The Lucky Baseball Bat (Springboard Books) (1993) - Plot & Excerpts
Martin was your average baseball player. He kind of new the rules but didn't really know what to do in certain scenarios. The coach put Martin in the outfield, so he would get playing time. He really wouldn't get any action because not to many people could hit that far. When it was his turn to bat he never really hit the ball and usually struck out. Barry then sees him struggling and wants to help him out. One day Barry gives Martin a bat and tells him to try it out. Martin has never been so happy before. The next day at practice Martin starts to play better. He is hitting the ball consistently and is being more active out in the field. His teammates are impressed with his new play and gives him more attention now. One day he lost his bat and blamed it on another teammate for taking it. His play starts to worsen, but then he figures out who took it. Freckles Ginty took the bat out of Martin's yard. Martin got the bat back and helped his team continue winning.Martin is a very good kid. He is an alright athlete and smart while playing the game. He really doesn't get down on himself, and finds a way to fix everything he can.This book is great for any athlete. Probably younger athletes that are just getting into a sport. More than likely middle school kids. This book also seems to be generated towards boys. It shows how if you want to do something you can. If you're willing to put in the work you will do just fine. If you want to play a sport your not good at, go do it, and it could turn out to be a good thing.
Just read this aloud to my second graders. They LOVED it. The story was simple enough, and yet had some emotional inferences for us to discuss. The main character is a boy, an athlete, and a good kid, which is sometimes hard to find in appropriate books for mid-readers. All of my students gave it a good review. Martin wants to be a part of the baseball team, however, his skills aren't as good as his peers because he has never really played before. He finds a bat that he can hit well with, but the story takes a turn when the bat gets stolen and Martin is convinced he can't hit using another bat. With a fun twist, in the end, Martin learns that there really isn't any such thing as a lucky bat, and that instead, it is all about what he believes in his head.
What do You think about The Lucky Baseball Bat (Springboard Books) (1993)?
This book started with a kid named Martin who moved into a town where he didn’t have any friends. There was only one way to make friends and that was to prove himself on the baseball diamond. At first, Martin did not play very well, but he was later given a baseball bat from the star athlete in the town. Martin believed that the bat has given him good luck because he started to hit the ball like crazy, making his teammates like him. One game, the bat breaks and Martin was worried that his good luck is gone. He later realizes that the power of his swing lays within him, not in the lucky bat. This book teaches its readers that you don’t need luck in anything that you do. Everything is within reach as long as you believe that you can do it.
—Courtney
The Lucky Baseball Bat is a book about a young boy who is new to town and is seeking to play with the little league team. He inherits a baseball glove and bat which he uses to help win the championship game. This book gave great details to describe the situations that take place in the book. The author even provided illustrations for certain scenes. This author also gives young readers the ability to feel that they can accomplish something if they put their mind to it. Over all this was a great book and I would recommend it to younger children in grades 3-4.
—Anthony Smith
