Download or read book Benchwarmer written by Josh Wilker and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2015-05-05 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A moving, funny, inventive parenting memoir, written in a surprising form: an encyclopedia of failure in sports What can a new father learn about parenthood from reading sports almanacs? For most dads, the answer to this question is: nothing. But to Josh Wilker, whose life and writing have been defined by sports fandom, all of the joy, helplessness, and absurdity of parenthood are present between the lines. After all, what better way to think about losing control than Eugenio Velez's forty-five consecutive at-bats without a hit? How better to understand ridiculous joy than the NFL career of Walter Achiu, whose nickname was "Sneeze"? In the stories of sports figures large and small, Wilker finds the pathos in success and the humor in losing. As the terrified father of a one-day-old, Wilker recalls the 1986 World Series, when the moment was too big for the Red Sox. When he finds himself stealing away for an hour of alone time, Wilker thinks of boxer Roberto Duran, so beaten by Sugar Ray Leonard that he finally gave up. And yet, even as the frustrations and anxieties build, Wilker remembers Mets pitcher Anthony Young, who broke the baseball record for most consecutive losses -- and never stopped showing up. Finding the richness of life in obscure wrestling maneuvers and pop-ups lost in the sun, Benchwarmer is a book of unique humanity and surprising wisdom.

Download or read book One Shot at Forever written by Chris Ballard and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2012-05-15 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "One Shot at Forever is powerful, inspirational. . . This isn't merely a book about baseball. It's a book about heart." -- Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of Boys Will Be Boys and The Bad Guys Won In 1971, a small-town high school baseball team from rural Illinois, playing with hand-me-down uniforms and peace signs on their hats, defied convention and the odds. Led by an English teacher with no coaching experience, the Macon Ironmen emerged from a field of 370 teams to represent the smallest school in Illinois history to make the state final, a distinction that still stands. There the Ironmen would play against a Chicago powerhouse in a dramatic game that would change their lives forever. In this gripping, cinematic narrative, Chris Ballard tells the story of the team and its coach, Lynn Sweet: a hippie, dreamer, and intellectual who arrived in Macon in 1966, bringing progressive ideas to a town stuck in the Eisenhower era. Beloved by students but not administration, Sweet reluctantly took over the ragtag team, intent on teaching the boys as much about life as baseball. Together they embarked on an improbable postseason run that buoyed a small town in desperate need of something to celebrate. Engaging and poignant, One Shot at Forever is a testament to the power of high school sports to shape the lives of those who play them, and it reminds us that there are few bonds more sacred than that among a coach, a team, and a town. "Macon's run at the title reminds us why sports matter and why sportswriting has such great power to inspire. . . [It's] one hell of a good story, and Ballard has written one hell of a good book." -- Jonathan Eig, Chicago Tribune

Download or read book 101 Secrets a Cool Mom Knows written by Sue Ellin Browder and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2005-03-05 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Make your children feel special by teaching them a "secret" their friends don't know. Cool moms go straight to the heart of whatever problem a child might encounter to solve it quickly and effectively, no nonsense, no fuss. And at the same time the child is learning a handy new skill, he or she is also learning a deeper life lesson about perseverance, patience, honesty, or courage. Using Cool Mom secrets, you can teach a child . . . How to Use Chopsticks How to Throw a Spiral Pass How to See Better in the Dark How to Spin a Basketball on One Finger How to Make the World's Best Caramel Corn How to Cruise on a Skateboard How to Identify a Poisonous Spider How to Hang a Spoon on Your Nose How to Crack an Egg with One Hand How to Weigh a Cloud . . . and 90 other ageless, practical lessons. Years later, whenever your child uses any of these skills, he or she will proudly say, "My mom taught me that." Now, is that cool, or what?

