the bamboo forest and, in a sick metaphor, reaching Home Base.

Nevertheless, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup will cast a sort of spell over you. Well worth a read.