''Stumptown Kid'' is a children's novel by Carol Gorman and Ron J. Findley, first published in 2005 by Peachtree.

Synopsis

In a small Iowa town in 1952, eleven-year-old Charlie Nebraska, whose father died in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, learns the meanings of both

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

and

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

ism when he befriends a black man who had played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

in the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

Main characters

Charlie Nebraska: An eleven-year-old boy whose dad died in the Korean war. He likes to play baseball but doesn't make the community team, the Wildcats. Will Draft: Charlie's best friend. Will plays baseball for the Wildcats. Brad Lobo: Also plays for the Wildcats. He is a bully and hates Charlie. Luther Peale: Charlie's friend and dad. Former player in the Negro leagues but hurt his arm after pitching the ball that killed Ruckus Brody's Brother.

Reception

John Peters, for ''

The Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

'' called the book "competent, if unexceptional", remarking all characters fall nicely on good and bad

stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

, which might be attractive for young readers. In her review, Sharron McElmeel gives high praise for how ''Stumptown Kid'' authors tackled the subject of racism in a small community, as well as for having elements of action and mystery. McElmeel also says that the book "brings many opportunities to stimulate readers' curiosity and engage the reader in history." The presence of " emes of honesty, loyalty, and heroism" were also pointed out by Gerry Larson in his review for the ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

''. Larson also calls the story "powerful" and "fastpaced", concluding by saying: "Readers will enjoy this winning mix of sports, suspense, and heroism".

Awards and accolades

* 2005-2006 Pennsylvania Young Adult Top Forty List * Kansas State Reading Circle 2005 Recommended Reading List. Listed in the Kansas

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college st ...

"Reading Circle Catalog.

References

External links

''Stumptown Kid''
on Peachtree 2005 American novels American children's novels Baseball novels Novels set in Iowa Fiction set in 1952 Novels about racism 2005 children's books Children's books about racism Children's books set in Iowa Children's books about baseball Children's books set in the 1950s Novels set in the 1950s {{2000s-child-novel-stub