Download or read book Lupe Wong Won t Dance written by Donna Barba Higuera and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2020-09-08 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My gym shorts burrow into my butt crack like a frightened groundhog. Don't you want to read a book that starts like that?? Lupe Wong is going to be the first female pitcher in the Major Leagues. She's also championed causes her whole young life. Some worthy...like expanding the options for race on school tests beyond just a few bubbles. And some not so much...like complaining to the BBC about the length between Doctor Who seasons. Lupe needs an A in all her classes in order to meet her favorite pitcher, Fu Li Hernandez, who's Chinacan/Mexinese just like her. So when the horror that is square dancing rears its head in gym? Obviously she's not gonna let that slide. Not since Millicent Min, Girl Genius has a debut novel introduced a character so memorably, with such humor and emotional insight. Even square dancing fans will agree...

Download or read book Cool Mom on the Hot Seat written by Virginia Traver and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2005-02 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An entertaining account of raising a family today.

Download or read book As Cool As I Am written by Pete Fromm and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING CLAIRE DANES, JAMES MARSDEN AND SARAH BOLGER As Cool As I Am "... packs an emotional punch that sneaks up from behind... Fromm creates an engrossing coming-of-age saga that cuts to the essence and shines."(Seattle Times). As a teenager pretty much left to raise herself, Lucy Diamond is a narrator with a radiant yet guarded heart. As she races at breakneck pace toward womanhood, everything is at stake for her, producing an urgency and dread that she holds at bay with humor and grace. But while Lucy charges ahead, her mother's youth is fading. Simultaneously embracing and resisting their similarities, Pete Fromm reveals both women's emotional vulnerabilities and their deep mutual need. Conveyed through dialogue that is both laugh-aloud-funny and true, Lucy stands out in contemporary literature for her large heart and inimitable grit. A Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Book of the Year

Download or read book Mothers Before written by Edan Lepucki and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2020-04-07 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who was your mother before she was a mother? Essays and photos from Brit Bennett, Jennifer Egan, Danzy Senna, Laura Lippman, Jia Tolentino, and many more. In this remarkable collection, New York Times–bestselling novelist Edan Lepucki gathers more than sixty original essays and favorite photographs to explore this question. The daughters in Mothers Before are writers and poets, artists and teachers, and the images and stories they share reveal the lives of women in ways that are vulnerable and true, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and always moving. Contributors include: Brit Bennett * Jennine Capó Crucet * Jennifer Egan * Angela Garbes * Annabeth Gish * Alison Roman * Lisa See * Danzy Senna * Dana Spiotta * Lan Samantha Chang * Laura Lippman * Jia Tolentino * Tiffany Nguyen * Charmaine Craig * Maya Ramakrishnan * Eirene Donohue * and many others

Download or read book Get a Grip Vivy Cohen written by Sarah Kapit and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-06-08 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this perfectly pitched novel-in-letters, autistic eleven-year-old Vivy Cohen won't let anything stop her from playing baseball--not when she has a major-league star as her pen pal. Vivy Cohen is determined. She's had enough of playing catch in the park. She's ready to pitch for a real baseball team. But Vivy's mom is worried about Vivy being the only girl on the team, and the only autistic kid. She wants Vivy to forget about pitching, but Vivy won't give up. When her social skills teacher makes her write a letter to someone, Vivy knows exactly who to choose: her hero, Major League pitcher VJ Capello. Then two amazing things happen: A coach sees Vivy's amazing knuckleball and invites her to join his team. And VJ starts writing back! Now Vivy is a full-fledged pitcher, with a catcher as a new best friend and a steady stream of advice from VJ. But when a big accident puts her back on the bench, Vivy has to fight to stay on the team.

Download or read book Curio s Search for Cool written by Mike Harris and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2003-11 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether we are male or female, young or old, a young boy's search for respect is something we can all relate to. The search for significance is an innate desire that permeates our choices, even though we don't always realize it. Especially when what we bring to the table (our natural strengths) aren't so obvious and positive attention isn't so automatic. And so it was with Curio. This is a story of an adolescent's search for himself, told through the bedtime talks between a single, widowed father and his son. Not only does it portray a healthy relationship between father and son, it uncovers many of the paradoxes associated with our search for a respectful identity. Each night, Dad spurs his son on like Jesus would have, with just enough insight to prod Curio's desire for more. Until finally, Curio surprises his father with wisdom straight out of Heaven itself.

