2024-11-23
In this second series entry, young ballplayers discover that numbers on the scoreboard aren’t the only way to measure wins.
Along with offering mini-clinics in batting, catching fly balls, and safely removing leeches, among other general life skills, the mixed-gender traveling team (newly renamed the Wurtmore Turdles for its port-a-potty sponsor) weathers bullies, crushes on teammates, and undergoes a range of emotional challenges from a lost pet to a lost parent over the course of a summer tournament. Chick stirs generous quantities of coaching and self-coaching into game action that’s highlighted by gleeful just deserts for sneering archrivals who steal a jar of especially potent pickles and later pay the intestinal price. The behavior modeling, sporting and otherwise, may weigh heavily at times but is generally buoyed by the alimentary humor and an upbeat ending: The Turdles rebound from a tournament loss as Pel, one of the ensemble members who shares narrative duties, takes steps toward healing from the grief of his father’s death and at last cements relations with the team’s catcher, Diesel. Diesel’s real given name, Huyen, cues some racial diversity in the cast that’s backed up by Radlicki’s lively illustrations of the middle school–aged ballplayers.
High fly balls and low humor, on and off the basepaths.(Fiction. 8-12)
