Good children's book. Baseball-oriented. Fantasy/fiction. Cute. Long, but easy-going. ( )

It wasn’t until I picked up this book to start reading it that I caught an important point from the back cover - “Hyperion – Paperbacks for Children” and the quote from the Today Show “A home run of a kids’ story”. Alas, in my haste to pick up another book by Chabon, I had grabbed this novel for children. But a 500-page children’s book? It didn’t really make sense. So I dove in to see what I would find (after all, I can still read A Wrinkle in Time and enjoy it.)

My only regret is that I wish I hadn’t known it was a children’s book. Would I have thought it too simplistic? I doubt it. This is a very involved tale with different images around every turn. Would I have thought the writing itself “dumbed down”? Maybe. But the conversations and the writing match the hero of the tale. And the one thing knowing this was a children’s book did was make me imagine reading this out loud to kids – and that was a very easy thing to imagine.

At the start, I had my small quibbles. Why do all these stories start the same – a misfit who has lost a parent (this time the mother) struggling in a new environment who has to go on a quest to save the remaining parent. But these quibbles disappeared quickly. Chabon has wrapped the mythos of baseball with a newly defined mythology of alternate worlds. These alternate worlds could have also slipped into cliché – there’s the requisite elfin-like creatures, and giants, and yeti, and coyote, and sometimes what seems like the kitchen sink – but he never lets them act like clichés; giving them personalities that match expectations but build into more. The entire thing is wrapped in a slightly different package and, while I didn’t warm immediately to the entire story (I think I was still put off by that whole “children’s book” thing), I soon found myself looking forward to what new things Chabon was going to deliver in each step of the journey.

And the use of baseball is what takes this over the edge – makes it more than a nice little tale. The marrying of baseball with Chabon’s alternate worlds is what makes this book work and provides humor that any baseball fan can enjoy (warning to all American League fans, Chabon is obviously not a fan of the designated hitter). The culmination is particularly effective – every child’s nightmare (that is, every child who has played baseball) is turned into the triumph that saves us all.

Fun and entertaining. ( )

What a fun book. Chabon is a master writer and his creativity is superb. With baseball as a backdrop, he creates multiple worlds without getting lost; he holds the boundaries and doesn't let it run away from the reader.
I was brought to tears at the end. ( )

Looking for a good fantasy quest novel? You might have overlooked Summerland, thinking it was just about baseball, but it is much more than that. Our very reluctant hero is Ethan Feld, who is recruited for his save the world mission by the farishers, residents of the Summerlands (a parallel world to the Middling, which is where we are, and the Winterlands). Ethan becomes more determined to complete his mission when he finds out that his inventor father is in the clutches of Coyote, who is trying to use his skills to end the worlds. Along with his little league teammates Jennifer T. and Thor, Ethan picks up help along the way from a Sasquatch that they liberate, a werefox, a tiny giant, and other assorted characters–all who make up the baseball team charged with saving the world. Over the course of their journey, they play many games (and meet many American folk heroes), but the final game, the one against Coyote and his team, will determine the fate of the worlds. ( )

Although he is “the worst baseball player in the history of the game”, Ethan Feld finds himself working with a 100-year-old talent scout to help a fairies save the world and Ethan’s father. Ethan and his teammates have to travel through several parallel worlds, including the baseball-rabid Summerland. In the end, the fate of the universe may just hinge a baseball game.

"Summerland" is a fun, original re-imagination of the cliche of "baseball mythology," where the game of baseball is the central conceit of a cosmology derived from diverse cultures. While the plot structure is recognizable--young boy is chosen against his will to save the world, and in so doing joins a motley band of misfits--the characters, tone, and style are a welcome addition to the fantasy genre. If I have one quibble with "Summerland," it's the tendency to treat ethnic characters (Native Americans, African Americans) as stereotypically attuned to the true nature or wisdom of the cosmos (if this book were optioned for a movie, Morgan Freeman watch out!). Overall, though, it's a smart, thoughtful, funny and engaging adventure for teenagers or adults. ( )

I enjoyed this book immensely. The blending of mythologies and pop culture, the characters, the plot itself-- it all adds up to a fantastic book. The only thing I didn't like about it was that the writing lacked in a couple of places (though of course now I can't remember any exact spots); it needed to be a bit punchier to bump my rating up another half-star.

