This book is half story, half poetry. A boy plays with poetry while he recovers from mono. It is aimed at about middle school age kids.

I thought that the book was really clever, and the poetry was actually pretty good quality (though it was also trying to sound like a middle schooler could have wrote it - a tricky balance). I'm not sure how much kids would appreciate it - half the fun I had was from knowing all the types of poetry he was trying out and seeing how well (or not) he fared with them. ( )

Anthony Gonzales
EDCI 4120

Koertge, R. (2003). Shakespeare Bats Cleanup. Massachusetts: Candlewick.

Grade Levels: 7-8
Category: realistic fiction
Read-Alouds: pp. 1-7 (Introduction), 15-19 (Kevin borrows his fathers book and begins writing), 36-44 (Kevin finds his emotional side), 63-66 (Kevin is not playing baseball and is writing more), 71-75 (Kevin meets Maria), 106-116 (Conclusion).

Summary: Kevin Boland was a baseball star. He played first base and his life revolved around baseball, until he caught mononucleosis. Kevin’s father was a writer, so when he was sick and lying in bed, his father gave him a composition notebook to try and write. Kevin was hesitant about the idea at first, but he gets into writing poetry. He would sneak into his father’s den and read a book about how to write poetry. He learned to write and he enjoyed it. When he was well and able go get back to school, he continued to write, and he tried to hide it. Because he was out so long, he had to sit on the bench and watch his team play, so he took his notebook to games and wrote. His coach looked down on him because he was not paying attention to the game. He even tried hiding it from a girl he met, Mira, who discovers his writing. She soon falls for him, but she leaks out to everybody that was beginning to write, so he is made fun of on the baseball field. He didn’t care because he learned to express his emotions and found a girl that he could share his writing with.

Themes: This novel can really help show students how interesting reading and writing can be, especially for young students. For the males, who I leaned tend to be more resistant to reading, can show them how women react to a sensitive side. A teacher could use this novel in a classroom also to show how a star athlete can fall in love with writing and English. It’s a great motivator for students who feel writing is “wussy” or “just for girls”. This novel also discusses death, because Kevin had lost his mother, and this is source to some of his writing. This issue may be important to someone who has lost a parent or grandparent, just to show how others react and that they are not the only ones who feel hurt by a loss and that it is not the end of the world.

Discussion Questions:
Why did Kevin decide to start writing?
Why did Kevin try to hide his writing abilities?
In the end, was Kevin a better person after writing? Why or why not.

Reader Response: This novel was a shorter read, but I really connected with this novel. I used to play baseball when I was younger, but had to quit due to injury. I know what it’s like to be around a bunch of teenage boys who may think that writing is for girls or wants nothing to do with it. There was a point where I was very resistant to reading and writing, but I had an English teacher that changed that for me; kind of like Kevin’s mono. This English teacher not only gave us material that was interesting, but he made me write and he pointed out my weakness and strong points. It was my freshman year in high school that I began writing poetry. I love writing poetry now and this last year in college, I teamed up with one of my buddies and I help him write country love songs. Two songs that we have written are going into a studio and copyrighted this next year. If my friend ever gets successful, he said I would receive profit form every song sold I helped him write. I’m not giving high standards or hopes in his success, but its always fun hearing him sing the song and hear how much people love the song. ( )

Kevin Boland is a first baseman who gets sidelined with a case of mono. His Dad gives him a journal and out of complete boredom, he begins to write in it. Is it possible to be a poet and a ball player?

Other books to try: Jump Ball: A Basketball Season, Split Image

Other books by this author: Brimstone Journals, Stoner and Spaz ( )

While recuperating from mono (infectious mononucleosis), Kevin Boland keeps a journal in which he writes free verse. Although he describes what he first writes as just stuff down the center of the page, later he tries haiku, sonnets, and other poetic forms. His journal provides a catharsis as he adjusts to his mother's death, his illness, not being able to play baseball, and awareness of finely-tuned teen hormones. He continues to write as he recovers and concludes poetry is "very cool," in fact, "Almost as cool as baseball." With help from lines like those in which Kevin compares poetry to chocolate milk, this book would be a great read-aloud for an English teacher seeking a devious way to introduce poetry. Skim milk is nourishing, he writes, "but chocolate milk is just better." Short and punchy, the book's size alone (116 pages with much white space) guarantees popularity as motivating fodder for book reports. 2003, Candlewick Press, $15.99. Ages 12 up.

I am definitely nominating this for PPYA Sports--Kevin loves baseball more than anything, but when illness takes it away from him he finds another love. Moving, funny, hard to put down! ( )