about the book
Forbes, Pennsylvania, is in big trouble. A couple of years ago the competition took out the last big employer in town, Forbes Flyers, an athletic shoe factory. Now other businesses are closing, and more and more families are forced to leave.
Will Tyler and his widowed dad are just barely hanging in there. Will doesn’t mind not having much as long as he can play football. Though he is small, Will is actually really fast. He flies down the field, hits the hole, and finds the end zone.
Last year he made sixteen touchdowns in eight games. Unfortunately, last year he fumbled the ball during the big championship game against their arch rivals. This year, he needs a chance to prove himself.
But it looks like he is not going to get to make that big win. Two weeks ago the city council made the final decision. The football program is out. There is no money.
Can he raise the money himself? He has two weeks to get the helmets, padding, uniforms, membership fees, field maintenance, emergency service, insurance, and to make repairs on the crumbling stadium! In desperation, he writes an impassioned letter to one of the competitors that killed the Forbes Flyers. Ecstatic, he learns they agree to fund the team!
Just when he thinks all his troubles are over, he has another disturbing realization. Most of the good players have left town and the coach is gone! There aren’t even enough kids to make up a squad. Forget about a championship team!
That won’t stop Will. He just needs to convince his dad to coach and talk the other guys into accepting Hannah Grayson—with her killer kick and great throwing arm—onto the team.
about the author
Born in Oneida, New York, Mike Lupica spent his childhood in Nashua, New Hampshire, playing sports and reading Hardy Boys mysteries, science adventures, and books about sports. He graduated from Boston College.
His first job was covering the New York Knicks basketball team and, at 23, he was hired by the New York Post, becoming the youngest columnist of any New York City paper. Besides being a syndicated newspaper columnist, he is a television and radio commentator and an anchor. He also writes magazine articles, sports biographies, autobiographies (co-authored) for Reggie Jackson and Bill Parcells, non-fiction books, and novels for both adults and children.
For young boys, Mike writes realistic sports-related stories that involve normal boys, with themes of friendship, loyalty, and never giving up. Although his characters are usually the underdogs, he never gives them more than they can handle!
Mike lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his wife Taylor and their three sons and a daughter. Mike spends a lot of his free time coaching kid’s soccer and basketball teams.
Sources:
Author website
Author biography : Wikipedia
Author biography : BookBrowse
Author interview : Time for Kids
Also by Mike Lupica:
Hero. Philomel. 2010.
The Batboy. Philomel. 2010.
Million-Dollar Throw. Philomel. 2009.
The Big Field. Philomel. 2008.
Summer Ball. Philomel. 2007.
Miracle on 49th Street. Philomel. 2006.
Heat. Philomel. 2006.
Travel Team. Philomel. 2004.
read more!
Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica
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No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman
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War and Watermelon by Rich Wallace
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