Would still recommend reading though, to any fan of fantasy, urban fantasy, and baseball. ( )

Not nearly as good as his adult novels, but interesting enough ( )

A highly enjoyable book; it reads well and takes place in a very interesting world. The characters are interesting for the most part and the story is pretty good. ( )

Summerland is a book that blends Baseball with various forms of Mythology in a story where a young boy named Ethan Feld finds that the fate of the world relies on his skills behind home plate. The trouble is, Ethan doesn't really like baseball. He's not very good at it, and is the type of kid who spends his time in right field, praying the ball goes somewhere else. But Coyote, the ultimate trickster has decided it's time for the world to end, and it's up to Ethan and his ragtag teammates (consiting of a wererat, a sasquatch and a pint sized giant) to stop him.

I liked Summerland quite a bit by the time I finished it, but struggled with it for the first 300 pages. There's nothing really wrong with the way the book is written, but there was a lack of connection with any of the characters and the pace seemed a bit slow. There were definitely moments where I considered putting the book down for a while. But after I got through the middle of the book, the story finally picked up speed and I raced through it. All in all, it's a good read, but possibly more for baseball fans than the general public. ( )

Neither Sara nor Brian could get through more than the first 50 pages or so. Though we like Chabon's adult fiction, this book is unsuccessful. The biggest problem is that the supernatural baseball playing elves at the heart of the story speak in a ridiculous, affected dialect. Who can read that? ( )

http://nhw.livejournal.com/1006508.ht...

I really liked this book, even though it is mainly about baseball, a game which I know almost nothing about. Its parallel worlds and talking animals are close to Philip Pullman, and its fantastic imagining of America is not very far from American Gods, but I think it is better done than either - more confidently rooted in American folklore than Gaiman's book, and less ideological than Pullman. Also, despite its 500 pages, I found it a surprisingly quick read. ( )

This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is a story of the triumph of good over evil (always an excellent plot choice). I first read it one March when I thought the snow would never stop, and because good is warm and summer and evil is cold and winter in the book, it hit just the right note. If you don't already believe that baseball is beautiful, you probably won't like this book all that much, because baseball is central to both the plot and structure. I have read it several times, and it's been just as good each time. ( )

"Summerland," simply put, is a baseball fairytale. The book is lengthy, but I was glad of that because I had so much fun escaping into the world of Ethan Feld, a boy whose father, an aerodynamics engineer and avid baseball fan, won't let him quit the sport. When Ethan's father is kidnapped by the evil Coyote, he and a diverse group of friends and creatures must save the day, one World at a time. Hopping among the different Worlds, slowly approaching the roots of the great Tree that holds the universe together, the ragtag bunch must use baseball to keep themselves from being stalled, eaten, and ultimately destroyed. Chabon's imagination is endless, and he skillfully combines key characters from myths as diverse as the Native American variety, the Nordic variety, and the Anglo-Saxon German variety to create a fairytale beyond expectations. This book really brings out the inner sandlot ballplayer, who just happens to save the world while preserving that small spot of perpetual sunshine called Summerland.

http://nomiddlename.blogspot.com/2008... ( )

An intriguing mix of Beowolf, Native American lore and baseball, "Summerland" is the coming-of-age story of Ethan Feld. Many of the standard elements of this type of story are found in "Summerland" including a difficult past for Ethan as well as a search for acceptance by his father. Other characters include Ethan's friend and sidekick Jennifer T and his guide, 'Cutbelly,' a werefox.

Mr. Chabon is clearly working within the 'arch-myth' framework. "Star Wars," "The Matrix," and "Harry Potter" (to a degree) are joined by "Summerland" as tales embodying the 'hero's journey.'

"Summerland" is successful because Mr. Chabon is able to wrap enough of his wonderfully descriptive prose around a fantastic mixture of the otherworldly (Norse Mythology, Native American lore and Chabon's own take on the world of faerie) and the familiar (baseball, American tall tales, and the regular human experiences of growing up) to create a engaging whole.

