Playing Right Field

Playing Right Field
Willy Welch

Scholastic Inc
New York
2000

In this poem, the school's baseball team is playing on a bright Saturday afternoon and the score is nearly tied. The book's narrator, a lonely young boy, has been sent out to cover right field while the more athletic and popular boys share center field. The boy dreams of making the catch of his life but he knows for sure it won't happen. Suddenly, he hears the crowd roar. A quick look up in the sky, and here comes the ball! When the ball lands in his baseball mitt, the boy can't believe it. And neither can his classmates! 

Noteworthy Features:

• Illustrations: watercolor drawings
• Baseball
• School life

This is a great way to introduce to students how poetry can still tell a story like other fictional books they read. Students, especially boys, will like that the book is about baseball. The book also includes important themes such as anti-bullying and courage.

Links to Classroom Activities:

• PBS Activities