Download or read book Diamond Moms written by Candace Conradi and published by Coaches Choice. This book was released on 2006 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this delightfully inspiring and engaging book, Candice Conradi examines virtually every aspect of the world of baseball through a mother's eyes. She provides first-time insight and problem identification, as well as what-to-do solutions to many factors that often cause frustration and failure fat the ball park. Ideal for parents and coaches of athletes from T-Ball to college and beyond.

Download or read book James Cool written by Toriano Porter and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2012-05-04 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the summer of 1985, the Winston clan – Virginia and Robert and their children Sonny and Cassius – move from the Southside of St. Louis to the city’s Northside and take up space on a street famously known as James Cool. The family’s resolve is tested immediately after Virginia befriends a neighborhood tough-guy; Robert gives in to the traps of success; and the two boys are targeted by the posse of thugs that terrorizes the street. James Cool, a classic American novel by Toriano Porter featuring Rory L. Watkins

Download or read book Swing written by Kwame Alexander and published by Clarion Books. This book was released on 2018-10-02 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this YA novel in verse from bestselling authors Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess (Solo), which Kirkus called “lively, moving, and heartfelt” in a starred review, Noah and Walt just want to leave their geek days behind and find “cool,” but in the process discover a lot about first loves, friendship, and embracing life . . . as well as why Black Lives Matter is so important for all. Best friends Noah and Walt are far from popular, but Walt is convinced junior year is their year, and he has a plan that includes wooing the girls of their dreams and becoming amazing athletes. Never mind he and Noah failed to make their baseball team yet again, and Noah’s crush since third grade, Sam, has him firmly in the friend zone. While Walt focuses on his program of jazz, podcasts, batting cages, and a “Hug Life” mentality, Noah feels stuck in status quo … until he stumbles on a stash of old love letters. Each one contains words Noah’s always wanted to say to Sam, and he begins secretly creating artwork using the lines that speak his heart. But when his art becomes public, Noah has a decision to make: continue his life in the dugout and possibly lose the girl forever, or take a swing and finally speak out. At the same time, American flags are being left around town. While some think it’s a harmless prank and others see it as a form of protest, Noah can’t shake the feeling something bigger is happening to his community. Especially after he witnesses events that hint divides and prejudices run deeper than he realized. As the personal and social tensions increase around them, Noah and Walt must decide what is really important when it comes to love, friendship, sacrifice, and fate. Swing: is written by New York Times bestselling author and Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winner Kwame Alexander Features a diverse array of characters and perspectives tackles the biggest social issues of today, including racial prejudice and Black Lives Matter is perfect reading for the classroom or community-wide discussions is a 2020 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers contains original artwork tied to the story If you enjoy Swing, check out Solo by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess.

Download or read book How I Met My Monster written by Amanda Noll and published by Flashlight Press. This book was released on 2019-11-03 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One night, when Ethan reaches under his bed for a toy truck, he finds this note instead: "Monsters! Meet here for final test." Ethan is sure his parents are trying to trick him into staying under the covers, until he sees five colorful sets of eyes blinking at him from beneath the bed. Soon, a colorful parade of quirky, squeaky little monsters compete to become Ethan's monster. But only the little green monster, Gabe, has the perfect blend of stomach-rumbling and snorting needed to get Ethan into bed and keep him there so he falls asleep—which as everyone knows, is the real reason for monsters under beds. With its perfect balance of giggles and shivers, this silly-spooky prequel to the award-winning I Need My Monster and Hey, That's MY Monster! will keep young readers entertained.

