Battle for Home Plate

by Chris Kreie, Andres Esparza, Fares Maese

Justin and Carlos have played on the same baseball team since their T-ball days. But this season, the friends are forced to play on rival teams. Carlos makes new friends on the field, and Justin is left in the dust. When their teams face each other in the final game of the season, Justin and Carlos aren't even speaking. The game comes down to one run, and Carlos rounds third. What will happen when the former best friends collide at home plate?

Genres: Sports, Graphic Novels

56 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

I have been a fan of stories for about as long as I can remember, but I did not start writing down my own stories until I was well into my 20s. I currently work as an elementary school librarian in a Minneapolis suburb and have a great life hanging out with my wife and two kids, taking vacations with them whenever I can, and writing as much as time allows.

Reviews

[Gary Anderson]

Carlos and Justin have been teammates and best friends since their T-ball days. Now they are fourteen, and their league divides them into separate teams for the first time. Can opponents still be friends? That is the question in Battle for Home Plate, an exciting short comic from Sports Illustrated Kids Graphic Novels, written by Chris Kreie, illustrated by Jesus Aburto, and colored by Fares Maese and Andres Esparza. The characters are depicted in manga-inspired illustrations and vivid panel layouts that enhance the story’s drama as the friendship frays and the season heads to a showdown between Carlos and Justin at home plate. Although the primary narrative is in fairly traditional comic form, the opening and concluding sections are presented as an ESPN-like screen with sidebars and chyrons galore. This format will help young sports fans transition from viewer mode to reader mode. First published in 2010, Battle for Home Plate is the baseball installment in the Sports Illustrated Kids Graphic Novels that also includes stories about hockey, basketball, football, skateboarding and paintball.

[Zayna · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is good very cute and quick

[Marissa Noffs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about two best friends who have been friends since t-ball. The two friends get put on separate baseball teams and become a sort of enemy. When they verse each other in the play off game, one score is needed for either team to win the game. One friend is on 3rd base and the other is catcher. What happens at home plate is a true twist to the story and shows the meaning of friendship. I thought that this was a very cute graphic novel and very realistic. I think a lot of boys interested in sports have faced and can relate to this problem. I would have this book on the shelf for 5th grade boys or girls.

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book "Battle for Home Plate" is under the Contemporary Realistic Fiction genre because it consist of many realistic scenarios that can actually happen, but there are some parts that are very exaggerating. This book is about two best friends that have been playing on the same baseball team since they played T-ball. Then when they were starting their next season they found out they could not be on the same team. Therefore, this really tested their friendship. In general, this book really focusses on the power of friendship. This book for sure deserves a 4 out of 5 stars.

[Abby Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought these for our collection because a kid requested them, and I do think they will check out because they're graphic novels about sports. The story is VERY slight, dialog is stilted, and it's obviously a Story to Teach a Lesson. There's just not much there and they are super short. I can see that these books would have classroom applications, especially for kids who really do not like to read (and who like sports). Discussion questions are included in the back.

[Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I really enjoyed reading this book because I play baseball. When Carlos is put on a different team as his friend. They play agents each other. At the end of the story the two friends played agents each other in the championship. The bad thing was that there is only one winner.

[Mas5thgrade2012 · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a very good book about friendship-LMMO

[The Styling Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific friendship story. Great quick graphic novel.