Matt Christopher Books

it really taught you that he didnt have the best lif

This book was very good. It told about Wayne Gretzkys life, his stats and how great he really was. Thats why his nick name is the Great One. He set more than 61 records and has set untouchable ones. This is one of the best sport books ever made.

I thought this book was sweet.I liked it because it told me about his life and how he would play hockey with kids twice his age and still get goals.It said how he would win Stanley Cups and Art Ross trophys(a highest goal scorer of the year).Ialso liked it because it wasn't very long.

I grew up in the 1960's and early 1970's reading every Matt Christopher book that came out. I was always curious ....who was Matt Christopher???
Now I really know, as his son Dale does an excellent job describing how Matt became the most prolific sports writer in the United States for young readers. A must read for all Matt Christopher fans.
From a long time reader near Cleveland

Perhaps more than any other children's author, the prolific Matt Christopher reminds kids that in order to succeed in life, you must work hard and never give up. After entertaining youngsters for more than forty years with dozens of stories that contain this important message, his son Dale now tells his story.

The son of Italian immigrants, Matt Christopher was born in 1917. A good student, and a better athlete, he had hopes of becoming a major league ballplayer. He actually played in the minors for a time before realizing he didn't quite have what it took to make it all the way. Perhaps it was this experience that made him sympathetic to the yearnings of his readers and more realistic in their eyes.

His family could not afford to send him to college, so Christopher held many jobs as a young adult. But in the back of his mind, he always wanted to be a writer. As any member of that profession can tell you, it's a very difficult career, one that can be quite harsh in bursting dreams of aspiring authors. Christopher suffered many drawbacks in the form of rejections for his stories, but it never stopped him. His persistence was rewarded fifty years ago when his manuscript for THE LUCKY BASEBALL BAT was accepted by Little, Brown and the book was published in 1954.

Following this debut, Christopher kept coming up with new ideas, updating his stories with the changing times to incorporate other sports as they became more popular, such as soccer and skateboarding, and using girls as his main characters rather than in supporting roles. (He also published mysteries for young readers, although his publisher insisted he do so under a pen name.)

Christopher also wrote several sports biographies for kids, including such inspirational favorites as Lance Armstrong, Wayne Gretzky, Mia Hamm, Tony Hawk, Michael Jordan, Mark McGuire and Tiger Woods, among others.

Dale Christopher's examination of his father --- who passed away in 1997 --- is affectionate, proud and honest. Things weren't always easy for the Christopher family, but they stuck together and were favored with a degree of fame within the children's literary community. At the conclusion of this tribute, the son cites the father's philosophy, which was the focal point in many of his stories:

"Don't ever stop doing what you believe. Don't ever let anyone stop you from realizing your dream."

--- Reviewed by Ron Kaplan (ronk23@aol.com)

I really liked the book. It gives excellent tips on soccer. The tips come from a little boy that comes from England to America. The little boy's name is Mark. And his parents are getting divorced and he comes from England and moves to America to live with his grandparents. This book is great it shows you how the little boy over came his challenges. I like how he doesn't let any of the kids on the team get to him because he has to live with his grandparents. This is a great book. I suggest it for any reader.

I thought that The Comeback Challenge was great. Mark, who was on the scorpions team, was angry that his parents, who kept on fighting, and they each wanted him to live with him or her, because they were getting a divorce. Currently, he had to live with his grandparents, until it was settled. Also, the team captain Lance, didn't really like Mark that much. At the end Mark stays with his grandparents another year. Mark was the one to tell the judge that. Also at the end the problem with Lance was solved, and Mark was elected captain for the next soccer season.

My newly-reading first grader couldn't put the book down. He finished the 47 or so pages in no time. The vocabulary was challenging, the plot interesting and the illustrations "grown up." It would be interesting to boys and girls, football fans and non-fans alike.

If your child is not reading at the 1st grade level and able to decipher a few words like "triumphant" and "defenseman", I recommend Leonard Kessler's "Kick, Pass and Run." The difficult words are one's like "receiver" or "touchdown." Would work for a younger early reader. Note that it is easier, but still about 64 pages long.

