<![CDATA[Busted]]>

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Phil went to work for a large Manhattan law firm; however, after working there for about a year, Phil realized a career in the field of law was not for him. Phil’s first love was always teaching and working with children, so he decided to pursue a career in education. Phil went back to school and earned a master’s degree in elementary education from Long Island University.

At the same time, Phil also began teaching in the New York City Public Schools. For his first five years as a teacher, he taught fifth and sixth grade in the Tremont section of the South Bronx. Because of the poor conditions at the school, Phil often had to teach without classroom basics – paper, pencils or chalk for the blackboard. As a result, he had to devise creative and innovative ways to conduct his class. He incorporated music and song lyrics into his language arts curriculum, and his inspired approach brought musical groups such as the Dave Matthews Band, Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveler, and Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean of The Fugees to his classroom. Phil’s class was also featured on the CBS television program, Coast to Coast.

In 1998, Phil transferred schools, to P.S. 333, the Manhattan School for Children, located in Upper Manhattan. For six years, Phil taught English and American History to the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Of course, at MSC, his classroom continued to be a playground for creativity. He once again integrated music and the arts into his curriculum by working with Lincoln Center, theatre companies, Off-Broadway shows, and various museums and cultural institutions

During his tenure at MSC, Phil’s first picture book was published by Simon & Schuster. Not surprisingly, Phil incorporated his experiences as a writer into his teachings. As a year-end project, students picked a topic in history or an historical figure, researched the subject area, and shaped it into their own books to be shared with their peers as well as with children in younger grades.

Phil left the classroom in 2006 in order to write full time. In addition to his picture books (Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy, The Shot Heard ‘Round the World, Twenty One Elephants, The Greatest Game Ever Played, Turkey Bowl, The Hallelujah Flight) and teen novels (Playing the Field, Busted), Phil is the co-creator (with Loren Long) of The New York Times bestselling chapter book series, Sluggers! This winter, the fifth and penultimate book in the series hits shelves.

But Phil’s love for teaching wouldn’t allow him to stay away from educational experiences for very long. In July 2007, he began chaperoning student-volunteer trips to Hurricane Katrina-ravaged New Orleans. This year, he founded The NOLA Tree, a non-profit service organization through which he strives to bring his beliefs in community and equality to new heights. Working with non-profit and service organizations around the world, Phil has set out to create unprecedented and unparalleled volunteer and learning experiences for the leaders of tomorrow.

]]> 608885 1416924248 9781416924241 6 <![CDATA[Busted]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176264054m/608885.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176264054s/608885.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/608885.Busted 3.14 22 In high school, anyone can get busted.

It could be the senior class ski trip, or maybe it's the way you cope with the school bully, or how you entertain yourself in the world's most boring class. Every kid has some secret crime, something that they are afraid they'll get in trouble for. In Busted, four different stories take place throughout one year at Coldwater Creek High School and intertwine to show that no one, whether you are an honors student or the best athlete in school, is safe from getting busted.

]]> 53251 3.51 100 22 2007 477099 1416918639 9781416918639 3 <![CDATA[Barnstormers: Game 1]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175092529m/477099.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175092529s/477099.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/477099.Barnstormers_Game_1 3.33 18 53251 3.51 100 22 2007 608886 1416902848 9781416902843 4 <![CDATA[Playing the Field]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176264055m/608886.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176264055s/608886.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/608886.Playing_the_Field 3.55 11 All Darcy wants is to play on the baseball team, to hear her name announced, "Now batting, Darcy Miller," to play the field. Is that so much to ask? Unfortunately, it might be. In a few short months, Darcy Miller goes from typical senior in high school to candidate for Jerry Springer. Her mom has started dating Darcy's principal, the very principal whose son Darcy happened to have started a huge flirt-fest with, now brought to a screeching halt. When she decides to let her mom go to bat (so to speak) for her to play on the baseball team, Darcy thinks things are starting to look up. After all, Principal Basset caves and decides to let her play. But he has two conditions that shake up her entire game: She must pretend to be a lesbian (WHAT?) and she must join the GSA, the Gay-Straight Alliance (WHAT? WHAT?), the president of which happens to be her best friend -- make that her ex-best friend, Josh. Okay, Darcy's senior year might seem complicated at first. It's not. It's insurmountably, unforgettably, and -- most of the time -- hilariously complicated.

But if anyone can handle it, it's Darcy. She'll do anything just to play the field.

