Saving the day however you can. That's the message of this book. Randy is a kid who does enjoy baseball but isn't very good at it. He's far better at other things--think STEM related fields. Well, when a fireball threatens to destroy the town, Randy steps in and uses all of his knowledge to save the city.

Chris Van Dusen illustrates as only he can! ( )

If you love something, keep doing it because you will make a difference in the world one day. ( )

This story is a great way to engage students with poetry, science, and baseball. Students will see that everyone can be good at something.

Curricular connection: Use this story as a pre-activity before students study/research planets, robots, or baseball history.
Students could write their own or write as a class a Robot story that saves the day in another way.

Randy Riley loves two things: science and baseball. When it comes to the solar system, the constellations, and all things robot, Randy is a genius. But on the baseball diamond? Not so much. He tries . . . but whiffs every time. Then, one night, Randy sees something shocking through his Space Boy telescope: it’s a fireball, and it’s headed right for his town! Randy does the math, summons all of his science smarts, and devises a plan that will save the day in a spectacular way. Once again, Chris Van Dusen winds up his visual humor, dizzying perspectives, perfect pacing, and rollicking rhyme and delivers a hit to make readers stand up and cheer.

Randy Riley wants to be really good at baseball. But he's not. After his baseball game where he strikes out, Randy goes home feeling down. He decides to play with his robots, and has them play a game of baseball instead. Then, Randy hears about a meteorite about to hit Earth. He tries to tell his parents but they don't believe him. So Randy takes things into his own hands and builds a massive robot to will save the day by hitting the meteorite out of this world. ( )