Haunting at Home Plate

by David Patneaude

Book Overview

Nelson just wants to play baseball and maybe, one day, realize his dream of pitching. Then his manager is suspended and two players leave the team. On top of that, it seems that the park where the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 0439791340
• ISBN13: 9780439791342
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Length: 181 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Ghost Writing

This book was very very good. The athour lets you warm up and then throws you a fastball and divs straight into the action. I like how the athour really knows how to set a mood. By using such great descriptions, i felt like i was a part of the book. The plot of this book was very easy to follow because it ws a book that played out the way i knew it would. I think the building of charcters was more important than the building of the plot. Since the book was about a baseball team there were many, many, characters and i did get a little confused at times. The main character of this book was Nelson, an 11 year old boy. My first impression of Nelson was that he was an amazing player, but doesn't konw it. Later I found out he is an ordinary kid on an great team. The head coach and his super-star son get thrown off the team because of their overly competitive drive. The search is on for a new haed coach or the team can't play any games. After weeks of searching,the team recuited Nelson's older cousin Mike who is a girl. The team thought that since she was a girl she did not know anything about baseball. She proved them wrong by coaching them to a win. There is one character Andy Kirk who accidentally died near the baseball field. He leaves the team positive messages in the dirt to keep the teams morale up, hence the name of the book The Haunting at Home Plate. The messages are directions to the new coach which give her insight on batting order, positions, and game stratagy. Perhaps the messages are from Andy or Mike. I like to believ that since Andy died at this baseball field, that he was pulling for Nelson's team to win and he was the one leaving the messages. I would personally recommend this book to anyone who plays or has played baseball. My emotions randge from happy to upset while reading this book because it had left me feeling happy at some points and upset at others. For me I call it an emotional roller coaster. I would definetly read other books by this author

Haunting At Home Plate

In this story I have some things to point out.The setting was mostly at Phantom Limb Park,which was the place for the Dodgers team's baseball practices and games.Most players did not like playing at Phantom Limb Park becase it was to spooky for them, and they thought there was a ghost living there.In this story the main characters are-Mr.Conger, Andy Kirk, Gannon, Mike Nelson, Nelson's father,and the rest of the Dodgers Little League Baseball team.In this book the theme is baseball,and working together. The conflict is improving the team so they get into the playoffs.When they get through the playoffs and get to the championship,Nelson's father gets to see him play for the first time that year.After they win the championship,Nelson's dad decides to take another job so that he can spend more time with his son. The character I liked the most in this story would have to be Andy Kirk.He was the ghost writing secret ways of winning to the Dodgers Little League Baseball team. The most evil and sinister character would have to be Mr.Conger.He worked his son Gannon, and the dodgers team to no end.He would make his son run miles and miles.If he didn't live up to Mr.Conger's expectations, he would have to walk back home.After Mr Conger got kicked off the dodgers team,taking his son with him,there was relief with the new Coach Michelle (AKA Mike)(Nelsons Cousin). I enjoyed this story "Haunting At Home Plate". It was action packed and a little spooky on every page.This story was very simple to read.People that know about baseball will think this story is great because they can understand it better.At the end of the story it was the most interesting.Nelson,the main character,find one hundred year old coins used by the ghost in this story.(Andy Kirk) Another interesting point in this story is how the ghost writes secret messages to the team in the orange clay near home plate.Andy Kirk gave them tactics on where to place the players on the Dodgers team.Also he gives the team tips on what the upcoming team has,that they don't. This story did have emotion mainly about Andy Kirk's accident.The legend is told that Andy Kirk had fallen out of a twenty feet high cedar tree,while watching his brother's baseball game at Phantom Limb Park.Andy Kirk still stays in that same stop watching all the baseball games at the park mainly because he loves baseball.On the anniversary of Andy Kirk's death, the Dodgers team honors Andy, standing over the place he died, saying thank you for all of the help he had gave them. As much as I could I would pick up "Haunting At Home Plate" and read it for a long period of time.Every page in this book is so detailed and makes you want to keep reading it.Overall I would give "Haunting At Home Plate" at ten out of ten.

Haunting At Home Plate

Title of the Book: Haunting At Home PlateBy:David PatneaudeReviewed by: P. ElayathPeriod: 1 Haunting At Home Plate is a mystery book in which Nelson and his teammates try to find who is sending them helpful hints. Andy Kirk dies because he tripped and fell off the tree. Some years later, Nelson and his teammates have to use the same park with the same tree that caused the death of Andy as a practice diamond. They started getting helpful hints from some person who cares for the team. With those helpful hints, they win the championship. Even though they won, they still wondered who was writing all those messages. If you want to find out who wrote them, then read the book, Haunting At Home Plate. I liked this book because the author's feelings and experiences make you feel that you are there at the time. One of my favorite quotes were, "I breathe in the moist air and an overpowering sense that I'm really not alone in this place. The sense isn't new, it's been here all along, winking at me, poking me in the ribs." As you can see, this is a very strong quote. Another quote that also expresses emotion is, "The air hangs cool and still in the park. It's quiet. The houses and stores just outsided the park entrance seem far away. I think of coins, of warm rain in the shadow of trees." This also shows emotion because it describes how Nelson feels inside. My favorite part in the book was in the prologue . At the end of the prologue was when Andy Kirk died. I like this part because it seemed to foreshadow the events in the future. One event that this death foreshadowed was when Nelson would end up using the exact same park as a playing field. It just interested me. It kept me reading for a long period of time. If you want to read a book that is about secrets, then this is the book for you.

Baseball Boomer By:M.J.G Grade 5

It is 1949 at a baseball diamond and Andy Kirk is watching his brother play a baseball game. His brother hits a homerun and someone whipers,"Strike Three!" He falls from his tree seat, 25 feet from the ground, dying instantly! Now it is called "Phantom Limb Park." This park is now being used by Nelson,abaseball player,to practice. Haunting at Home Plate is mysterious and page turning.

A superbly written, attention gripping novel

The breeze has died. Dead quiet settles on the ballpark. Nothing is happening on the field, where a misty halo hangs around the light. But there's something or someone there. Is a ghost who has been sending messages to the ball team, helping them improve their play and make it to the playoffs? The help is welcome -- but scary in David Patneaude's superbly written, attention gripping novel, Haunting At Home Plate. Also highly recommended for school and community library collections are Patneaude's early novels available from Albert Whitman & Company: Someone Was Watching; The Last Man's Reward; Framed In Fire; and Dark Starry Morning: Stories Of This World And Beyond.