Rating: Needs Parent Supervision

Some interesting themes in this one:

(1) What should a kid do when he invites his athletic friend to play on his baseball team only to find he’s a total klutz on defense? What if his own team starts making frustrating comments and even threatens to quit because they’re so frustrated by his mistakes?

(2) What should a kid do when people make xenophobic remarks about his Russian friend who is botching defense on first base?

In this particular story (spoiler alert!), it turns out the star catcher quits the team because he’s so frustrated with the player on first base. The main character is in an awkward position.

Fortunately, the klutzy defenseman is a hammer on offense. He crushes home runs out of the park. So he ends up being a hero, and the star catcher returns with sheepish apologies.

The tough thing—and what give me trouble with recommending this one—is that a lot of times in real life the klutz isn’t a great hitter. A lot of times they’re just not a star in any aspect of the sport. So while this story makes him a hero, I wish there was a better example for our readers of what to do when the kid doesn’t save the day with a winning grand slam.

I wish it had more of a growth mindset (keep practicing; you’ll get it) combined with a valuing people for more than their performance (even if you keep messing it up, we still appreciate you for who you are).

I do appreciate that the coaches are great role models. They nip the racist remarks in the bud and they uplift respect and the game.

So overall, this is probably an ok choice for any kid, I just wish it didn’t have a somewhat superficial solution to how to handle it when a kid isn’t good at sports.