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12 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Peachtree Publishers • 1700 Chattahoochee Avenue • Atlanta, GA 30318 Fred Bowen is the author of Peachtree’s popular Fred Bowen Sports Story and All-Star Sport Story series. A lifelong sports fanatic, he has coached youth league baseball, basketball, and soccer. His kids’ DISCUSSION GUIDE sports column “The Score” appears each week in the KidsPost section of the Washington Post. Bowen lives in Maryland. http://www.fredbowen.com THE FRED BOWEN SPORTS STORIES SERIES REVIEWS “The books in the Fred Bowen Sports Story series are fast-paced, and at just over Fred Bowen’s fast-paced middle-grade stories offer 100 pages, they’re perfect for reluctant readers…. Young readers will devour readers themes of competition, cooperation, facing these stories, along with their painless lessons, and still have time to join their change, gender roles, overcoming challenges, and new friends for games.” —School Library Journal experiences in addition to play-by-play action, snappy “Bowen does fantastic sports books.... He is definitely the new Matt Christopher.” dialogue, and engaging plots. Bowen’s books are not the usual sports- —YA Books Central fiction fare; each book loops in a little sports history and includes back matter with fascinating glimpses into that history and the heroes who Hardcourt Comeback: “This entry in the Fred Bowen Sports Story series is flush with made it happen. life lessons about perseverance, dedication, and picking oneself up after a hard knock, not to mention loads of on-court action. It reads like a successful drive to the hoop—quick, purposeful, and effective.” BASEBALL: BASKETBALL: —Booklist Dugout Rivals The Final Cut The Golden Glove Full Court Fever “Excellent reading for sports-oriented students ages 7–12. The exciting narrative The Kid Coach Hardcourt Comeback and page-turning action keep junior reader interest peaked.” Perfect Game Off the Rim —Midwest Book Review Playoff Dreams On the Line Throwing Heat Real Hoops “Bowen shares a wonderful trait with that other great sports writer for kids, Mike T.J.’s Secret Pitch Lupica; they are both sports journalists. Bowen writes a sports column for kids in Winners Take All SOCCER: The Washington Post, and the spare, action-orientated writing of the sports Go for the Goal! journalist draws boys. It also helps that he knows his stuff. Bowen writes sports FOOTBALL: stories, not novels with a little sports.” Out of Bounds —www.talestoldtall.com Double Reverse Soccer Team Upset Quarterback Season “Fred Bowen never disappoints. His many action-packed novels speak to the Touchdown Trouble hearts and minds of young sports lovers, and he demonstrates know-how and grace in writing about baseball, basketball, soccer and football.” —Washington Parent Magazine 1700 Chattahoochee Avenue • Atlanta, GA 30318 www.peachtree-online.com www.peachtree-online.com 800-241-0113 12 Discussion Guide: Dugout Rivals But describe Adam from Jake’s point of view. How has Jake’s point of view DISCUSSION GUIDE changed since the beginning of the story? CHAPTERS 7–9: At the end of Chapter 9, Adam’s mom invites Jake to spend the night. Reread that scene. Explain the sentence: “Jake stood in the middle of Dugout Rivals everyone, feeling as if he were invisible.” Written by Fred Bowen PB: 978-1-56145-515-7 CHAPTERS 10–12: Also available in e-book How does the setting in Chapter 10—the sleepover at Adam’s house— AR • RC • Lexile • F&P / GRL Q; Gr 4 show a different side of Adam? How does the sleepover affect the way Jake Discussion Guide prepared by Peggy Jackson thinks about Adam? CHAPTERS 13–16: ABOUT THE BOOK At the beginning of the story, Jake wants to be the star of the team and he is Jake is pumped about the upcoming season. There’s a new kid on the team frustrated that Adam is getting so much attention. By the end of the story, who is amazing. His name is Adam and he can do it all—pitch, hit, and field. Jake feels very differently. He doesn’t need to be the star; he is happy to be But then Adam’s talents start to dominate every game and Jake resents all the an important teammate. Why did he change? attention he’s getting. Everything changes, however, when Jake learns something about Adam and something about himself. OVERALL QUESTION: In just a few words, write down what this whole story is about (the overall THEMES theme or big idea). Explain your response. Friendship | Jealousy | Empathy | Divorce | Teamwork | Sports | Baseball Learning that everyone cannot be the “star” “THE REAL STORY” FOLLOW-UP QUESTION: How does the information in “The Real Story” relate to the theme or the plot of the book? WRITING PROMPTS / DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ALIGNED with COMMON CORE READING STANDARDS DIRECTIONS: Use details from the text to support ALL of your responses. CHAPTERS 1–3: Chapter 1 ends with Jake thinking this is going to be his year. What does he mean by that? At the end of Chapter 3, Jake is worried and thinks, “Maybe this isn’t going to be my year after all.” What happened? Why did Jake’s mood change? 