Alfred Slote (born September 11, 1926) is a children's author known for his numerous sports and space novels. His writing has been described as "making space travel seem as ordinary as piling in the family wagon for a jaunt to McDonald's". Slote's 1991 novel Finding Buck McHenry was adapted into a 2000 television film. He currently resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
I wanted to read Make-Believe Ball Player because I had heard somewhere that it was a cute story, which it indeed turned out to be. It probably took less than an hour to read, so it felt more like a short story than a full book, but it was pretty enjoyable. In fact, I think "cute" is probably the perfect word to describe it. As with a lot of sports stories, it's about a lovable, quirky kid who's turns out to be an unlikely hero. I wouldn't call it memorable, but it was worth the time it took to read.