Sports
Honus Wagner Card Sells for $2.1M
Apr 8th
On Saturday, the rare 1909 Honus Wagner baseball card sold for $2.1 million in a public auction to an unnamed bidder. Honus Wagner was a Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop in the early 1900′s and considered to one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
There are only about 50 of these cards left in existence, which makes them extremely rare. The story is that Honus Wagner made the American Tobacco Card pull the card because he had not granted them permission to print the card. He did not want children buying cigarettes to get his card.
The story of Honus is the first book in Dan Gutman’s baseball adventure series. It’s the story of a boy who finds the Honus Wagner card and finds he use it to travel through time.
Dan Gutman wrote this book in 1993. He submitted it to a publisher in 1994 and within two months it was rejected. He tried again and it was rejected again. He was rejected SEVEN times before HarperCollins – publisher #8 said, “yes! we like it!” You can read more about his rejection story on the Dan Gutman website.
The book is now available in an audio version, was made into a TV movie called The Winning Season, and a play that was performed in four different cities, including Seattle. The importance of persistence is an important message that Dan shares with his readers on his website:
The good news is that there are now ELEVEN books in his baseball adventure series! Ted and Me is the latest book to be published. It’s about baseball legend Ted Williams and is Gutman’s 100th book to be published!
If you would like to learn more about the story of the T206 Honus card, ESPN has produced a 15 minute video about the history of this baseball player and the famous cards. Click here for that link. You can find Gutman’s adventure series in the sports section of our library.
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Why do you think this collector paid this much money for a baseball card?
If you could create a sports card about a person, who would it be and why?
Favorite Books of 2012
Jan 27th
Have you ever read a book that you just couldn’t forget?
Did it make you laugh? Cry? Shout?
Today’s post is about my favorite books from 2012. These are the standout books from a year of reading. Even though I may have read them months ago, I still think about them and consider them book friends. When I see the cover, or think of a passage from the book, I get a smile on my face. Not all of these books were written in 2012, although most of them were. I am in the process of reading all the Newbery Medal winners, so one book was published years ago. All, except the young adult books are available in our library. I hope you will stop in and check them out!
Tomorrow the American Library Association will announce all of the Youth Media Awards at their Mid-Winter Conference here in Seattle. I will be at the press conference for the very first time! I can’t wait to see what books won medal and honor awards. Above any other books, I have my fingers crossed for The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate and Wonder by RJ Palacio.
Here are my standouts from a year of reading!
Categories: Favorite Graphic Novels, Favorite Picture Books, Favorite Non-Fiction Picture Books,Favorite Middle Grade Novels, Favorite Young Adult Novels, Favorite Audio Books
So there you are…my favorites. Not all will win awards tomorrow at the ALA conference. However, they have already won a special award in my heart because each of these books has touched me in a very personal way. I’m looking forward to lots of reading in 2013 and seeing where my reading travels take me!
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Were any of these books favorites for you this year?
Is there a book I should have included?
Leave us a comment and let us know!
Student Review by Baptiste
Nov 29th
Million Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica
In this book the main character is Nate. The boy is eleven years old and he is the Valley’s quarterback. The coach of his team puts him in as a quarterback because of his big and strong arm. Everybody calls this football fan “Brady”, after the New England Patriots quarterback because he can throw long like him and the young player is Brady’s biggest fan.
The main problem is that Nate wants to meet Tom Brady. One day, he went to the shop, “Sportstuff” and he saw a big poster saying “During the Thanksgiving game, at half time, there will be a contest to see who can throw the longest. The winner will receive a big check for million dollars.” The boy signs up immediately for the contest. Will he win the contest? You must read this to find out.
What an awesome book!!!!! I recognize myself in this book, and it makes me happy. Nate loves football and I love soccer. Nate is eleven years old and I am too. I will recommend this book to students who love sports.
Student Book Review by Baptiste: Foot by Patrick Bruno
Sep 30th
(This story was written in French) This story is talking about a soccer team named Miraval. The team is getting invited to make a movie. First, I said “why are they going to make a movie if the title of the book is Soccer.” The money they make from the movie would help them go to China for a big tournament. But one of the main problems is that when they are making the movie they have another Championship going on and school is going on too. Another problem is that one of the characters in the movie got hurt in a really bad accident and he has to stay in the hospital. So will they stop the movie and not go to China or will they continue the movie and go to China…
This story makes me feel happy because it’s what I do in life. I play on a soccer team. We don’t make a movie but we play in Championship games like they do. I hope that you like this book as much as I did. Remember this book is in French!!
Book Review: Go Big or Go Home by Will Hobbs
Sep 7th
Want to go for a wild, extreme ride? Then check out this book! Set in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Brady’s world changes dramatically when a meteorite crashes through the roof of his house and lands on his bed! Luckily Brady was not in bed when it landed. As you can imagine, having a meteorite for a visitor is a bit extreme, and its arrival launches Brady and his cousin Quinn on a wild ride.
This book is for adventure and extreme riders only. It’s a fast page turner and I really like how Hobbs weaves in a lot information about the history and landmarks of the Black Hills region without getting boring. You can find out more information about Will Hobbs on his website at: www.WillHobbsAuthor.com (review by Mrs. Hembree)
