Aaron is a 12-year-old baseball phenom, but only when he’s playing in the field. At the plate, he struggles. Now, it’s the last inning of the last game of the season, and Aaron’s in the batter’s box, down by one with the bases loaded.
Just as he steps up to the plate, Aaron spots his superstar-athlete older brother, Will, who completely abandoned him at the worst possible time. Can Aaron come through in the clutch when his team needs him most, and will his brother come through for him and their family?
This fourth book from the In the Clutch series hooks readers with a do-or-die moment from youth sports, then rewinds to show how the book’s young athletes find themselves needing to perform under pressure.
Tae has moved twice in his life. First, from South Korea to the United States when he was adopted as a baby, and then to a new town before he starts high school.
In Tae’s new school, he’s one of the youngest players, and the only person of color, trying out for the Varsity soccer team―a team known for its violent hazing practices. Tae wants more than anything to be part of the team, but worries about fitting in. Then, he sees a familiar face.
Luke is a soccer star on his way to scoring a role as the team captain and a full ride to college, but no one knows his secret―that he was adopted too. Tae and Luke met in an adoption group years before, and Luke’s first instinct is to help Tae fit in. But tradition is tradition, and Luke might not be able to save Tae from being hurt in the hazing rituals without risking his own reputation.
Hockey player Griffin Tardiff is starting Grade 11 in a new school, new home, new town. He has not been able to play hockey for months because of a broken arm and now is also cut off from his hockey friends and his on-again, off-again girlfriend. Floundering to find a new focus, he gets an opportunity for school credit to work at the local radio station with the hockey guy. It's a break (no pun intended) that fits with his abilities as a writer and his fascination with the game. It's not long before he has made a strong positive impression.
In his new neighborhood, Griff befriends a young boy, Noah, as he practices his ball hockey shots in the driveway. The boy would love to be a hockey player but his mother has vetoed that because of the costs of the hockey program. And Noah's older sister does not seem interested in encouraging her brother or in the older boy who has become a mentor to Noah. Then one night, Noah bursts in to Griff's home terrified because of something that has been happening at his home. Now Griff must face a complicated reassessment about his radio station mentor and several aspects of his new life. Jean Mills' astute insights into the hockey world as well as her ability to penetrate the emotional lives of teenagers makes this a compelling page-turner.
Why are you able to jump higher from a trampoline than from the ground? What forces are at work when you do an ollie on a skateboard? The answer is: physics! In The Physics of Fun, kids ages 12 to 15 explore the science behind awesome activities that kids love. From Newton’s laws of motion to the behavior of electrons, the science of physics is an integral part of any amusement park, play center, video arcade or home gaming center. Links to online media, discussion questions and career connections offer middle schoolers the chance to do some real, hands-on science around fun activities they already enjoy!
When a boy struggles after moving to a Japanese internment camp during WWII, baseball shows him another way to approach life.
Sandy Saito is a happy boy who reads comic books and is obsessed with baseball --- especially the Asahi team, the pride of his Japanese Canadian community. But when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, his life, like that of every other North American of Japanese descent, changes forever. His family is forced to move to a remote internment camp, and his father must spend months away from them. Sandy, his mother and his brother cope as best they can with the difficulties at the camp. Over time, Sandy comes to realize that life is a lot like baseball. It's about dealing with whatever is thrown at you, however you can. And it's about finding your way home.
In this emotionally gripping graphic novel, J. Torres has artfully woven a fictional story into a historically accurate, thoroughly researched account of the events surrounding the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. Using the approachable graphic novel format, the story of this grave chapter in North American history is gently told with sensitivity and insight, and the theme of baseball runs through the story as a message of hope and renewal. The time and place are evocatively rendered in David Namisato's detailed sepia-toned art. Along with its links to social studies and history lessons, this book offers a perfect lead-in to discussions about differences, inclusion and empathy, and about why this history is relevant today. The book includes extended background information in an afterword by Susan Aihoshi and resources for learning more.
Can Aiden learn to stand his ground on his new home ice?
Meet Aiden Mallory. He’s trying to find his bearings while coping with the loss of his father — an NHL player who died in a car accident — and moving back to his dad’s hometown of Prairie Field, where he is STILL a big deal.
