Something Queer at the Ball Park

Something Queer #2

by Elizabeth Levy

Children will love this sequel to Something Queer is Goin On and so will mystery-buff parents.

Genres: Mystery, Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship, Fiction, 2nd Grade

42 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Elizabeth Levy has been writing and publishing books for over thirty years and sometimes now she meets kids whose parents read her books when they were children! She has written over 80 books, a number that continues to surprise her, as it surprises her how long she's been at it.

Over the years they've printed lots of her books - over five million of them.

She loves to try writing different types of books - everything from funny mysteries to novels about kids who get in trouble to history.

One of the most pleasant surprises about writing is that she's been invited to travel all over the country and even the world speaking to children, teachers, and librarians. She's made some wonderful friendships and gotten lots of ideas for her books. One of the most special treats is that kids have drawn wonderful pictures of one of her favorite characters, Fletcher.

She grew up in Buffalo, New York, then went to Brown University, where she majored in history. When she graduated, she came to New York City and worked for ABC-TV and then for Senator Robert Kennedy. She has lived in New York ever since, and she loves it. She knows all the best places for salami, she has run four marathons, and she has completed many 5-borough bike tours, so she thinks she really knows this place well.

At certain times of the year, she can be found out at Shea Stadium watching her team, the New York Mets. She has always loved baseball.

Mostly she enjoys hanging out with her friends. They spend lots of time going to movies or plays, playing sports, having meals together.

When she's alone and not writing, she is usually reading. She reads mysteries a lot, always has, which is probably why many of her books are mysteries.

Reviews

[Erin O'Riordan]

Childhood favorite.

[J. Boo]

This is definitely a series that has suffered from a relatively recent change in vocabulary. I'm somewhat surprised they haven't been quietly republished as "Something Strange..." Though not completely surprised -- while book #1 is *spectacular*, the other two I've read are not nearly as good.

I do wonder if there were changes to repackage them for the "Dell Young Yearling" series: the format seems somewhat different, the illustrations more compressed, and no longer spreading delightfully all over the page, they way they did in "Something Queer is Going On". Were these the way they were originally published?

[Donna]

When Jill, the star player of her baseball team, loses her lucky bat, her friend Gwen helps her find it.

What fun! And Fletcher the basset hound was an important part of solving the mystery just by being his usual lazy self.

[Susan]

I got this because of the early black and white Mordecai Gerstein illustrations--1984. These pictures are so much fun--and it's a good story.

[HeavyReader]

I'm pretty sure I read this one. I'm only giving it two stars because I don't remember it very clearly.

I really liked this series.