404-876-8761 • 800-241-0113 | fax 404-875-2578 • 800-875-8909 www.peachtree-online.com CHAPTERS 4–6: Ada m seems like a nice guy. He’s helpful and encourages his teammates. Copyright ©2015 by Peachtree Publishers. All rights reserved. 12 Discussion Guide: The Golden Glove How can you tell? Why does Alex think that the Porters stole Jamie’s glove? DISCUSSION GUIDE Could there be other reasons he thinks the Porters stole the glove? How does the author create tension in the scene in chapter 6 when the boys sneak into the Porters’ garage to look for Jamie’s glove? The Golden Glove CHAPTERS 7–9: How can you tell that Jamie’s younger brother Brad wants to leave the table Written by Fred Bowen in chapter 7? Why do you think he wants to leave? Describe the relationship PB: 978-1-56145-505-8 Also available in e-book between Jamie and Brad. Compare Jamie’s borrowed glove (described in AR • RC • Lexile • F&P / GRL O; Gr 3 chapter 8) to the one he lost (described in chapter 1). Compare how Jamie played with his “golden glove” in chapter 2 with the way he plays with the Discussion Guide prepared by Peggy Jackson borrowed glove in chapter 9. ABOUT THE BOOK CHAPTERS 10–12: When Jamie loses his lucky glove, his parents refuse to buy him a new one. What is Pete Bikakis like? What details does the author include about him? He thinks two guys in the neighborhood—the Porter brothers—stole it and How do Pete’s stories about early baseball gloves help Jamie? What does the he sets out to get it back. After a tense few minutes secretly rummaging Honus Wagner quote, “There ain’t much to being a ballplayer if you’re a through the boys' garage, Jamie gives up looking for it. He ends up ballplayer” mean? Why is the word “if” italicized? List some of Pete’s borrowing a glove, but it's not the same as his old one and his self-confidence instructions about fielding. sinks. He begins to believe in himself when he discovers some interesting items in the back room of a local sports shop. CHAPTERS 13–15: Describe the game between the Giants and Braves in three or four words. THEMES Compare how Jamie fields the ball in the Braves game with Pete’s fielding Hard work | practice | determination | baseball history | mystery instructions. What does this comparison tell you? Describe how Jamie’s responsibility | personal growth feelings toward the Porters have changed over the course of the book. How did Jamie’s glove get lost? How do you know? OVERALL QUESTION: WRITING PROMPTS / DISCUSSION QUESTIONS In just a few words, write down what this whole story is about (the overall ALIGNED with COMMON CORE READING STANDARDS theme or big idea). Explain your response. DIRECTIONS: “THE REAL STORY” FOLLOW-UP QUESTION: Use details from the text to support ALL of your responses. How does the information in “The Real Story” relate to the theme or the plot of the book? CHAPTERS 1–3: How does the author let you know that Jamie cares a lot about his glove? Describe the baseball game in chapter 2. What are the Porter brothers like? How do Jamie and Alex feel about them? CHAPTERS 4–6: 404-876-8761 • 800-241-0113 | fax 404-875-2578 • 800-875-8909 How does Jamie feel about going into the park at night to look for his glove? www.peachtree-online.com Copyright ©2016 by Peachtree Publishers. All rights reserved. 12 Discussion Guide: The Kid Coach feel about coaching his first official game? How can you tell? What big DISCUSSION GUIDE decision does Scott have to make near the end of the game against the Expos? What is his decision? How does it affect the outcome of the game? CHAPTERS 7–9: The Kid Coach What device does the author use in chapter 7 to tell the reader how the Written by Fred Bowen Tigers are doing? What solutions do the kids suggest to help the team? PB: 978-1-56145-506-5 Compare and contrast Scott and Drew’s reactions to the suggestions. What Also available in e-book are some things Benny’s statistics tell Scott about the Tigers? What secret AR • RC • Lexile • F&P / GRL P; Gr 3 does Scott learn about Benny? Why does Benny want Scott to keep it a secret? Discussion Guide prepared by Peggy Jackson CHAPTERS 10–12: ABOUT THE BOOK Looking at the statistics in chapter 10… When the Tigers lose their coach, they decide to coach themselves.