Tony and Me by Alfred Slote

While I would love to show the actual cover of the book, this could not be found on the internet because the book as been out of print for years. I read Tony and Me when I was in sixth grade and the story has stuck all these years. Have you ever moved away from your "perfect" home to a new place and tried to find new friends and a team. Bill was on a winning baseball team in California, but here in Michigan, he gets stuck with a losing one. All it seems to do is rain. But when he meets Tony, life is looking up. But Tony has a problem behavior that gets Bill in trouble too. Does being great in sports as Tony really makes up for doing wrong in life outside of baseball? What does a true friend do when the chips are down? Would you do as Bill did or did Bill take the easy way out? Let me know after you finish the story.

California Blue by David Klass

John doesn't seem to fit any where, not his family or his school or even his town. He is a runner. His father and older brothers were all football stars in a town that football is the only sport that matters. Only one teacher at school does understand him, but she is an outsider herself. During one of his runs, trespassing on timber company land, he finds a new type of butterfly. His town depends on timber and many jobs have been lost due to forest protection. If he lets the EPA know, more jobs will be gone. If he doesn't, this butterfly may be lost forever. He has to decide whether to go against his father, his school, and his town or save and name a new species for the rest of the world. But what do you owe people who never accepted you in the first place? This book is for those who find themselves not fiting in and need hope to do the right thing, even if it means your life will change forever. John's life sure does by the end of the book, but is it for the good or the bad?

Backfield Package by Thomas J. Dygard

Four friends who play for a winning high school team make a promise to each other that when recuited to play college football, they will go as a package. Only one offer comes and it is second tier school. Joe, the quarterback, is by far the best of them all, so when he gets offers to better college programs, his family tells him to take one of those offers. But how can he let his friends down especially when he knows that it their talents that help him be the star quarterback he is? Is anyone else having doubts about even going to college? If you love football, you will love the game action in this book.

Babe Ruth (Up Close M.V.P) by Wilborn Hampton

You never know what book will change your life. While this Babe Ruth biography was not the one, another one was for EML. I was 10 years old when I read it and didn't have a great home life. But reading what the Babe went through, I know I could make it through mine with ease. It gave me an anchor when I needed it. He lived his life his way, looked out for the kids, and enjoyed getting paid for playing a game. He set his records not using steriods, but eating and drinking too much. My big questions have always been, was he a better pitcher or a better hitter. This is for the reader who loves baseball and the reader who's life is not easy. Both will find a hero they need.