The missing baseball

Review by Booklist Review

Eight-year-old twins Zach and Zoe both love sports, so they're looking forward to Spirit Week, when third-graders compete in races, contests, and a baseball game. For a special show-and-tell session, the students present things that are important to them. Zach brings in the treasured baseball that he caught after his favorite player hit it over the Green Monster at Fenway Park. When the ball goes missing, Zoe turns detective, observing and investigating with Zach's help until the case is solved. This volume leads off the Zach & Zoe Mysteries series, aimed at readers who are moving up to chapter books. A New York Daily News columnist as well as the author of sports fiction for adults, young adults, and middle-grade kids, Lupica writes with clarity and keeps the story moving at a good pace. Occasional grayscale illustrations add visual appeal. While many of the characters and their relationships seem idealized, young readers who enjoy sports and mysteries may find this series a good choice. The second volume, The Half-Court Hero, will be published simultaneously.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2018 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 1-4-Zach and Zoe are twins with a passion for sports of all kinds. In the first entry of this new series, The Missing Baseball, Zach brings his most special autographed baseball to school for sharing with his classmates. It goes missing, and Zoe is on the case. In between gathering clues, the twins play soccer, basketball, and baseball. The mystery comes to a gentle ending and a climatic baseball game is won by Zoe with good sportsmanship shown by her loyal brother. In the second title, The Half-Court Hero, the twins are in a weekend basketball tournament. The court where they are to play is in pretty rough shape: broken benches, no nets, and it's in need of repainting. A mysterious benefactor begins nightly repairs on the court, and Zoe and Zach gather clues to solve the mystery of the do-gooder. All is neatly wrapped up at the end of this short chapter book. Zach and Zoe are likable and kind to each other, and their parents are supportive. Lupica knows how to write sports action with a heart, but his skill as a mystery writer for the chapter book crowd is not as refined. The clues are a bit too obvious and the resolution to the puzzles is not terribly engaging. Kids will appreciate that the sports action doesn't focus on just one sport per title, but the mystery elements won't keep many readers puzzling-they will have figured it out long before the twins do. VERDICT Give these to young readers who are looking for easy sports fiction or who are new to the mystery genre. An additional selection.-John Scott, Friends School of Baltimore © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Horn Book Review

Readers will find more sports than mystery in these undemanding chapter-book capers starring eight-year-old twins Zach and Zoe. Writing with a quick pace, Lupica checks the boxes of sportsmanship, gender equity, multiculturalism, and strong family relationships. Filling a need in many libraries, this illustrated series is suited for newly independent readers working toward Lupica's popular middle-school sports novels. [Review covers these Zach & Zoe Mysteries titles: The Football Fiasco, The Half-Court Hero, and The Missing Baseball.] (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Lupica kicks off a new series starring a pair of 8-year-old twins who solve sports-themed mysteries.Even the pleasures of competing in various events during his school's Spirit Week dim a smidge for Zach Walker when the prized autographed baseball he brings to his third-grade class for show and tell vanishes. Happily, his bookish but equally sports-loving sister, Zoe, is on the case, and by the time of the climactic baseball game at week's end, she has pieced together clues and deductions that lead to the lost treasurewhich had not been stolen but batted through an open window by the teacher's cat and stashed in a storage shed by the custodian. In the co-published sequel, The Half-Court Hero, the equally innocuous conundrum hangs on the identity of the mysterious "guardian angel" who is fixing up a run-down playground basketball court. Along with plenty of suspenseful sports action, the author highlights in both tales the values of fair play, teamwork, and doing the "right thing." The Walker family presents white, but in both the narrative and Danger's appropriately bland (if inappropriately static) illustrations, the supporting cast shows some racial and ethnic diversity.Wholesome, uncomplicated fare for the younger Matt Christopher crowd. (Fiction. 7-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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"It's just a baseball," Zoe Walker said to her brother, Zach. "You have lots of signed baseballs." Zach and Zoe Walker were eight, and they were twins. They didn't look exactly alike, but they did think a lot alike. They just didn't always think exactly alike. Like right now, for instance. They were eating breakfast at the kitchen table before school. Zach knew his sister was both right andwrong. He did have a lot of signed baseballs, that much was true. Some were gifts from his parents. Some he had gotten signed by professional baseball players. Zach and Zoe's father, Danny, worked as a sports reporter on TV. Often, he would take Zach and Zoe to special events where they got to meet the players face-to-face. But the ball they were talking about now was different from the others. Zach loved that ball more than the rest, and he was sure Zoe knew it.  The twins loved competing against each other in almost everything. In fact, Zoe even made talking a competition. She seemed to be doing it now. "It's not just another ball," Zach said. "Youknow it's the ball Will Hanley hit for a homerun--the ball I caught!" It had happened a couple of weeks before. Their parents took Zach and Zoe to a gameat Fenway Park. Zach's favorite player, Will Hanley, was playing. His team only visited Boston once each season. The family all sat inthe Monster Seats at Fenway. The Monster Seatsare on top of the famous wall in left field called the Green Monster. Looking down at the fieldfrom their seats, Zach couldn't believe how small everything looked. It was almost as if they were watching a game in their backyard. "I know Will Hanley is your favorite baseball player," Zoe said. "And I know why. He's smaller than just about everybody in Major League Baseball. But he plays big, same as you." "And he's a second baseman, same as me,"Zach added, as he spooned cereal into his mouth. "But even though he's your favorite player, and even though you caught that home run ball," Zoe said, "it's still just a ball. " She smiled to herself, like she'd just won the argument. Zach glanced over at their mom, who was grinning from across the kitchen. She pointed to her watch, which meant it was almost time to walk to the corner to catch their school bus. "You know what I always tell you," their mom said. "It's not the souvenirs that matter. It's the memories that go with them." "But that's the thing," Zach said. "This ball is part of my memory." Excerpted from The Missing Baseball by Mike Lupica 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.

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