Download or read book A Season with Mom written by Katie Russell Newland and published by Harper Horizon. This book was released on 2021-04-06 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether you’ve put your dreams on hold, recovering from your own illness or lost someone you care about, discover how to jumpstart your next amazing season in life through this heartfelt, relatable memoir. After surviving both Hodgkin’s lymphoma and melanoma, sports enthusiast Katie Russell Newland knows the struggles of overcoming challenges both on and off the field. This book offers readers an intimate, true story about the bond shared between a mother and daughter, a road trip to all 30 Major League Baseball (MLB) parks, and the importance of relishing every joy and struggle along the way. A Season with Mom is highly recommended for: mothers and daughters cancer survivors baseball and sports fans of all ages anyone who has experienced loss, and maybe found love along the way Join Katie as she travels more than 30,000 miles to all 30 MLB parks in a single season, a rare feat covered by ESPN. Along with black-and-white photographs, Katie shares letters written to her mom, who died of cancer before the two of them could go on this adventure of a lifetime together. A Season with Mom reminds readers that in life, as in baseball, sometimes you strike out, but sometimes you hit home runs. Even if the wait is longer than you’d hoped, dreams can come true.

Download or read book The Cool of the Evening written by Paula Kurman and published by Rosetta Books. This book was released on 2024-04-02 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paula Kurman shares her forty-year love story with baseball legend Jim Bouton in her heartfelt memoir, The Cool of the Evening. “I am among the most fortunate of women. I loved Jim Bouton and was well and truly loved by him for more than four decades. It doesn’t get any better than that.” They met on October 15, 1977, at Bloomingdale’s department store in Hackensack, New Jersey. Jim Bouton, Major League pitcher, twenty-one game winner for the New York Yankees, and author of the iconic exposé Ball Four, and Dr. Paula Kurman, professor of interpersonal communication at Hunter College. It was love at first sight. Paula knew absolutely nothing about baseball when they met, or any other sport for that matter. And Jim had never heard of interpersonal communication, but he thought reading nonverbal behavior was creepy. Yet despite their obvious differences, Paula and Jim were soulmates. Together they created a partnership of equals that was greater than the sum of their parts. It lasted forty-two years. Laced through with humor, passion, and intelligence, Paula shares the intimacy and adventures of their married life through the blending of families, moving from suburban New Jersey to rural Massachusetts, where they built a home on top of a hill deep in the wilderness of the Berkshires, the shattering blow of the death of a daughter, the healing of stonework and ballroom dancing—and finally, the devastating long-term illness that took Jim’s life in the summer of 2019. Through it all, to the very end, Paula and Jim’s passionate love for each other grew and deepened. The Cool of the Evening is a celebration of their remarkable relationship.

Download or read book Heads Up Baseball written by Ken Ravizza and published by McGraw-Hill Education. This book was released on 1995-06-01 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book provides practical strategies for developing the mental skills which help speed you to your full potential."---Dave Winfield What does it mean to play heads-up baseball? A heads-up player has confidence in his ability, keeps control in pressure situations, and focuses on one pitch at a time. His mental skills enable him to play consistently at or near his best despite the adversity baseball presents each day. "My ability to fully focus on what I had to do on a daily basis was what made me the successful player I was. Sure I had some natural ability, but that only gets you so far. I think I learned how to focus; it wasn't something that I was necessarily born with." -- Hank Aaron "Developing and refining my mental game has played a critical role in my success in baseball. For years players have had to develop these skills on their own. This book provides practical strategies for developing the mental skills that will help speed you toward your full potential." -- Dave Winfield

Download or read book Out of Left Field written by Ellen Klages and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2019-02-12 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A story about the fight for equal rights in America's favorite arena: the baseball field! Every boy in the neighborhood knows Katy Gordon is their best pitcher, even though she's a girl. But when she tries out for Little League, it's a whole different story. Girls are not eligible, period. It is a boy's game and always has been. It's not fair, and Katy's going to fight back. Inspired by what she's learning about civil rights in school, she sets out to prove that she's not the only girl who plays baseball. With the help of friendly librarians and some tenacious research skills, Katy discovers the forgotten history of female ball players. Why does no one know about them? Where are they now? And how can one ten-year-old change people’s minds about what girls can do? Set in 1957—the world of Sputnik and Leave It to Beaver, saddle shoes and "Heartbreak Hotel"—Out of Left Field is both a detailed picture of a fascinating historic period and a timelessly inspiring story about standing up for equality at any age.