The Story behind the Story

The Music behind the Story

Reviews

Excerpts

Teacher
and Parent Resources

Book I
in the
Cruz de la Cruz Saga

Reviews of
The Boy Who Saved Baseball

• "Enthralling...at times stunning...a book filled with memorable moments."
  --Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, May 19, 2003
  
  
• "Developing both cast and multiple plotlines in suitably 'wild and woolbacious' prose, Ritter dishes up another stellar read..."
  --Starred Review, Booklist, John Peters, American Library Association
  
  
• "Characters are colorful and intriguing...Ritter's descriptive passages will have readers feeling they are actually at the ballpark tasting the swirling dust amid the authentic Mexican food cooked by the supportive townspeople. Spanish phrases blend in unobtrusively throughout the saga. This tale is peppered with both optimism and dilemmas; it has plenty of play-by-play action, lots of humor, and a triumphant ending."
  --School Library Journal, Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
  
  
• "The Boy Who Saved Baseball...is my favorite new book of the year."
  --Miami Herald, Sue Corbett, Book Editor
  
  
• "Cheerfully upends the conventions of children's sports novels.... Fun and funny, full of surprises and baseball lore."
  --BookPage, July 2003, James Neal Webb
  
  
• "Throw in some physics, ecology, astronomy, and extraordinary, eccentric characters and this fast-paced, sweet-natured tale is more than a baseball story...for more than just fans."
  --Kirkus Reviews
  
  
• "Readers will cheer this endearing new novel. John H. Ritter...delivers perfect pitches through each of 216 pages.... This book, like the best games, is a joy to experience."
  --The ALAN Review, Dr. Pamela Sissi Carroll, Professor of English Education, Florida State University
  
  
• "A down home story with all the stuff of legend--a stranger riding into town, a former hero and shadowy recluse with a secret, a grim prophecy--all served up with a substantial helping of life truths. Here is Dillontown, where a laptop slides neatly into a saddlebag, and Cruz de la Cruz, a cyber-vato desperado, not only saves el civismo, the very spirit of the town, he saves the holy game of baseball as well. Within the network of cyberspace, environmental and development issues, gender equality, cross-cultural and cross-age friendships, issues of moral choice and human understanding, The Boy Who Saved Baseball zings!"
  --Susan Vreeland, Author of Girl in Hyacinth Blue
  

Awards:

• Winner of the "Notable Children's Book" Award by the Children's Book Council
• Winner of Child Magazine's "Best Book of 2003" Award
• Named to the New York Public Library's "Books for the Teen Age" list
• Named to the Texas State Lone Star List for 2004
• Nominated in 16 states for their respective State Book Awards