What do you think?
Rate this book
The Baseball Card Kid
A valuable baseball card, a sinking ship, a distant planet, and vampire tales fill this fast-paced time-travel story.
When Brian and Paul acquire a brand-new Timequest comic book, they head out on a quest to replace a mint condition Honus Wagner Baseball Card that Brian accidentally destroyed when he was younger. To find it, all they have to do is warp the space-time continuum to the year 1912, board the "Titanic, "and find Brian's Great Uncle Sean. No problem. But the boys soon find themselves in some sticky situations. As the TimeQuest Comic magically chronicles their travels, the boys discover that their actions have doomed all of humankind. Now they must travel to the distant reaches of the universe and the darkest Transylvania to set things right again. Can they fix the world and make it home with the million-dollar baseball card before it's too late?
With dozens of illustrations by renowned Australian illustrator Craig Smith, this humorous adventure is sure to please kids of all ages.
“The slapstick time-travel antics continue in this sequel to The Comic Book Kid...Osterweil laces his narrative with middle-grade-style yuks and injects frequent reviews of events into his breathlessly paced tale. Smith punches up the short chapters further with frequent scenes of frantic-looking young folk in bizarre situations.” —Kirkus Reviews
“There are a number of funny lines, which, along with the manic illustrations, should keep young readers laughing.” —Booklist
“The book is full of exciting adventures and some pretty fun characters. If the reader knows something about the Titanic and enjoys reading about time travel, they will have a good time with this book.” —The Oregon Coast Book Group
“The book is cram-packed with humor and action: what more could Osterweil include than the sinking Titanic, a visit to Count Dracula's castle, and science fiction adventures in the year 100,000?” —Children's Literature
“A time-traveling story full of humor and fun.” —Meridian Magazine
“Breathless escapes and goop abound...readers who enjoyed the first book will probably want to read this one.” —School Library Journal
“This is a fast-paced, often humorous adventure that will especially appeal to boys. Recommended.” —Library Media Connection
“A rollicking, fast-paced, and humorous adventure” —Bay Views
“Laugh-aloud adventures for the younger reader, this is a novel that also begs to be read to a class. They will titter and guffaw. The author, a junior high teacher of English, knows his audience well. Prolific Australian illustrator Craig Smith contributes great black and white sketches that add to the amusement.” —Catholic Library World
“This story will be interesting to boys who like mystery and science fiction.” —The Lorgnette, Heart of Texas Reviews
When Brian and Paul acquire a brand-new Timequest comic book, they head out on a quest to replace a mint condition Honus Wagner Baseball Card that Brian accidentally destroyed when he was younger. To find it, all they have to do is warp the space-time continuum to the year 1912, board the "Titanic, "and find Brian's Great Uncle Sean. No problem. But the boys soon find themselves in some sticky situations. As the TimeQuest Comic magically chronicles their travels, the boys discover that their actions have doomed all of humankind. Now they must travel to the distant reaches of the universe and the darkest Transylvania to set things right again. Can they fix the world and make it home with the million-dollar baseball card before it's too late?
With dozens of illustrations by renowned Australian illustrator Craig Smith, this humorous adventure is sure to please kids of all ages.