Mr. Chabon set out to write a children's book. He was only marginally successful in that endeavor. Yes, the heavier plot and more obscure vocabulary of "Kavalier & Clay" is absent and the protagonist is an 11 year old boy. That doesn't mean that many of the 11 year olds that I know would be particularly fond of "Summerland." While nothing in the book is inappropriate for an 11 year old, much of the book - in fact much of what is best about the book - would go right over their heads. The 500+ pages of interwoven plot might be a bit much too for kids to read on their own, but if you're looking for something to read outloud to your kids that won't make you want to hit your head against a wall, "Summerland" is a good choice.

That isn't to say that "Summerland" isn't worth reading unless you have a collection of ankle-biters to listen. Any Chabon fan looking for something a bit lighter than "Kavalier & Clay" to read on vacation or on an airplane would certainly enjoy "Summerland." ( )

Summerland by Michael Chabon blends the magic and wonder of baseball with tall tales and fairy tales. In Summerland the branches of realities are melded together and the process and glory of baseball help keep the worlds together but trickster coyote is trying to separate the universes and bring an end to the mythical worlds. Good people, strange people, and not quite good and not quite people join in the battle that asks us to care for each other and feel the rythym of the game.

That sounds rich and deep but it is a surprising light story and in some ways unsatisfying in its predictability.

Stopped reading this one. Very disappointing follow-up to The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. ( )

Such an interesting YA novel. And it's got baseball, too. ( )

A disappointment after reading Chabon's earlier works. Characterization is usually his strong suit, but none of the characters here grabbed me and neither did the fantasy universe. ( )

I loved this book. At first I thought it was going to be a kids book. And it is really good to read to kids. But it is a great story. Very powerful themes and ideas in its own way. very sweet. ( )

This book didn't grip me the way I expected it to. Maybe it was because of the large role that baseball played in the story, but I'm not so sure about that -- I like sports more than my husband does! I found that I often had to look back to previous chapters to remind myself of certain elements in the fantasy world of the book, so maybe that's why I didn't enjoy it that much -- the world didn't seem organic to me in the way that other kids' fantasy books have. ( )

Michael Chabon is probably better known for the Pulitzer Prize winning book about superheroes and golems called The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, his The Escapist comic series, and his movie (which was also a book), Wonder Boys. Every time I read a children's book, I'm reminded of how much more interesting the majority of them are in comparison to adult books. Summerland seems to be a little like Roger Zelazny (Amber series) meets J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter) meets Madeline L'Engle (Wrinkle in Time) meets C.S. Lewis (The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe). It's the story of 2 ordinary kids travelling through shadow to different worlds in a flying machine trying to save the world. Their companions include a werefox, a foot-high baseball-playing Indian chief, and a sasquatch named Taffy that was once the pet of a 6-story-high giant named John. Summerland is a book that you never want to end. ( )

Ethan Feld is arguably the worst little leaguer in Clam Island history. Nonetheless, a mystical 100-year-old baseball scout has determined that Ethan is the chosen one! Chosen to play on a traveling all-star team? No, chosen to save the universe!

On Clam Island there is a special place called Summerland where you can leap between parallel worlds. In our Summerland, developers are destroying an ancient birch forest. In the parallel Summerland the trickster Coyote is destroying the birchwood home of the ferishers, fairies who have played baseball for a millenia. Can Ethan and his friends deal with ferishers, werefoxes, bigfoot and giants to save Summerland and the world? This is a wonderfully detailed fantasy from this Pulitzer Prize-winning author. ( )

The same quality I noticed in Kavalier & Clay is present here - this book is effortless. It seems as though Chabon never needed to stop and think about how his characters would talk, or how the metaphysics of the world would act if the bad guy cut a branch, or anything, that the giants and werefoxes and intermingling of Norse and Native American mythology and baseball all just flowed, in one piece, from his brain onto the paper. Being a kids' book, the vocabulary is not as impressive as in Kavalier & Clay, but the writing style doesn't pull any punches - apart from expecting kids to deal with the 500 pages, he also expects them to keep up with the jargon, geography, and metaphysics of his world - and I bet they will. It uses baseball as its central metaphor, and although I played softball for 10-odd years, I'm not a huge lover of the game. Still, baseball is a metaphor, not the focus, and there's plenty to keep adults and non-fans interested and entertained. ( )