Alfred Slote

I wanted to read Make-Believe Ball Player because I had heard somewhere that it was a cute story, which it indeed turned out to be. It probably took less than an hour to read, so it felt more like a short story than a full book, but it was pretty enjoyable. In fact, I think "cute" is probably the perfect word to describe it. As with a lot of sports stories, it's about a lovable, quirky kid who's turns out to be an unlikely hero. I wouldn't call it memorable, but it was worth the time it took to read.… (more)

Jason is dropped from his little league baseball team, and sets out to start a new team, but he needs a coach. He thinks he's found the perfect one in Mack Henry, the old black custodian of an elementary school, when he discovers that Mr. Henry is actually the great Buck McHenry, a star of the Negro Baseball League many years ago. But Mr. Henry denies that he is the great ball player from the past. Eventually, he admits he is Buck, but makes Jason, as well as his two teammates, Kim and Aaron (Mr. Henry's grandson) promise never to tell anyone who he really is. The kids make the promise, and then break the promise immediately, and repeatedly.
Mr. Henry seems unusually forgiving of their dishonesty, but (spoiler alert) it turns out he's being a bit dishonest himself. He actually is not Buck McHenry, although he did play a lot of baseball in his younger years. And since it's an elementary age book, everything is happy in the end.
This is a simplistic story about racism and baseball, which it handles pretty well; and about honesty, which it addresses poorly, since neither the dishonesty of the characters, nor others reactions to their dishonesty comes across as believable.… (more)