"It's summertime again, and we join the 12-year-olds of Camp Average--er, Avalon--as the season is winding to a close. Last year, our favourite junior campers (including Andre, Mack, Nelson, and Miles) won the big baseball tournament, so this year, the camp has established a special competitive stream for elite athletes. Camp director Winston even opened up space for girls--so Makayla, Nicole and friends are on board too. And best of all, Mack can...
Celebrate the unheralded people and stories that helped shape the game of baseball! Meet unsung pioneers, like John "Bud" Fowler, William Edward White, and brothers Moses Fleetwood Walker and Weld Walker, four African Americans who integrated white teams decades before Jackie Robinson. Discover unforgettable moments, like the time a 17-year old girl named Jackie Mtchell struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Marvel at records. Did you know that Japanese...
Henry Heckelbeck is just like any other normal kid. He plays soccer. He isn't a huge fan of homework. He even has an older sister, Heidi. What's not so normal about Henry is his family. His sister and mom are magic. Not Henry, though...he's just a normal kid. Or is he? Henry Heckelbeck is excited to start the soccer season. He really wants to be the teams' goalie this year, but there's a new star player on the team, Max Maplethorpe. Is magic the answer...
"Wilma was born into a family with 22 brothers and sisters, in the segregated South. She contracted polio in her early years and her doctors said she would never walk again. But Wilma persisted with treatment, and she recovered her strength by the age of 12. At school, Wilma showed a talent for basketball and sprinting, earning the nickname "Skeeter" (mosquito) as she ran so fast. Wilma was in college when she went to the 1960 Olympics. She not only...
Kitty is terribly out of shape-she can barely torment Puppy without needing a break to huff and puff! When Kitty's owner catches her wheezing, Kitty is told it's time to EXERCISE. It takes some serious convincing, a high-stakes competition, and a little bit of trickery but eventually Kitty gets into the competitive spirit . . . albeit reluctantly. What did you expect? Will our favorite feline friend learn what it means to be a good sport? Find out...
"Twelve-year-old Ben is a shy, quiet kid. His life isn't perfect, but he feels at home in his New York City apartment. Then his dad takes a job in London, and everything changes. His parents separate, and Ben's mom moves them back to her hometown of Austin, Texas. Ben's simple life is suddenly complicated. He misses his apartment, his best friend, Jake, and his dad. Then he meets Mabley, who becomes a bright spot to Ben's day. But when his mom starts...
Vivy Cohen is determined. She's had enough of playing catch in the park. She's ready to pitch for a real baseball team. But Vivy's mom is worried about Vivy being the only girl on the team, and the only autistic kid. She wants Vivy to forget about pitching, but Vivy won't give up. When her social skills teacher makes her write a letter to someone, Vivy knows exactly who to choose: her hero, Major League pitcher VJ Capello. Then two amazing things...
Orphaned thirteen year-old Carlos learns what it truly means to be a teammate when he must help save his new wheelchair basketball team's gym from destruction.
Deontae "Simp" Wright has big plans for his future. Plans that involve basketball, his best friend, Rollie, and making enough money to get his mom and four younger brothers out of the Cove, their low-income housing project. Long term, this means the NBA. Short term, it means being a dough boy-getting paid to play lookout and eventually moving up the rungs of the neighborhood drug operation with Rollie as his partner. Roland "Rollie" Matthews used...
After one last fight, the Guardian Angel will retire as the most famous luchador but his nephew, eighth-grader Maximilian, hopes to one day take over his name and his mask.
"Camp Average is a middle-grade novel that tells the story of a group of 11-year-old boys sharing Cabin 10 at a six-week summer sports camp for boys. The actual name of the place is Camp Avalon, but the kids call it Camp Average, because they never win at any sport. And that's the way they like it. But this summer, Winston, the new camp director doesn't like losing, and he's not about to start! Led by the main protagonist, Mack, and his best friend...
The Lady and Rex have a baseball game against the Big City Brats. Jack is not allowed to swing the bat, so he is told to be the Bat Boy. That is, until the Lady Town Ladies and the Big City Brats are tied. It's up to Jack to hit a home run, but on the way to home plate he spots some snacks...
Twins Stacy and Gina Cavallaro are rivals on the baseball field, each pitching for a different little league team. Gina is a sports whiz and the star of her crack team, while Stacy's band of misfits hasn't won a game all season. The battling sisters also happen to be the youngest in a long line of local witches. So when Gina's magic spins out of control and her spell accidentally raises a zombie, the girls have to set aside their differences and figure...
Thirteen-year-old Nikki Doyle's dreams of becoming a basketball great feel within reach when she's selected to play on an elite-level club team. But in a league with taller, stronger, and faster girls, Nikki suddenly isn't the best point guard. In fact, she's no longer a point guard at all, which leaves her struggling to figure out who she is and how she fits in. The stress piles on as Nikki's best friend spends more and more time with another girl...