The Pitcher

A Junior Library Guild Selection. OHazelgrove ("Rocket Man") measures out a generous sprinkling of American idealism while weaving in legitimate threads of sorrow, employing the oft-used baseball metaphor to fresh and moving effect.ON"Publishers Weekly."

The story of the remarkable 1968 baseball season. “Seldom does an era, and do sports personalities, come alive so vividly, and so unforgettably.” —The Boston Globe In 1968, two remarkable pitchers would dominate the game as well as the broadsheets. One was black, the other white. Bob Gibson, together with the St. Louis Cardinals, embodied an entire generation’s hope for integration at a heated moment in American history. Denny McLain, his adversary, was a crass self-promoter who eschewed the team charter and his Detroit Tigers teammates to zip cross-country in his own plane. For one season, the nation watched as these two men and their teams swept their respective league championships to meet at the World Series. Gibson set a major league record that year with a 1.12 ERA. McLain won more than 30 games in 1968, a feat not achieved since 1934 and untouched since. Together, the two have come to stand as iconic symbols, giving the fans “The Year of the Pitcher” and changing the game. Evoking a nostalgic season and its incredible characters, this is the story of one of the great rivalries in sports and an indelible portrait of the national pastime during a turbulent year—and the two men who electrified fans from all walks of life. “Explores so much more than the battle between two pitchers and their teams . . . A fine history of a vital period in the history of not only baseball, but America.” —Kirkus Reviews “A compelling tale of all that America was in the turbulent year of 1968, told through a (mostly) baseball prism.” —New York Post

The Pitcher's Kid is Jack Olsen's memoir of the first 18 years of his life, years that formed his voice, his ear, and his passionate concern for the underdog. It is a story of a young boy's desperate yearning for a father during a time of extreme poverty and confusion. The book has been compared to Frank McCourt for its poignant depiction of deprivation, to Geoffrey Wolff for its sad depiction of a deceptive father, and to David Sedaris for its hilarious depiction of childhood. This is an unforgettable tale of coming of age during the hard years of America's Depression and of a family's struggle to not just survive, but to triumph.

The story of the remarkable 1968 baseball season: an epic battle of pitchers, Bob Gibson and Denny McClain, which culminated in one of the greatest World Series of all time

The story is told solely from the perspective of 10 year-old Tyler Paulson, whose mother has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. When her cancer recurs, she explains to Tyler that she has chosen a treatment, called radio-immunotherapy(RIT), that is just starting to help people.The author, who credits RIT with saving his own life ten years ago, doesn't discount the impact of the mother's treatment choices on her son. In fact, Tyler feels more in control when he researches RIT on the internet for himself and realizes that his mother's situation is quite hopeful

Ladybird Favourite Tales are the timeless, treasured stories that generations of children have grown up with and loved. These easy-to-read retellings, enhanced by exciting, richly colourful illustrations, faithfully capture all the magic of the original stories.

From one of the minds behind The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, Tee Morris comes hardboiled crime fiction...with a twist. Chicago, 1930, and following the financial calamity of Black Thursday, Billi is doing everything he can to keep his business afloat. The change in seasons, though, brings him a case that appears to be a true blessing from The Fates. Chicago Cubs Manager Joe McCarthy suspects something fishy with the Baltimore Mariners, a new team in the league, and he's hiring Billi to look into it. What appears to be the dream job - being paid to research and attend baseball games - turns out to be a nightmare as he discovers one of the Nine Talismans of Acryonis somewhere in play at Wrigley. Get ready for The Lord of the Rings written by Mickey Spillane! Poking fun at the hard-boiled detective novel, Fantasy mainstays, and even the legend of Chicago's 1920 underworld, Tee Morris re-releases to the digital front his award-winning novel.

Rhymed text describes the different things Paul enjoys when he throws a ball. Includes suggested learning activities.