- Stumptown Kid
- Written by Carol Gorman
- Written by Ron J. Findley
- Age 8-12
- Hardcover: $15.95
- ISBN: 978-1-56145-337-5
- Total Pages: 224
- Size: 6 x 8 1/2
- Language: English
- Rights: World
- Status: active
- Paperback: $8.95
- ISBN: 978-1-56145-412-9
- Total Pages: 224
- Size: 6 x 8 1/2
- Language: English
- Rights: World
- Status: active
- Other Formats
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- Leveling Information
- Accelerated Reader
- AR Quiz#: 102992
- AR Reading Level: 3.7
- AR Points: 7
- F&P (Fountas & Pinnell)
- F&P Level: W
- F&P Grade: 5-6
- Reading Counts
- Reading Counts Level: 3.3
- Reading Counts Points: 12
- Reading Counts Interest Level: 3-5
- Additional Info
- Categories
- History
- Fiction
- Middle Reader
- Sports
Stumptown Kid
Twelve-year-old Charlie Nebraska wants two things he can't get: to make the local Wildcats Baseball team and to have life to return to the way it was before his father died two years earlier in the Korean War.
Then Charlie meets Luther Peale, a stranger who quietly and mysteriously arrives in the small town of Holden, Iowa, and sets up camp near the river. Luther is a former Negro Baseball League player, and Charlie loves baseball. The two strike up a friendship and Luther agrees to coach Charlie's fledgling neighborhood baseball team for a game against the Wildcats.
But many of Holden's white residents are suspicious of Luther because of his skin color. And when Charlie inadvertently reveals a secret of Luther's, violence erupts in the town and both Luther and Charlie are drawn into serious danger.
Authors Carol Gorman and Ron J. Findley have created two highly memorable, emotionally complex characters in this dramatic story that illustrates the meanings of friendship, prejudice, and heroism.
Author & Illustrator
Carol Gorman is the author of more than a dozen award-winning books for kids, including The Marvelous Makeover Of Lizard Flanagan, Dork In Disguise, Dork On The Run; and A Midsummer Night's Dork. She coauthored Stumptown Kid with Ron J. Findley. She is a former middle school teacher and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa. Gorman lives in Iowa.
You can visit Carol Gorman’s website here.
Ron J. Findley was involved in baseball from the time he was a boy growing up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As a child he was always looking for a sandlot baseball game, and many of the ideas for Stumptown Kid are based on his memories of that time. He coached youth football, baseball, and softball teams for many years. He passed away in 2010.
Reviews
“Themes of honesty, loyalty, and heroism are imbedded in this powerful, fast-paced story... Readers will enjoy this winning mix of sports, suspense, and heroism, and delight in the baseball wit and wisdom.” ―School Library Journal
“Stumptown Kid is not your typical sports book. It includes some baseball lingo, game strategy and play-by-play, but it goes way beyond that too. Using very clear, straightforward language, it explores the impact of racial conflict on a community, a family and even the world of baseball...In the end, this is a feel-good story about loyalty, bravery, doing the right thing, and overcoming prejudice. And, of course, baseball.” ―Sweet on Books blog
Awards
Paterson Prize for Books for Young People (Grades 7-12) ―The Poetry Center at Passiac County Community College) 2006
Kansas State Reading Circle Recommended Reading List (middle school / junior high) ―Kansas National Education Association 2005
Young Adult Top Forty ―Pennsylvania School Librarians Association 2005-2006
Sunshine State Young Reader's Award (nominee, grades 3-5) ―FAME 2008-2009
Outstanding Book Award (Honorable Mention) ―The Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights 2005
Emphasis on Reading Program (nominee, grades 4-6) ―Alabama Department of Education 2006-2007
Great Stone Face Book Award (nominee) ―Children's Librarians of New Hampshire 2006-2007
KSRA Young Adult Book Award (nominee) ―Keystone State Reading Association 2006-2007
Iowa Teen Award (nominee) ―Iowa Educational Media Association 2007-2008
South Carolina Children's Book Award (nominee) ―South Carolina Association of School Librarians 2007-2008
Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award (nominee, grades 6-8) ―State Library of Louisiana and Louisiana Center for the Book 2008
Sasquatch Award (nominee) ―Washington Library Media Association 2008
Nutmeg Children's Book Award (nominee) ―Connecticut Library Association & Connecticut Educational Media Association 2009-2010