This book is so good. The dog steals football plays to make his owner's team win. They win a lot of games with his help. One day Mike told his dog not to come with him and he didn't. Guess what happened then? Read this book to figure it out. You'll love it.

i think the book was great.it talked about his childhood ,and all the rest of his life.i think that matt christopher should be the author of the year!i think the best book is on the court with michael jordan though. and if you you like basketball it will be the best book you ever read.if you like baseball then you would like at the plate with mo vaughn and at the plate with greg maddux. and finnally if you like football you would like the joe montania book rettin by matt christopher. thats why i like matt christopher so much...............

i think the book was great.it talked about his childhood ,and all the rest of his life.i think that matt christopher should be the author of the year!i think the best book is on the court with michael jordan though well i g2g c ya world

I checked this book out from my school library back in the late 70's (the original edition) and it became my favorite book. I loved it because I was left-handed, and this book was something I could really relate to. I probably read it 50 times.

Sandy is a boy who plays baseball for the Spacemen and I think he is really good at short stop.Sandy gets nervous around Rex the dog. The Spacemen are a good team. I think it is a very good book and the ending is cool.

Pressure Play is about Travis Bonnelli who is shortstop for the Seminol's baseball team and he definetly the best player! But when a horror movie contest comes up Travis is in danger of losing his starting job at short! When he gets some calls from someone telling him to shape up OR ELSE! It's a pageturning mystery! If you like baseball then you will love this book by Matt Christopher!

Pressure Play is about Travis Bonnelli who is shortstop for the Seminol's baseball team and he definetly the best player! But when a horror movie contest comes up Travis is in danger of losing he starting job at short! When he gets some calls from someone telling him to shape up OR ELSE! It's a pageturning mystery! If you like baseball then you will love this book by Matt Christopher!

Millions of boys can identify with Martin, a boy who recently moved into a new neighborhood and wants to join the local baseball team. When he sees some boys practicing, he joins them, even though he does not have a glove. An older boy gives him a bat and glove and he gets to join the team. However, at first he does not play well, as his bat is stolen and he considers it to be lucky.
After Martin pulls a young boy out of traffic, he gets his bat back and circumstances immediately change. The bat is his lucky charm and his batting average rises over .400. However, one hit is costly, as his bat breaks, leaving him distraught. Suddenly, he cannot hit the ball, even though everyone tells him it is his skills and not any magic in the bat. A local woodworker brings him his lucky bat, telling him that he was able to repair it. The hits immediately come back and he helps his team win. This book has one of the nicest endings, where Martin learns that it is his skills and drive to succeed that make the difference. It is an excellent story of not giving up, always trying hard and having confidence in your abilities.

Martin was a good baseball player and an excellent batter. Martin had a bat he assumed was lucky. Is it really lucky? That is for you to find out. I enjoy many of Matt Christopher's books and this is one of the best chapter books for younger readers.Go find out what happens to Martin and his lucky bat in this exciting tale.

This book was really good. Especialy since I love to play basketball. I have to do a report ad I'm going to do it on this book. Don't worry I'm not going to copy it straight out of the book.

I love Lisa Leslie, and this book told me alot about her. I even read it twice becuase I liked it so much!

The book I am reviewing is written by Matt Christopher. The book's name is Stealing Home. I think this book deserves five stars because the book is fun to read, has a lot of feeling, and it also is great because it has a lot of friendship in it. This book is about a kid named Joey and a foreign exchange student that comes to live with Joey. The problem in the story is that Joey is jealous that Jesus is getting all the attention and that he is a new superstar on Joey's baseball team which Joey just was. The problem is solved when Joey really thinks about how he would feel if he went away for a year and the people you were staying with were mean to you, so Joey decides to let Jesus have the best time he can have and to not be jealous. I'd recommend this book to people who like baseball. Other books written by this author are Long-Arm-Quarterback and Halfback Attack.

As an older fan of Matt Christopher books, I was very impressed with the story line in this baseball book. I would highly recommend this book as it serves as a life lesson too.