Fantasy Baseball

Gr 4—7—Alex, 12, finds himself on a bus filled with fantastic creatures, and no memory of getting there. He soon learns that he's in the midst of a baseball tournament in the land of Ever After. He's on a team, the Oz Cyclones, led by Dorothy, in her ruby cleats, and her story-book teammates: Toad, the Patchwork Girl, Tik-Tok, and Br'er Rabbit. Their rivals are also book characters; at one point, they play an all-heroines' team, but Alex doesn't recognize any of them: "He only ever read books about girls if his teacher made him." Alex is told he is a Lark, someone dreamed up by a person who is seriously ill. As he begins to die in the real world, Alex makes an enemy of the Big Bad Wolf and needs the protection of Nanny Mae and her cat, Mrs. P. Chock-full of whimsical references to children's literature, the plot builds rapidly with mile-a-minute action and well-drawn sports scenes. The mood ranges from lighthearted humor to grim melodrama, as Alex faces death. With some bumpy transitions, at times the book feels overburdened by its complex plot; however, Gratz saves the day with engaging, multilayered characters and attention to detail. Suggest this inventive sports fantasy to readers who've enjoyed Paul Haven's Two Hot Dogs with Everything (Random, 2006) or Julianna Baggott's The Prince of Fenway Park (HarperCollins, 2009).—Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA