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| Publisher's Hardcover ©2019 | -- |
Shibe Park (Philadelphia, Pa.). Fiction.
Philadelphia Athletics (Baseball team). Fiction.
Baseball stories.
Friendship. Fiction.
Walls. Fiction.
Philadelphia (Pa.). Fiction.
His whole life, 12-year-old Jimmy Frank has been able to see into Philadelphia's beloved Shibe Park from his bedroom window. But when the owner of the Philadelphia Athletics fears sales on the rooftop bleachers atop homes like Jimmy's are cutting into profits, they plan to erect a wall. The Great Depression has already tightened Jimmy's family's finances and the so-called "spite wall" is sure to further jeopardize their well-being. Jimmy is willing to do just about anything to stop the Athletics from building the wall, but is his partner in crime, his neighbor and BFF Lola, just as willing? Or is the spite wall also erecting a wall in their friendship? This appealing historical middle-grade novel is perfect for fans of beloved baseball-centered novels like Linda Sue Park's Keeping Score (2008). Barr knows her baseball history and brings rich detail to mid-1930s Philadelphia. While the plot may follow a predictable arc, sports fanatics will eat up the appended material. A sweet debut about friendship and the love of the game.
Kirkus ReviewsTwelve-year-olds Jimmie and Lola will always be best friends forever. That's Rule No. 12.Shibe Park's very short right-field fence is across the street from the flat-roofed houses where they live, allowing them to see all the home games of their beloved Philadelphia Athletics from a unique perspective. Homeowners set up bleachers on the roofs (Rule No. 11), charging a small fee for fans who can't afford stadium tickets, which provides essential income for the families struggling in the Great Depression. Now Mr. Shibe wants to build a high spite fence to block their view, which will endanger their economic survival. Influenced by his other rules involving responsibility and commitment, Jimmie comes up with several harebrained schemes to stop Mr. Shibe while staying constantly watchful of the Polinski brothers, frightening neighborhood bullies (Rule No. 19). Lola abets him in his schemes, but when the dangers seem to outweigh any benefits, their friendship is nearly destroyed. Barr carefully constructs a well-paced adventure, involving some real events in a very specific time and place, while making Jimmie's worries about negotiating that world completely accessible to modern readers. All the characters, assumed white, are well-developed, even the real Connie Mack and Jimmie Foxx. Quotes from the 1934 Sporting News that head many chapters further illuminate the actual events. The wall gets built, but friendship endures.Life lessons, baseball, and good friends; it's all here. (author's note, photographs, resources) (Historical fiction. 9-12)
ALA Booklist (Fri Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2019)
Kirkus Reviews
I turn onto my back and stare at the hairline crack across the bedroom ceiling. I should be more upset, and I squeeze my eyes shut trying to find an ounce of sadness. Instead, I feel a charge of excitement as my lips curl into a smile. Every time I bury a pet fish at Shibe Park, the A's go to the World Series.
I sneak out of bed, tiptoe to my third-floor window, and gaze out at the vast baseball stadium across the street. Shibe Park looks deserted, except for a glaring spotlight under the left-field stands. I wonder if some worker left it on by accident. No time to worry about that now.
I rub my face awake, try to smooth down the pile of shaggy brown hair on my head and look for my knickers, finding them rolled up in a ball in the corner of the room. I'll need Lola's help. We have to bury Jimmie Foxx behind first base, before the sun comes up.
The Sheridans live in the row house next door, so Lola's bedroom window is only a few feet from mine. I tug on our Bingle--the name we gave the cord that runs from her window to mine--and listen for the faint ding- a-ling from the bell attached to the other end. Rule #16: Always meet on the roof when you hear the Bingle.
I gently wrap Jimmie Foxx in a handkerchief, grab my bag, and climb through the hallway skylight and onto the flat roof, our designated meeting place. I look to my left and my right, scanning the rows of rooftops for signs of anyone who might see us at this late hour, especially the Polinski brothers. They are always causing trouble in the middle of the night.
Each roof has something unique that makes it stand out, like Ma's tomato plants or her famous flowerpots, but they all have one thing in common: a set of rooftop bleachers to watch major league baseball games.
Tonight, all the bleachers are empty.
Our view of the ball field is the best on the block, right in the middle of the street. We can see easily over the short right-field wall and take in each game like we paid for the best seat in the house. Tomorrow, the street, our roof, and this ballpark will be filled with fans watching our Philadelphia Athletics play the Boston Red Sox.
I love game days. I love the roar of the crowd, the bell of the Good Humor truck, and the smells of Red Hots' sausages, steaming peanuts, and lit cigars. But at times like this, when Shibe Park is quiet and seems like it's all mine, I think I like it even more.
"I'm sorry you're dead, Jimmie," I whisper to the fish, "but we can't lose any more games. When the A's start winning again and folks pay to sit on our roof to watch, I'll think of you."
Excerpted from Goodbye, Mr. Spalding by Jennifer Robin Barr
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
Set in Philadelphia during the Great Depression, this middle-grade historical novel tells the story of a twelve-year-old boy and his best friend as they attempt to stop a wall from being built at Shibe Park, home of the Philadelphia Athletics, that would block the view of the baseball field from their rooftops.
In 1930s Philadelphia, twelve-year-old Jimmy Frank and his best friend Lola live across the street from Shibe Park, home of the Philadelphia Athletics baseball team. Their families and others on the street make extra money by selling tickets to bleachers on their flat rooftops, which have a perfect view of the field. However, falling ticket sales at the park prompt the manager and park owner to decide to build a wall that will block the view. Jimmy and Lola come up with a variety of ways to prevent the wall from being built, knowing that not only will they miss the view, but their families will be impacted from the loss of income. As Jimmy becomes more and more desperate to save their view, his dubious plans create a rift between him and Lola, and he must work to repair their friendship.