Genre: Realistic Fiction

Summary: A boy went to a baseball game with his dad, He had been saving up for a baseball mit, but when he went to get his money during the game, he had lost it. Instead of being mad, his dad purchased him the mit instead of buying himself very needed shoes. The boy never forgot the kind gesture his dad made, and he even repaid his dad.

Review: This book is good realistic fiction because it is realistic for a dad and son to go to a baseball game and for them to bond over sports. It is also realistic for a dad to give more to his son than take for himself. This book is relatable for young students because most have a relationship with their dad or at least know o relationships between fathers and sons.

2.5 stars The message is mostly a good one, the pictures are lovely. But it's boring. I've been reading a lot of miscellaneous picture-books lately and I'm just not feeling a lot of them. Maybe I need a child to read them with. Do kids like this?? Or is it written for teachers and librarians? ( )

Some of the books in this pile by my bed are there by the sweet serendipity of New Hartford Public Library's "discard" pile. Because they're ten cents, I buy them with my grandfather's Great Depression mentality that is his legacy. Someday, I think, I may have no books at all, and anything with printed words on a page may be useful for my classroom whether as a tool to teach grammar, sentence structure, personal narrative organization & style, etc. or even as a way to look at bad writing to see how it could be improved. Ten cents, what is there to lose?

Sometimes, I find something amazing and I experience conflicting feelings of pity for the library's poor choice in making something trash, but thrilled that it's now my treasure. I almost want to take this back and bring it their attention, "No, you see, this was a mistake!"
This is one of those. I can't believe it's mine for 10 cents.

A perfect example of a short personal narrative (what we teach to be a personal narrative in the middle school, anyway) about a country boy way back (seems like it could be the GD, but I'm really not sure) who saves his quarters for chores in a cigar box, saving up for a baseball glove. The conflict and its touching resolution choked me up and had me crying this Sunday morning.

"Discard" brands several pages, and I think I'm going to white each one out. I love it that much.


For teachers: Would make an excellent companion to Where the Red Fern Grows, A Day No Pigs Would Die, or f any elementary classroom to use for comparing and contrasting. The mother put coffee and sugar in the boy's cereal. The kid's ability to "go on a train ride" was the most exciting experience, they listen to the ball game on the radio and attend one, so comparing things like that to our modern society and customs would be a valuable experience (definitely enough details to explore and connect to). And finally, I'm going to use it for my personal narrative unit, and it wouldn't bother me at all if my students had read it twenty times at the elementary level, so HP teachers, go for it!

( )

I loved this book at first reading. Even though I could guess what would happen in the end, it didn't take away my pleasure in reading it. ( )

I really enjoyed this book mostly because it shows a different type of relationship between father and son. The book tells a heartfelt warm story that many fathers will enjoy reading to their sons. Audie is a sweet young boy who seeks a closer relationship with his father when one day his dad takes him to a baseball game. All the while he has been carrying up his savings in his pocket to buy a baseball glove. His dad sacrifices his money for new shoes for his work in place of Audie's hope for a new glove. A memorable tale of a father and son growing together to have a better relationship. ( )