“The slapstick time-travel antics continue in this sequel to The Comic Book Kid...Osterweil laces his narrative with middle-grade-style yuks and injects frequent reviews of events into his breathlessly paced tale. Smith punches up the short chapters further with frequent scenes of frantic-looking young folk in bizarre situations.” —Kirkus Reviews
“There are a number of funny lines, which, along with the manic illustrations, should keep young readers laughing.” —Booklist
“The book is full of exciting adventures and some pretty fun characters. If the reader knows something about the Titanic and enjoys reading about time travel, they will have a good time with this book.” —The Oregon Coast Book Group
“The book is cram-packed with humor and action: what more could Osterweil include than the sinking Titanic, a visit to Count Dracula's castle, and science fiction adventures in the year 100,000?” —Children's Literature
“A time-traveling story full of humor and fun.” —Meridian Magazine
“Breathless escapes and goop abound...readers who enjoyed the first book will probably want to read this one.” —School Library Journal
“This is a fast-paced, often humorous adventure that will especially appeal to boys. Recommended.” —Library Media Connection
“A rollicking, fast-paced, and humorous adventure” —Bay Views
“Laugh-aloud adventures for the younger reader, this is a novel that also begs to be read to a class. They will titter and guffaw. The author, a junior high teacher of English, knows his audience well. Prolific Australian illustrator Craig Smith contributes great black and white sketches that add to the amusement.” —Catholic Library World
“This story will be interesting to boys who like mystery and science fiction.” —The Lorgnette, Heart of Texas Reviews
199 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2009
1 person is currently reading
11 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 18, 2009
Strangely enough, The Baseball Card Kid is much less about baseball and baseball cards than the cover art portrays. Even time traveling to 1912 seems likely to connect to some baseball, but it does not.
Even without baseball, Osterweil sets up and executes a very readable and enjoyable action packed mystery. Perhaps his best writing is displayed in the episode aboard the luxury liner Titanic where the characters alter the course of history as the countdown to sideswiping an iceberg approaches.
The time travel gimmick works so well that Time Quest or Time Quest 2 might be a more appropriate title. The title fails and it misleads potential readers, but that can be overcome by talking about the fun and frustration shared by the characters. The time travel is fun, clever, and well planned to engage the reader’s mind well beyond the page. The characters possess the charisma to leap into almost any situation and emerge unscathed as evidenced by their encounter with a Transylvanian vampire.
Add this book to a classroom or library bookshelf with confidence, but know that those searching for only baseball will not find it here.
3 of 5
John Parker
Media Coordinator
Andrews High School
50 HS Drive
Andrews, NC 28901
Even without baseball, Osterweil sets up and executes a very readable and enjoyable action packed mystery. Perhaps his best writing is displayed in the episode aboard the luxury liner Titanic where the characters alter the course of history as the countdown to sideswiping an iceberg approaches.
The time travel gimmick works so well that Time Quest or Time Quest 2 might be a more appropriate title. The title fails and it misleads potential readers, but that can be overcome by talking about the fun and frustration shared by the characters. The time travel is fun, clever, and well planned to engage the reader’s mind well beyond the page. The characters possess the charisma to leap into almost any situation and emerge unscathed as evidenced by their encounter with a Transylvanian vampire.
Add this book to a classroom or library bookshelf with confidence, but know that those searching for only baseball will not find it here.
3 of 5
John Parker
Media Coordinator
Andrews High School
50 HS Drive
Andrews, NC 28901
February 10, 2014
In this time travel novel, Brian and Paul journey back in time to retrieve a famous Honus Wagner baseball card they happen to know went down with the Titanic. Unfortunately while they are there, they decide to save the ship as well, convincing the captain of the danger by showing him the movie Titanic on their portable DVD player. That disrupts time in a very bad way and they have to travel to a couple of other times to straighten things out. When they are all done, the present looks about the same way they left it, but the baseball card has lost all its value. I thought this was an excellent boy book.
February 8, 2013
This book is very confusing about the time travel. I almost gave up reading this. How could 2 kids travel through time with bracelets and save the Titanic, and travel to Earth 2 in the year 100,000 A.D.? I also do not like the pictures. There is not enough detail, and they look like lots of scribbles. Not recommended.
March 13, 2026
I got it as a gift. Not my favourite genre (Adventure) and it is more suitable for young ones. I DNF this midway. Though, the adventure in titanic was pretty good I just don't like what happened in the future... I might think about finishing this one day.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2009
This was an OK middle grade book. The plot had a lot of holes in it, and the kids never encountered a problem that they had to put a lot of thought into getting out of.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews