Customer Reviews

Shakespeare Bats Cleanup

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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).

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.

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.

This book follows the life of a kid at the age of fourteen. He is diagnosed with Mono and is but in bed for the remainder of the school year. He finds a poetry book in his Fathers collection and starts testing his own skills out. He tries Pastoral, using couplets, a sestina, and blank verse to name a few. Koertge formed his character through different kinds of poetry and I believe does and amazing job. After the first few poems you really start seeing this character come to life. I would recommend this book to any reader.

I just ate this book up. It made me laugh so hard at parts and really just captured my interest right off the bat and continued to keep me interested. Novels in verse are starting to grow in children's literature and I am so happy that it keeps growing. Also, this is one of the rare books in verse that teaches you a bit about poetry. Kevin finds a book about different types of poetry and starts to use them in his journal and he lets you know what he's experimenting with when he is.

Definitely a book that boys and girls will both understand and enjoy.

"It feels weird smuggling something about poetry up to my room like it's the new Penthouse. / But I don't want Dad to know what I'm doing yet. Even though I'm not doing anything. Not really. / I'm just going to fool around a little, see what's what poetry-wise." - from "Inquiring Minds Want to Know," by Kevin Boland

Up until now, Kevin Boland's life has been pretty simple, fairly straight-forward. He goes to school, plays baseball. He's even kissed a couple of girls. Except now, he can't. He can't do any of those things - no school, no baseball, no kissing girls. Fourteen, and stuck in bed with mono. It's the baseball he misses the most, but there are other things, too. When his Dad, who is a writer, gives Kevin a blank journal, it's just so he can write a few things down if he gets bored. You know, something to take his mind off the fact that he's stuck in bed. And at first it seems kind of crazy, but Kevin decides he wants to experiment a little bit with poetry. After all, it's just in the journal - it's not like anyone will ever know.

Through couplets and free-verse, sestinas and a pantoum, Kevin uses poetry to reflect on his friendships, his love of baseball, his relationships with girls, and the still sharp grief he feels after the death of his mother. At first, he's most concerned with how rotten it is to have mono and how much he misses baseball but, as the days pass, Kevin finds that poetry allows him to think and feel in a way that nothing else can.

I love novels in verse - the way they use words economically, the way a poem can sometimes say so much more about a person or a situation than prose can. I especially love novels in verse when they are as thoughtfully written as this one by Ron Koertge. Kevin isn't an angsty, emo teen or someone with a dark and tortured soul, he's merely an average eighth grade boy interested in experimenting with the power of language and the varied ways a poet can express what's inside himself. Like most novels in verse, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup reads quickly, but it is worth savoring, too. The forms and power of poetry deserve at least that much.

As a teacher and librarian it is always awesome when authors write books that can be used in the classroom. There are great examples of all different types of poetry here:

* Pantoum
* Blank Verse
* Haiku
* Couplets
* Sestina
* Elegy

and much more! Both books have wonderful, fluid story lines and it is awesome to watch Kevin (who strictly identified himself as an athlete) discover the magic of poetry.

I recommend this book for any parent, teacher or librarian who wants to have books about poetry that are great for reluctant readers because lets face it, telling a kid that you have a great book about poetry for them will probably result in a look of slight terror.

At a non-imposing 115 pages, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup is an easy sell because it has sports for the guys and a little romance for the girls. For those kids who enjoy a tear-jerker there is also plenty of poetry/story line about Kevin's mom who has passed away and how he and his father are dealing with it.

I've recently dedicated a whole section in my library to books written in prose. You would be surprised how many there are out there and these two books will be part of the star attraction. Get these books now, seriously....with video games, TV, iPhones and everything else, kids are being exposed to things like poetry less and less. Who knows, maybe the kid you give these books to will be our next great poet!

Shakespeare Bats Cleanup is a short novel written entirely in verse, with a likeable male narrator and a simple but effective premise. Koertge writes in all sorts of poetic verse, including haiku, sonnets, and pantoum. Before reading this book I had no idea what a pantoum was, but all was cleverly explained by main character Kevin Boland.

Koertge's writing is highly compelling, and tackles male adolescence from a different angle. Kevin is a down to earth guy, with all the usual worries of a teenage boy. Add to that a horrible bout of mono, and things really aren't going very well for him. His newfound interest in poetry is a great way to incorporate verse into the story, and his thoughts on young love and the death of his mother are poignant and touching.

At a first glance, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup looks like it's all about baseball. The sport is featured, but a knowledge of the game isn't necessary in order to enjoy the story. I only know what American TV shows have taught me, and I think I did okay!

I really enjoyed this book, and I'll definitely be reading more by Ron Koertge in the future. It's one of the better verse novels I've read recently, and while I would have liked to see more pages and more chance to get to know everyone, I can't fault the layout and style. If you're a fan of poetry or verse, definitely pick this one up.

About the Books: 14-year-old Kevin is stuck at home with Mono, which means he's not allowed to play any baseball. To pass the time, he starts to write. First he writes so it looks like poetry, then he begins to take an interest in poetry and explores different types of poems. He writes about his mom's death, baseball, and life in middle school. He also meets Mira, a new girl in school that makes him not want to hide the fact that he's a writer.

In Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs, Kevin is back. He's grown more confident in his
writing, he's dating Mira, and he's playing baseball. But when Kevin meets Amy at a poetry reading, he can't stop thinking about her-but that's not right-he has Mira! Why should he care that Amy understands his poems and Mira doesn't? On top of his own dating confusion, Kevin's dad is starting to date again.

GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: These books are why I love my job. Just this week I had a patron come in looking for a book of poetry for her son. His assignment was to identify the different types of poems that were written. I immediately took her over to Shakespeare Bats Cleanup and handed it to her. I mentioned how Kevin writes different styles of poems and talks about the various styles, how they work, but the poems were all connected into one big story. She grabbed it and said "this will be perfect!"

I have to hand it to Ron Koertge. He's a tricky author-he gets his reader to learn about poetry without letting them know they're learning. And he pulls it off in a way that will grab your attention and make you care about what you're reading. I think these books should be required reading in English class poetry units.

Kevin's observations about middle school life, romance and friendships are spot on and will resonate with readers. It's been a long time since I was in middle school (thank goodness!) but I found myself nodding along and remembering exactly what those days were like. The books also touch on tougher issues like Kevin's mom's death and his dad's dating. But these never bog down the book and make it feel "issue heavy." There's lots of humor to keep readers laughing as well, which helps the books feel lighter and move quickly.

Hand these over to readers who enjoy sports, poetry or a mix of both. Because as Kevin proves, you can be an athlete and a writer!

Shakespeare Bats Cleanup is a super cute book. A young boy realizes it's okay to enjoy what he truely loves. I reccomend it to all ages. It is very short and easy to comprehend. YAY for reading SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP!!!