Baseball for your Bookshelf

A recommendation for your class library...

I am always on the lookout for sports-related books because they seem to fly off the shelf with my sixth graders.  My son is not in my classroom, but as a middle-schooler I often look at books through his eyes. He is OBSESSED with all things baseball so I was drawn to this book immediately. Soar by Joan Bauer grabbed my attention within the first few pages.

Purchase Soar HERE

(My disclaimer - I really wanted you to see the cover of the book and the only way I could figure out how to do that LEGALLY was to become an Amazon Affiliate.  I need to include this link where you could buy it if you want and as an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Bauer is an award-winning author of 13 books for young readers, including Hope was Here, and Rules of the Road.  In her most recent book, Soar, she writes through the narrator Jeremiah.  He is an adopted child and in the first chapter he retells the story of being left by his mother as a baby and the man who finds him who eventually becomes his dad. Jeremiah and his father Walt are both brilliant and I love their banter back and forth -- they remind me of Sherman and Peabody, if you are old enough to know that reference.  Early in life Jeremiah needs a heart transplant and then finds himself limited in his physical activity. His love of baseball is cut to just watching games and studying the art of coaching.

Photo by Matthew T Rader on Unsplash

Because of a new job for Walt as a technology consultant, Jeremiah and his dad move to Hillcrest, Ohio and are excited to be in a community that has an amazing high school baseball program.  However, soon after they arrive, the high school team is engulfed in a scandal and Jeremiah realizes his baseball dreams will only be fulfilled through the middle school team.

The roster for the middle school team is nothing short of The Bad News Bears, and under the direction of Coach Jeremiah they grow both in skill and confidence.  Several twists and turns along the way make this a captivating and heart-warming novel.

Besides the focal point on baseball, this novel is so much more, including themes about perseverance, living life to the fullest, and overcoming obstacles.  Great lessons for any middle schooler, but especially for those who might also have a physical limitation.

Photo by Bo Lane on Unsplash

While focusing on baseball can bring in reluctant readers, this might also be a negative to anybody who does not follow the sport.  It’s not for everybody, but for those who enjoy the All-American Pastime, this book is a home run!

If you’d like to try this book with your students, here are some FREE discussion questions.  Let me know what you think.