]]> 53251 3.51 100 22 2006 608888 0689870116 9780689870118 1 <![CDATA[Twenty-One Elephants]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176264056m/608888.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176264056s/608888.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/608888.Twenty_One_Elephants 4.12 8 Step right up, ladies and gents.

Believe the unbelievable and dream the impossible because Hannah, the little girl with big dreams, is coming your way.

Come and see for yourself her bold acts of bravery, her courageous conviction as she proves to the world that the Brooklyn Bridge is safe to cross.

But she can't do it alone.

P. T. Barnum and his parade of twenty-one elephants provide a spectacular show that will save the day!

Impossible, you say?

Then you'll have to look inside.

You won't want to miss this, the greatest show on earth.

]]> 53251 3.51 100 22 2004 92752 0689829132 9780689829130 0 <![CDATA[Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171250507m/92752.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171250507s/92752.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/92752.Shoeless_Joe_and_Black_Betsy 3.86 7 The Remarkable Farkle McBride, by John Lithgow), readers are introduced to the real reason Shoeless Joe became such a great hitter. Falling into a slump, Joe goes to a bat-making friend, searching for the perfect bat. Black Betsy is the one: 36 inches long, and weighing 48 ounces, it was made from the north side of a hickory tree and rubbed down with tobacco juice to turn it black and mean looking. Bildner's down-home language, packed with lots of "I reckons" and "ain'ts," captures the early 1900s era, as do Payne's grainy illustrations, verging on caricatures. An afterword provides additional information on this appealing character from sports history. (Ages 5 to 9) --Emilie Coulter]]> 53251 3.51 100 22 2002 608889 1416918647 9781416918646 1 <![CDATA[Game 2]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176264056m/608889.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176264056s/608889.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/608889.Game_2 3.71 7

As the team heads into the River City, Griffith is beginning to realize that there's more at risk than meets the eye, something beyond the need to raise money -- something involving the ball that could put his entire family in danger.

Ruby is eager to help solve the mystery of the ball and plans on keeping her eyes and ears wide open and writing everything down. She knows the answer is out there. All she has to do is see the things that others don't. And figure out what those things mean.

Then there's Graham, who usually only thinks about how to get more time on the baseball field. Even he's beginning to notice that there are strange and shady characters at just about every turn.

Finally there's the Chancellor, one of the wealthiest and greediest businessmen in the entire world. And it looks like he's got his eye on the ball!

]]> 53251 3.51 100 22 2007 3002284 0689878966 9780689878961 1 <![CDATA[Turkey Bowl]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3002284.Turkey_Bowl 3.29 7 53251 3.51 100 22 2008 140686 039924171X 9780399241710 2 <![CDATA[The Greatest Game Ever Played]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172118310m/140686.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172118310s/140686.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/140686.The_Greatest_Game_Ever_Played 3.50 6 Now, Phil Bildner tells a heartwarming father-and-son story against the backdrop of this historic moment.When the New York Giants baseball team moves to San Francisco, young Sam discovers the other New York Giants—the football Giants. He convinces his skeptical Pop to come with him to the Game, and as Johnny Unitas engineers Baltimore's legendary comeback, Sam and Pop rediscover the joy of rooting on their heroes together.

]]> 53251 3.51 100 22 2006 6398910 1416918841 9781416918844 1 <![CDATA[Magic in the Outfield]]> http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6398910-magic-in-the-outfield 3.75 4 53251 3.51 100 22 329975 3.85 732 186 2009 608887 0689862733 9780689862731 0 <![CDATA[The Shot Heard 'Round the World]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176264055m/608887.jpg http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176264055s/608887.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/608887.The_Shot_Heard_Round_the_World 3.67 3

If you lived in Brooklyn in 1951, your life revolved around the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Come summertime you bled Dodger blue.
And it was in that summer of '51 that "Dem Bums" -- what we lovingly called our Dodgers -- caused their biggest stir of all.
For the young Brooklyn Dodger fan in this story, the summer of 1951 was a summer for heroes. The Dodgers, with players like Jackie Robinson, Carl Erskine, and Clem Labine, faced off against the New York Giants in a pennant race that no one had seen the likes of and no one would ever forget.
On October 2, 1951, the New York Giants of the borough of Brooklyn held its breath as the Dodgers faced the Giants for the third, tie-breaking game to determine which team would go on to play the Yankees in the World Series.
More than just a story about baseball, this is a sweeping view of life in Brooklyn in the summer of 1951, from its streets, to its Cyclone, to its stadium. Phil Bildner pitches the ball and C. F. Payne hits a shot to be heard 'round the world giving this renowned story new life.

]]> 53251 3.51 100 22 2005