Baseball is our family's favorite sport, so this series immediately caught my eye. Ballpark Mysteries, written by David Kelly, follows Mike Walsh and his cousin Kate as they investigate, well, mysteries at MLB ballparks!
Book #1 in the series is The Fenway Foul-up. Mike's mom is a sports reporter and gets all-access passes for Mike and Kate-- what could be better?! But when the Red Sox' star batter Big D's lucky bat goes missing, the kids take advantage of their passes, and begin to solve the mystery...inning by inning.
Book #1 in the series is The Fenway Foul-up. Mike's mom is a sports reporter and gets all-access passes for Mike and Kate-- what could be better?! But when the Red Sox' star batter Big D's lucky bat goes missing, the kids take advantage of their passes, and begin to solve the mystery...inning by inning.
I recruited my sons (ages 5.5 and 7) to read and review The Fenway Foul-up with me. We took turns reading, and made our own guesses as Mike and Kate did their investigating. The series is rated Grades 1-4, and I would say that's quite accurate. My second grader read it smoothly, and understood what he was reading (he does know some baseball terminology, but there's nothing so complex that you wouldn't be able to figure out anyway). AND, there's a special section in the back with notes and insider info about Fenway Park (this is carried through the entire series). It's a great addition to an already wonderful book!
There are currently 7 available books in the Ballpark Mysteries series, and 2 more available for pre-order. My older son actually cashed in some Barnes and Noble gift cards to order numbers 2, 3, and 4 last night...and we have, of course, already pre-ordered the Phillies-feature book (#9)! There is a site dedicated entirely to the Ballpark Mysteries, and a blog written by 'Mike'. It was just updated to include a new "last" chapter for The Fenway Foul-up!
I highly recommend this series, especially if you have baseball fans and/or reluctant early readers in your house. Leveraging the love of baseball is a great solution to my son's lack of love of reading (it kills me, as a book-lover!!).
The Fenway Foul-up was written by David A. Kelly, published by Random House Books for Young Readers, February 2011.
There are currently 7 available books in the Ballpark Mysteries series, and 2 more available for pre-order. My older son actually cashed in some Barnes and Noble gift cards to order numbers 2, 3, and 4 last night...and we have, of course, already pre-ordered the Phillies-feature book (#9)! There is a site dedicated entirely to the Ballpark Mysteries, and a blog written by 'Mike'. It was just updated to include a new "last" chapter for The Fenway Foul-up!
I highly recommend this series, especially if you have baseball fans and/or reluctant early readers in your house. Leveraging the love of baseball is a great solution to my son's lack of love of reading (it kills me, as a book-lover!!).
The Fenway Foul-up was written by David A. Kelly, published by Random House Books for Young Readers, February 2011.
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