Aiden loves hockey, but his feelings about moving and his dad’s death cause him to struggle at tryouts. Then the minor hockey association announces a brand-new U13 tournament: the Luke Mallory Memorial. As Aiden tries to find his place on his new team, and among his new teammates, he will do anything he can to live up to his dad’s legacy. But what happens when Aiden’s determination to play well puts everything else at risk?
From Lorna Schultz Nicholson comes a powerful portrayal of a boy’s experiences with anxiety as it relates to sports and friendship and grief.
There are novels that include some ice hockey action, and then there are true ice-hockey novels with nonstop, satisfying hockey action, characters and storyline. Author Lorna Schultz Nicholson, a former hockey player and coach herself, serves up the latter.
Sixth-grader Aiden is not just reeling from having lost his hockey-legend father. He is struggling to adapt to a new town and team, put up with a bullying teammate and live up to his father’s reputation. This novel isn’t about how he plays so much as how he rises above these challenges by finding his inner coach and learning to generate positive energy.
Will the Hockey Super Six thwart their enemy’s plans for world domination in book two of this action-packed series?.
In the second book pitting six ordinary kids with super hockey skills against the forces of evil, Jenny, Benny, Mo, Starlight, DJ and Karl desperately need to stay out of Crosscheck’s grasp!
Their last run-in revealed to evil scientist (and former mediocre goalie) Clarence Crosscheck the scope of some of their secret powers — powers he can use in his never-ending quest for world domination. Hard at work on a robot army to do his bidding, Crosscheck underestimates how strong the Super Six can be when they work together as a team Get ready for high-stakes ice battles, non-stop hijinks and never-before-seen hockey action (it’s kids vs robots, and some giant lizards too)!
Ed Warnicki used to play football in the park with his dad and dream of being a great receiver. Now, at fourteen, Ed secretly wishes he could play for his Calgary High Mustangs team. But he worries that he's too tall, too skinny and too insecure -- the exact opposite of star quarterback Tyrone Jackson. Wanting to contribute to the school's football team in some way, Ed accepts the job of waterboy. Tyrone teases Ed about his build, his old bike and his obvious crush on Tyrone's girlfriend and school sports reporter Zara, and one day at practice throws a ball right at Ed's head. Ed's instincts kick in and he makes a decent catch! So when the team's top receiver gets injured, Ed joins the team as back-up receiver. Getting annoyed that Zara seems to prefer Ed's company to his own, Tyrone won't pass to Ed, and even calls a play he knows could get Ed hurt. But the big game against their rival team puts school pride and Ed's confidence on the line. Will Tyrone throw to Ed? Can Ed catch a crucial pass and make his dreams of being a football hero come true?
It’s a new summer at Camp Avalon―which Mack and his friends still affectionately call Camp Average. After last season’s big baseball victory, camp director Winston wants to continue the winning streak. So he’s launched a competitive program for elite athletes―including a new group of girl campers.
When Winston enters his charges in a high-stakes basketball tournament, Mack opts out in favor of other, less competitive activities. But Mack starts to suspect he’s being played, as one by one, his favorite camp activities all get closed for repairs.
Meanwhile, Winston pits boys against girls in a twisted attempt to win. To undermine Winston’s hypercompetitive scheme once again, Mack creates a plan of his own―but it means he needs to secretly sabotage both the boys’ and girls’ teams. Will Mack match wits with Winston and save the camp from the diabolical director’s clutches once and for all? Or will Mack’s own mischief be exposed-and lose him his summer and his friends? The second Camp Average book is a fast-paced and funny addition to this all-star series.
Westlock is an hour north of Edmonton, a prairie town with a long baseball history. But registrations are down, and there are only enough kids in town to fill one team. So Mo Montpetit's team is entered into the Baseball Alberta AA league. All the kids registered will be playing rep ball. No tryouts needed.
Mo's dad is a baseball legend in Westlock. And that's Mo's problem. Mo isn't very good. He can't hit a rep-level fastball. And as the season starts, the strikeouts and errors mount. The Westlock team loses game after game. How can these kids, not ready for rep ball, compete in a league well above their heads? And how can Mo step out of his dad's long shadow?