The Dog That Called the Pitch

by Matt Christopher

Overview

Mike and his dog Harry, the Airedale with ESP, are shocked to discover that the new umpire for Mike's baseball games can hear their mental conversations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316094405
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	12/19/2009
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Lexile:	530L (what's this?)
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Matt Christopher is the best selling name behind more than 100 sports-themed books for young readers.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 2-4-A baseball story with a twist. Mike and his constant companion, an Airedale named Harry, communicate via ESP. To their surprise, Mr. Grimley, the new umpire for the big game, shares their talent. This ability comes in handy when the man breaks his glasses and almost has to postpone the game. Harry then steps up to the plate and helps him call balls and strikes. Can he be impartial, though, since this game means so much to Mike? More than half of this extended picture book is devoted to play-by-play action-who comes to bat, who singles, who walks-details that may be crucial to older readers but are not as interesting to younger ones. Vasconcellos's sketchy ink drawings add a lot of personality to these one-dimensional characters and dominate the pages on which they appear. The format and simplicity of the plot suggest that this book would appeal to younger audiences but the vocabulary, the emphasis on game action, and the role of ESP make it more suited to older children.-Edith Ching, St. Albans School, Mt. St. Alban, Washington, DC

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