Blast from the Past--the Barnstormers/Sluggers Series

Getting-near-the-end-of-summer greetings, guys. Some of you have already started school and some of you (like the kids in Charlotte) have another whole week until that first day. But in either case, it's

still summer. Glorious summer! There are still sports to see and play, there are still places to go (a lot of people in Charlotte head down to the beach) and there are still cool books to read. So that's why the Iron Guy wants to recommend what may be the perfect summer books--the Barnstormers/Sluggers series by Loren Long and Phil Bildner. I read these and wrote about them a long time ago but I still see them getting checked out, so I know kids are still reading them. As I said, these are perfect for summer--they have baseball, magic, travel, danger and suspense, all wrapped up in six terrific books. You want to know what they're about? Here's a brief summary I wrote in 2008:

It's about the Payne family; the three kids Griffith, Ruby, Graham and their mom. Where's the father? He didn't come back from the Spanish-American War (the books are set in 1899) The father's friends from the war (they were all in Colonel Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders) formed a baseball team called the Travelin' Nine. They plan to go around the country and play exhibition games in order to raise money for the Payne family, who owes ten thousand dollars! The father left them his baseball, but when the kids put their hands on it, strange things, and I mean really strange things, happen during the games. Could the baseball be magic? And who is this creepy guy called The Chancellor and why does Uncle Owen tell the kids to beware of him? Why does Uncle Owen tell them that they are in  very great danger, particularly young Graham? And, whatever they do, don't let the Chancellor know about the ball!!!You got to read these books!!! They'll suck you into the story and make you want to get the next one right away!!


Yes, indeed, you've got to read these books! The library system has plenty of copies, If you'd like to know more about them, click on the "Barnstormers" or the "Sluggers" tabs under this post. (the series changed its name from "Barnstormers" to "Sluggers" halfway through the series) Don't waste a moment, boys--you're gonna love them!