Knuckleball Ned

by R.A. Dickey, Tim Bowers (Illustrator)

Overview

Cy Young award winner R.A. Dickey creates a funny anti-bullying picture book with an adorable baseball character that kids will love
    
Ned the baseball is very nervous on his first day of school. Everyone else seems to know where they belong, but not Ned. He isn't a fastball or a slider, and the Foul Ball gang makes fun of him for the way he wobbles. When they do something particularly dastardly to another student, it's up to Ned to come to the rescue with his unique abilities. Not only does Ned realize he's a knuckleball, but he discovers that he can be a hero, too!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698179295
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/01/2014
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	70 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

R. A. Dickey is a starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2012, he became the first knuckleball pitcher to win the Cy Young Award. When not on the road,he lives in Tennessee with his wife and children. R. A. is also the author of the bestselling memoir Wherever I Wind Up and its adaptation for young readers, Throwing Strikes.

Tim Bowers is the illustrator of over thirty children’s books. He lives in central Ohio.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“R.A. Dickey is one of the coolest athletes I’ve ever met.” — George Vecsey, The New York Times

"Dickey, with an assist from Karounos, creates a sweet, sympathetic character and presents an earnest, heartfelt message." - Kirkus Reviews

"The clear, lively writing and nice pacing make this a good addition to the canon of antibullying books that make their point without being message driven. Bowers adds to the fun...his cartoon acrylic paint illustrations effectively capture Ned’s wobbliness and make the pages come alive with motion." - School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

R.A. Dickey is one of the coolest athletes I’ve ever met.” — George Vecsey, The New York Times

"Dickey, with an assist from Karounos, creates a sweet, sympathetic character and presents an earnest, heartfelt message." - Kirkus Reviews

"The clear, lively writing and nice pacing make this a good addition to the canon of antibullying books that make their point without being message driven. Bowers adds to the fun...his cartoon acrylic paint illustrations effectively capture Ned’s wobbliness and make the pages come alive with motion." - School Library Journal

From the Publisher

04/01/2014
PreS-Gr 1—Cy Young Award winner Dickey is a starting pitcher for the Toronto Bluejays and the only pitcher to use the knuckleball (a ball with minimum spin that causes an unpredictable motion) as his primary pitch. In his picture-book debut, Dickey has Ned, an anthropomorphized baseball, nervously pondering his first day as school—as it turns out, with good reason. Wobbly from birth, he bumps into everyone as he makes his way down the school bus's aisle and angers the Foul Ball Gang when he comes to the defense of his large friend, Sammy the Softball. To make matters worse, all the other balls—fast balls, curve balls, sliders, etc.—know who they are, and Ned does not. Eventually, Ned's wobbling saves the day when the Foul Ball Gang plays a nasty prank on Connie Curveball, and he comes to the realization that he is not a knucklehead but, rather, Knuckleball Ned. The clear, lively writing and nice pacing make this a good addition to the canon of antibullying books that make their point without being message driven. Bowers adds to the fun by individualizing the many balls, no mean trick when the head shapes must be identical. His cartoon acrylic paint illustrations effectively capture Ned's wobbliness and make the pages come alive with motion.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

School Library Journal

2014-01-22
A major league knuckleball pitcher pens a cautionary tale about self-esteem and standing up to bullies. Ned is a very nervous baseball who worries about navigating his first day of school. He is clumsy and unsure of himself, always wobbling and bumping into everything. Strangely, at times he can float and glide. All the other kids know what kind of baseballs they are, but Ned has no clue. The Foul Ball Gang taunts him and calls him names, but Connie Curveball, Fletcher and Fiona Fastball, Sammy Softball and the others befriend him. When the gang throws his sneakers into a tree, he watches as the fastballs unsuccessfully launch themselves up to get them, spinning madly all the way. When Ned tries, he twists and turns and floats through the branches without spinning and deftly grabs the shoes, triumphing over the gang. He is a knuckleball and proud of it. Although story and prose are more than a bit unsubtle and stiff, Dickey, with an assist from Karounos, creates a sweet, sympathetic character and presents an earnest, heartfelt message. Bowers' multilayered technique, employing acrylic, watercolor and color washes, produces illustrations that are lively and charming, giving the baseball characters surprising life and substance. Young readers will clearly understand the intent even if they are unfamiliar with the various pitch names and characteristics. Well-intentioned but not quite a winner. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews