56 pages • 1 hour read
John H. RitterThe Boy Who Saved Baseball
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Further Reading: Literature
The Kid Who Batted 1.000 by Troon McAlister (2002)
A YA book suitable for all ages, it is similar to Ritter’s novel in assembling a wide variety of extremely unlikely characters to field a hard luck but surprisingly successful baseball team.
The Natural by Bernard Malamud, Farrar, Strauss, and Gireaux (2003)
Originally published in 1952, this proto “baseball as a fount of miracles” novel illustrates the game’s ability not only to inspire teams and towns but also as a crucible of virtue overwhelming corruption, as in Ritter’s novel.
- The Natural on SuperSummary
The Heart of a Champion by Carl Deuker (2007)
Like Ritter’s book, this novel concerns a boy with more baseball desire than ability who learns at the feet of a superior athlete, only to lose his friend in the end; this book deals with upper-grade issues of physical abuse and alcoholism.
Further Reading: Beyond Literature (Nonfiction)
The Bulldozer in the Countryside by Adam Rome, Cambridge University Press, (2001)
This is an iconic study of the growth of suburbs and their impact on society and the natural environment.
The City of To-Morrow and Its Planning by Le Corbusier (1987)
Originally published in 1929, this insightful examination of city planning and the frequent mistakes made by planners remains pertinent a century later.
