Lucky: Maris, Mantle, and My Best Summer Ever

Louis May's father has remarried, so the 12-year-old is facing his first summer living with his disapproving stepmother and resentful stepbrother in White Plains, N.Y. His fortunes change when he catches a foul ball at a Yankees game, depriving the opposing fielder of making an out. His game-saving play earns him a meeting with the batter he helped: Roger Maris. Louis's exhaustive knowledge of player statisticsMickey Mantle dubs him the walking baseball cardimprobably earns him a chance to be the team's batboy. Thus Louis has a dugout seat for one of baseball's greatest dramasMantle and Maris chasing Babe Ruth's single-season home run record in 1961. A subplot about Louis's mother, who left his father to live among beatnik poets, isn't fully fleshed out. The pleasures in Tooke's debut are voyeuristic, as kids get to go behind the scenes to learn about two legends through Louis, who realizes collecting cards is no match for knowing the men behind the pinstripes. Says Louis: It was like the difference between someone who collected stamps from foreign countries and someone who actually traveled the world. Ages 8up. "(Feb.)" Copyright 2010 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

Gr 5-8 Louis enjoys gathering and memorizing the statistics of his favorite baseball players, but he is embarrassed that he doesn't play stickball very well. During the summer of 1961, he is invited to become a batboy for his favorite team, the New York Yankees, much to the chagrin of his envious stepbrother. Tooke adds humor to the plot with good-natured hazing when Louis is sent looking for a "container of curveballs," among other things. The boy also faces ethical dilemmas when he encounters an unscrupulous newspaper reporter eager for a story and a bully with a stolen bike. At times, in an attempt to make the setting realistic, the plethora of detail intrudes on the actual story. Secondary characters such as Louis's mother, father, stepmother, and stepbrother don't fare well in the story arc. Interested readers may want to do some research on Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle to separate truth from fiction within the plot. Those who have exhausted Dan Gutman's "Baseball Card Adventures" series (HarperCollins) may find a supplement here."Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA" Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.