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Lucky: Maris, Mantle, and My Best Summer Ever
Louis isn’t very good at playing baseball, but he knows and loves the game more than anybody. He loves the purity of the sport, the sound of the crack of a bat, and the smell of freshly cut grass in the stadium. And more than anything, he loves the New York Yankees. So when he becomes a bat boy for the team during the summer of 1961, it is a dream come true. Lucky gives readers baseline box seats to one of the most memorable seasons in sports history, and as Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris compete in their legendary home-run race, Louis learns that the heroes he looks up to can teach him life lessons that will change him forever.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 11, 2015
Lucky features Louis, a lousy baseball player who is bullied by his step brother, and not supported by his step mother. He happens to have memorized the baseball card of all the best players, including the ones on his favorite team, the New York Yankees. One day at a Yankees game, something remarkable happens, something that will change his life the way he knows it forever.
I gave this book five stars for a few reasons. First, there was a likable main character, a young boy I could relate to. Second, it taught me things about baseball that I never knew. Finally, it was a remarkable story with great characters and a well written plot, and it retold one of the greatest summers in the history of the Yankees. I would recommend this story to any baseball fan, hardcore or not, who likes to read books that you can connect to.
I gave this book five stars for a few reasons. First, there was a likable main character, a young boy I could relate to. Second, it taught me things about baseball that I never knew. Finally, it was a remarkable story with great characters and a well written plot, and it retold one of the greatest summers in the history of the Yankees. I would recommend this story to any baseball fan, hardcore or not, who likes to read books that you can connect to.
July 7, 2012
Baseball players are real people. Even big-leaguers. Even New York Yankees. Even baseball legends chasing one of the greatest records in all of sports are real guys. Louis “Lucky” May could not have been luckier when he gets a chance to know the real Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris as they went after the great Babe Ruth’s single season home run record.
January 8, 2013
I absolutely loved this book. I had a hard time putting it down. A great example of life in for the Yankees the summer of 1961. We get to see a glimpse of the counterculture in New York City through the eyes of Louis as he navigates fitting in with his new Stepmom and Stepbrother Bryce.
December 6, 2021
GREAT book for kids with a passion for baseball! Being a baseball and Maris fan, this book was great!
October 7, 2015
One of the reasons that I could relate to this book is that when I was little I used to watch my favorite baseball players play just like Louis did. Louis watched the New York Yankees play and he always was looking for Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris.
Louis plays baseball in the back yard with his friends. He dreams about baseball everytime he plays in his backyard. I can relate to this because I play baseball in the backyard with my brother and friends.
By being the batboy Louis used it to stay out of trouble. When you are the batboy of the Yankees, you have to be at every game and you have to pay attention to the game. If you do not listen you could get fired. I know this because in this book it talks about the things that Louis had to do while he was a batboy.
I enjoyed the book Lucky because it was a really interesting book. It is one of my favorite books! This is because I like baseball and everything about it. I liked that I could relate to this book to my life. This book told you how Louis got to be the batboy for the New York Yankees.
I would recommend this book to people that like baseball books and sports books. This book is full of suspense. I feel that this book should get a thumbs up because it is so good!
Louis plays baseball in the back yard with his friends. He dreams about baseball everytime he plays in his backyard. I can relate to this because I play baseball in the backyard with my brother and friends.
By being the batboy Louis used it to stay out of trouble. When you are the batboy of the Yankees, you have to be at every game and you have to pay attention to the game. If you do not listen you could get fired. I know this because in this book it talks about the things that Louis had to do while he was a batboy.
I enjoyed the book Lucky because it was a really interesting book. It is one of my favorite books! This is because I like baseball and everything about it. I liked that I could relate to this book to my life. This book told you how Louis got to be the batboy for the New York Yankees.
I would recommend this book to people that like baseball books and sports books. This book is full of suspense. I feel that this book should get a thumbs up because it is so good!
May 31, 2014
Louis May new all there could be about baseball. He knew more about baseball then anyone. He was also very good at playing baseball. Louis didn't like where he lived, which is in New York. He doesn't really get along with his stepbrother and he really doesn't fit in with his school. He also misses his mom who is living with other poets and artists. But one day he gets a chance to become a batboy for the New York Yankees. This is like a dream to Louis to be able to be in the dugout with all the famous athletes from the New York Yankees. What Louis had predicted to be a boring summer became the best summer he ever had. He learned more than just baseball from the best players in the game.
I thought this book was good. I like this book because it was about baseball I like to play baseball and know much about baseball. I thought it was very cool that he became a batboy for the New York Yankees. I wish that this would happen to me one day. I would recommend this book to my friends that like to play baseball and like to read about baseball. I thought this book was very good.
I thought this book was good. I like this book because it was about baseball I like to play baseball and know much about baseball. I thought it was very cool that he became a batboy for the New York Yankees. I wish that this would happen to me one day. I would recommend this book to my friends that like to play baseball and like to read about baseball. I thought this book was very good.
July 14, 2011
It’s the summer of ’61 and Louis May has a lot of new things in his life. His parents have recently divorced and he and his dad have moved in with his stepmom and stepbrother in White Plains, New York. It’s an uncomfortable arrangement and Louis constantly feels that he’s getting overlooked. Baseball is the center of Louis’s life and things start to look up when he is hired on as a batboy at Yankee Stadium.
It is the summer of the homerun race between Maris and Mantle, and Louis is right in the thick of it. But being a batboy and rubbing elbows with famous ballplayers doesn’t make all of your problems go away at home, as Louis will learn quickly.
I enjoyed this book, but, if you’re not a baseball fan, I would not recommend it. The plot turns a little too easily on the unbelievable event of being hired as a batboy by the Yankees. Even worse is a cameo by Bob Dylan later in the book. I recommend to baseball fans ages 9 to 11.
