{"id":40621,"date":"2022-03-17T20:56:37","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T01:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=40621"},"modified":"2022-03-17T20:56:37","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T01:56:37","slug":"review-of-much-ado-about-baseball-by-rajani-larocca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=40621","title":{"rendered":"Review of Much Ado About Baseball, by Rajani LaRocca"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Much Ado About Baseball<\/em><\/p>\n

by Rajani LaRocca<\/p>\n

Yellow Jacket (Little Bee), 2021. 312 pages.
\nReview written January 4, 2022, from a library book
\n2022 Mathical Honor Book, grades 6-8<\/a><\/p>\n

12-year-old Trish is new in town. She\u2019s used to being the only girl on the baseball team and the only girl and sixth grader on the Math Puzzler team \u2013 but just when her old teammates had gotten used to her, now she has to win over a new team. Her brother Sanjay has encouraged her to win them over by being good at baseball.<\/p>\n

Ben is back on the baseball team this summer after two years off. And he\u2019s upset when he sees Trish \u2013 the girl who beat him for the Individual Math Puzzler championship. Now she\u2019s going to do better than him at baseball? But they both love math and baseball, so shouldn\u2019t they be friends?<\/p>\n

There are hints of something magical happening this summer, some amazing treats, and then two magical books of math puzzles show up at Trish\u2019s house and at Ben\u2019s house. Ben right away figures out it\u2019s magic, but Trish thinks it\u2019s probably some special formula invisible ink. But either way, there are some fun and challenging math puzzles to solve, woven into this story of baseball, rivalry, and friendship.<\/p>\n

Perhaps if I knew the Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing<\/em> better, the plot wouldn\u2019t have seemed quite as random. The magic didn\u2019t really seem to operate with rules, but perhaps chaotic fairy magic, as in A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/em> doesn\u2019t need to. Anyway, it was a fun story, and for me the math puzzles woven in made it even more fun. There\u2019s material at the back taking some of the concepts further.<\/p>\n

RajaniLaRocca.com<\/a>
\nyellowjacketreads.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Fiction\/much_ado_about_baseball.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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