It is the summer of the homerun race between Maris and Mantle, and Louis is right in the thick of it. But being a batboy and rubbing elbows with famous ballplayers doesn’t make all of your problems go away at home, as Louis will learn quickly.
I enjoyed this book, but, if you’re not a baseball fan, I would not recommend it. The plot turns a little too easily on the unbelievable event of being hired as a batboy by the Yankees. Even worse is a cameo by Bob Dylan later in the book. I recommend to baseball fans ages 9 to 11.
April 30, 2011
Wow,there is a boy named Louis and he just moved to white plains new York and he hates it. Then a miracle happened, he got the job to be the New York Yankees bat boy and his summer got to horrible to best summer ever.He got to hangout with the best Yankees to ever play on the team, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in the dugout who are trying to brake Babe Ruth's home run record for the whole season and Louis gets a front row seat to see it all happen. Louis is still not so happy,he hates his stepbrother and misses living with his mom, he just does not fit in his new school either,things are about to change, he is Now happy with his life. He still loves his New York Yankees.When he meets the greats, his life and summer change.If you like reading about sports and drama go buy this book it's amazing I loved it so pick it up and trust me you won't want to put it down
January 24, 2012
I enjoyed this book and think it would be great for middle grade boys who are big baseball fans. I think it's almost every boy's dream to be a batboy and get to know the players especially Micky Mantle and Roger Maris. The author added some depth by including some important issues like divorce, stepfamilies, and bullies. Louis is a likable character and I think the author does a good job of describing the 60's in a friendly way that kids can relate to. I only wish that he had added an author's note at the back of the book giving more information on the home run race and the careers of Micky Mantle and Roger Maris. I was also disapointed that there wasnot a page for further reading.
September 12, 2015
If you love baseball, this book is for you. Even if you don't love baseball, this book is for you. Louis, the main character, is someone you get to know well through the author's excellent characterization. He's a person you want to continue to know even after the book is finished. The themes of friendship, coming of age, bullying, divorce and baseball are effortlessly woven throughout the text of this book. Facts about the Yankees 1961 season are also included in the book as Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle chase Babe Ruth's record 60 home runs in one season. I would recommend this book to anyone in 4th-8th grade.
May 17, 2010
Baseball and summer just go hand in hand and the summer of 1961, all eyes were on New York. Would Maris and Mantle break Babe Ruth's record for the most homeruns in a single season? And Louis was somehow lucky enough to land himself a position as batboy for the Yankees. Louis learns a great deal about himself and baseball from two great players. This is sure to be a hit with kids wanting to read about baseball.
March 29, 2010
It is fitting that the chapters are named after the innings (both bottom and top). Too bad there wasn't extra innings or a double header.
Louis (Lucky) learns that "sometimes life is about timing." So maybe the Yankees outscored the Pirates, but they lost the series.
Even in 1961, it was thought off to put notes by records since more games were in a season than when Babe Ruth played. Maris didn't mind. He simply loved to play. Debates over records will likely to continue.
Louis (Lucky) learns that "sometimes life is about timing." So maybe the Yankees outscored the Pirates, but they lost the series.
Even in 1961, it was thought off to put notes by records since more games were in a season than when Babe Ruth played. Maris didn't mind. He simply loved to play. Debates over records will likely to continue.
June 5, 2012
Audience: Grades 3-8, baseball fans, boys, students who like Matt Christopher, Mike Lupica, and John Feinstein books.
Appeal: Anyone who knows baseball knows about the summer of Maris and Mantle. Reader's will envy Louis's chance to be a batboy for the Yankees and his front row seat to see the greatest show on dirt!
2012-2013 Intermediate Golden Sower Nominee
Appeal: Anyone who knows baseball knows about the summer of Maris and Mantle. Reader's will envy Louis's chance to be a batboy for the Yankees and his front row seat to see the greatest show on dirt!
2012-2013 Intermediate Golden Sower Nominee
January 8, 2013
I absolutely loved this book. I had a hard time putting it down. A great example of life in for the Yankees the summer of 1961. We get to see a glimpse of the counterculture in New York City through the eyes of Louis as he navigates fitting in with his new Stepmom and Stepbrother Bryce.
July 14, 2012
I'm enjoying this book and think it's a great "boy book" for boys who enjoy sports, especially baseball...good historical fiction also.
August 3, 2012
Great book about the Yankees for any baseball fan.
July 23, 2012
Audience: Grades 4-6, sports, baseball, baseball history, 1961
Appeal: baseball, facts, baseball cards, baseball history 1961
Award: Nebraska Golden Sower Award 2012-2013
Appeal: baseball, facts, baseball cards, baseball history 1961
Award: Nebraska Golden Sower Award 2012-2013
January 23, 2013
Good choice for avid baseball fans in grades 3-6th.
April 3, 2014
Great baseball book for boys.
June 19, 2013
If you like baseball, you'll love this book. If you are indifferent about baseball, you'll still love the characters and their adventures. Don't have to be a Yankees fan to like this book :)
January 2, 2014
Another good baseball story for the young reader/baseball lover
April 21, 2014
GREAT BOOK!!!!!! I could really connect with the main character Louis
September 23, 2015
I looked the book because it was a baseball book about historic Yankees. The best part was when the kid had caught Roger Maris' ball and was able to get the promotion of being the batboy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2015
This is one of the best young reader books I've ever read. Loved it!!!
February 7, 2016
I'm not a baseball fan, but this was quite good! All the main characters were wonderfully realized.
August 2, 2016
Set back in the early 60s when baseball was America's sport.
Want to read
May 28, 2012BL: 5.2 - AR Pts: 7.0
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews