Keeping Score

by Linda Sue Park

A historical novel from Newbery medalist Linda Sue Parks about life, faith, and America's favorite pastime: baseball. Both Maggie Fortini and her brother, Joey-Mick, were named for baseball great Joe DiMaggio. Unlike Joey-Mick, Maggie doesn’t play baseball—but at almost ten years old, she is a dyed-in-the-wool fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Maggie can recite all the players’ statistics and understands the subtleties of the game. Unfortunately, Jim Maine is a Giants fan, but it’s Jim who teaches Maggie the fine art of scoring a baseball game. Not only can she revisit every play of every inning, but by keeping score she feels she’s more than just a fan: she’s helping her team. Jim is drafted into the army and sent to Korea, and although Maggie writes to him often, his silence is just one of a string of disappointments—being a Brooklyn Dodgers fan in the early 1950s meant season after season of near misses and year after year of dashed hopes. But Maggie goes on trying to help the Dodgers, and when she finds out that Jim needs help, too, she’s determined to provide it. Against a background of major league baseball and the Korean War on the home front, Maggie looks for, and finds, a way to make a difference. Even those readers who think they don’t care about baseball will be drawn into the world of the true and ardent fan. Linda Sue Park’s captivating story will, of course, delight those who are already keeping score. This historical novel is from Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park, whose beloved middle grade books include A Single Shard and A Long Walk to Water.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Sports, Middle Grade, Baseball, Fiction, Young Adult, Historical

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 17, 2008

About the author

Linda Sue Park is a Korean American author of children's fiction. Park published her first novel, Seesaw Girl, in 1999. To date, she has written six children’s novels and five picture books for younger readers. Park’s work achieved prominence when she received the prestigious 2002 Newbery Medal for her novel A Single Shard.

Reviews

[Stephanie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nostalgic look back to yesteryear. In 1951, the Brooklyn Dodgers are trying to win the World Series, and young Maggie keeps track of every important moment in every game. Her friend Jim is fighting in the Korean Conflict, and Maggie writes to him about all the baseball news. She just knows, somehow, that if the Dodgers win the series, Jim will come home safely and everything will turn out
all right.
Memorable Quotes:
(Pg.79)-“I’m putting something for Jay in with this letter. It’s a new thing Mr. Aldo just started selling at his shop. If you flip open the top, a little piece of candy comes out. It’s called PEZ, I hope he likes it!”
(Pg.178)-“She knew from her war notebook that the line hadn’t changed since June 1951.”

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

My review is definitely biased, because I don't have the slightest interest in baseball, especially the intricacies of scoring baseball, and (sorry, sports fans among my friends) I get extremely impatient with people who care deeply about professional sports. So it's hard to know whether the meticulous detail about baseball is dull, or if that's just me. Leaving that aside, I didn't think this was nearly as polished as some of Park's other books, and it was especially lacking in characterization. Maggie seemed to age hardly at all over the four years (the signifiers that she was growing up felt like they were just there to prove it; there wasn't corresponding character growth). The most interesting character to me was her father, the injured firefighter with a justified paranoia about the dangers of large crowds.

The religion stuff was, I thought, the best part of the book. Maggie's thoughts were believably those of a young devout Catholic. Another reviewer mentioned that it seemed like superstition, and by the end she wasn't sure if Maggie could separate her religious beliefs from baseball superstitions--but that is, of course, the point. I thought it sort of curious that the religious aspects of the book weren't mentioned at all in the lengthy author's note, or the flap copy, because it's really one of the central themes.

[pearl ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending was so sweet and the story's setting was interesting! The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars because of how slow the beginning was.

[Jenna Marie ~Scheming Scribbler~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie is a huge baseball fan, especially of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and almost never misses a game. Her favorite memories are sitting at the firehouse with the workers who she's known for years, listening and cheering as their favorite players score. Then a new fireman, Jim, comes, and Maggie forgives him for liking the opposing team when he offers to teach her how to score the games.

Soon, Maggie is hooked. She scores every game she can, even making up her own additional symbols, hoping her dedication will win the Dodgers the World Series title. And it seems to be working; they're having an incredible season!

Until, everything falls apart. Jim is being drafted to join the war in Korea, and Maggie has to keep score alone. Still, Maggie keeps sending nonstop letters to her friend, keeping him up to date on the baseball scores. Then, Maggie stops getting letters back from Jim, and the Dodger's record goes downhill. Maggie is left helpless, knowing the only thing she can do to solve these problems is keeping score.

As with all Linda Sue Park's books, Keeping Score was amazing. Maggie's character was so full of realistic emotion for a girl her age, and I loved her dedication to the sport and her score cards! This book refused to be put down. The writing and plot were equally captivating! Park certainly "scored" with this book! ;)

[Laela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie-O loves baseball even though she's a girl and can't play. She developes a friendship with the new fireman Jim who teaches Maggie how to score the games. Jim gets drafted into the Koren War and Maggie writes him all the time even after Jim stops writing her back. War is something Maggie can't wrap her mind around, not the why's and certainly not the people.

This is a touching story about dealing with War and how it effects people. Ms. Park puts you right in Brooklyn during the 50's. Maggie must face the consequence of war even though she's Thousands of miles away. A fantastic and touching story.

[Danette · Rating 4 out of 5]

About baseball, firemen, the Korean War, and hope.
I liked it.

[Megan Polun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a childhood fav and the nostalgia really hit and it absolutely holds up. Still meets criteria for books I enjoy today: sports, historical fiction, learned a little something new. Inspired me to write a letter to my childhood librarian thanking her for recommending it to me

[Fred Kohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was attracted to this book because it is historical fiction and has a war theme. About 20 pages in, I was ready to give up, because I am certainly not a big sports fan. Boy, am I glad I stuck with it! It seems to me that there is a spate of children's fiction about WWII that exaggerates the U.S. military's role as a force for good, and almost nothing about the many wars that we fought where our role as the good guys was less clear.

[Steve Shilstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Maggie-o was a 9 year old Dodger fan learning to keep score of a baseball game in 1951 Brooklyn, I was a 7 year old Dodger fan not quite ready to keep score of a baseball game in Denver. I did learn soon thereafter using pretty much the same symbols Maggie-o uses. This story's true baseball environment was for me a vivid trip down nostalgia lane.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book. About baseball,hope, disappointment, and an eternal hope that is way beyond the game.

[Alyssa Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bedtime read with my son. The plot line wove together two of his favorites, baseball and war. We related well to learning to keep a scorebook. The additional Korean conflict plotline spoke to the hardships soldiers faced and a little girl’s big heart to make a difference. Ultimately I loved the message of hope!

[Kamillah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
4.0 stars for baseball fans

Any true-blue sports fan, regardless of team affiliation, has experienced the joy and perhaps more likely, the extreme heartache that results from following your favorite team day in and day out. For those of us who follow historic teams that have suffered historic losing streaks and near misses (i.e. the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Red Sox until recently, etc.), most of us would probably agree that being a fan requires a special brand of dedication and resilience. Ten-year-old Maggie Fortini meets these requirements.

With a name like Maggie-o (after the New York Yankees all-star baseball player, Joe Dimaggio), Maggie was born to be a life-long baseball fan. In 1950's New York City, everyone follows one of the city's teams: the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Yankees, or the New York Giants. Maggie's neighborhood is a hard-core Dodgers neighborhood. Every day after school, she runs home with the sound of the Dodgers' radio play-by-play floating from every window. Often, she visits her father's firehouse to listen to Dodgers games with her friends, the firemen. Maggie can recite statistics by heart and knows every player, but when a new fireman and Giants fan, Jim Maine, moves to the firehouse, he teaches her the art of scoring games by hand. As her older brother keeps reminding her, Maggie is a girl and she can't play ball. But by keeping score, Maggie can record every play of every inning, and she feels she's doing more than being a fan--she's helping her team.

Although they root for different teams, Maggie and Jim bond over their mutual appreciation of the intricacies of the game. They keep up their friendship, even after Jim is drafted into the Army and shipped off to fight in the Korean War. Maggie and Jim exchange letters regularly until one day, the letters suddenly stop. Ultimately, Maggie discovers her difficulties can go beyond who wins the pennant: Jim is in trouble and she needs to help her friend. The book follows Maggie's efforts to learn more about the world beyond her neighborhood, especially about the Korean War, how to make a difference, and most importantly how to be a friend.

I enjoyed Maggie's curiosity, hopefulness, and dedication; she wants to do good and she tries all she can to learn about the Korean War and draw her own conclusions, which is difficult for a 10-year-old girl in the 1950's. Ms. Park excels at recreating the atmosphere and language of a particular historical period in her historical fiction novels--she surrounds readers in the sights and sounds of the time so that you can imagine what life was like for a young person in 1950's Brooklyn. I especially appreciated her detailed descriptions of specific baseball games, and I loved that she included her own authentic score sheet for the historic game featured in the book.

I was disappointed, however, that Maggie's brother Joey-Mick makes several negative comments about Maggie being a girl. He implies that since she is a girl, she can't play ball and if she can't play, she can't be a real fan. While this was the prevailing view in the 1950's and Maggie wins Joey-Mick's respect in the end, I would prefer this sexism was addressed in a stronger and more straightforward manner in the same way the conflict in Korea was treated in the book.

In regards to the criticism that Keeping Score is too baseball-centric--I felt Ms. Park explained the game clearly so that even readers who are unfamiliar with the game can understand the storyline. It is evident Ms. Park appreciates the finer points of the game by the way she captures the skill in each play. In the current era, where the less subtle sports of football and basketball dominate, this was refreshing to me. She provided excellent context for understanding what baseball culture was like in 1950's Brooklyn, but I could understand why some non-baseball-fans could lose patience with the descriptions.

I thought this book was a gem, and it reminded me of days when I listened to Cubs games on the radio on my way home from school and into the night. For younger readers, it promotes the values of dedication, knowledge, and friendship. Keeping Score exceeded my expectations and addressed much more than baseball.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.

Though she is a die-hard Brooklyn Dodgers fan, just like most of the guys at the firehouse where her father used to work, Maggie can't help but be intrigued by the new guy, Jim Maine, who roots for the Giants and scores all of the games by hand. Soon, Maggie is learning to keep score as well, a process which makes her feel especially connected to her beloved Dodgers. When Jim is eventually drafted into the army and sent to Korea, Maggie shifts from scoring games to scoring the war itself, trying to discern based on what she reads in the newspapers where Jim might be and when it might be time for him to come home. When he stops answering her letters, however, Maggie begins to despair, and when she learns what has become of him, she tries everything in her power to help him recover from a terrible experience.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this story portrayed a faithful Catholic family, and I enjoyed the references early in the book to choosing confirmation names, going to Confession, and going to church. Unfortunately, though, it became clear to me as I kept reading that the author had not done enough research on the Catholic Mass prior to Vatican II. On page 51, there is the following passage:

Every week in church, Father John or one of the other priests asked for intercessions, and then everyone prayed for other people. Usually, the intercessions were for people who were sick or hurt. Or had lost their jobs, or had gone off to Korea to fight in the war.

It is true that there is now a part of the Mass where the congregation prays for various intentions like the ones named here, and though it is not usual, there are even some parishes where individuals are asked to call out the specific causes for which they would like to pray. But this detail struck me right away as a possible anachronism, because prior to Vatican II, almost none of the Mass was said in the vernacular, and there would have been no opportunity for the congregation to participate so freely. I asked in a Catholic forum whether it was at all possible that intercessions such as these would have been included in a 1950s Mass, and the comments all adamantly stated that it would definitely not have happened. (A few did suggest that perhaps this was happening outside of the Mass, at another weekly church service, but that seems like a reach. I will admit that the author did not explicitly say it was happening at Mass, but the details were vague enough that the lack of clarity is as much a problem as the error itself.)

This is disappointing to me, not just because it's an incorrect detail in an otherwise favorable depiction of my religion, but also because of how much research went into the rest of the book. The author's note talks a lot about the author's sources for information about baseball and the war, but there is no mention at all of how her depiction of Catholicism came about. It is also disconcerting that an editor did not pick up on the error, as it would have been easy enough to ask a Catholic expert, or even just someone who attended Mass during that time period, to fact-check the few specific details about the Mass that are included in the story. The failure to do so makes it seem like the author did not consider the faith-based parts of her story to be as significant as the other storylines.

Aside from this problem, the book is decent, but not great. The plot is not exactly predictable, but it feels very obvious, and there is never a moment where the reader is really caught off-guard or surprised in any way. The story is told in a very linear, almost flat fashion, and it attempts to tell a story set over the course of several baseball seasons in the space of only about 200 pages, which makes the pacing feel off and the main character's psychological development feel forced and inauthentic. The premise was interesting, but its execution was poor. It's just not the author's strongest work, and not a book I plan to revisit for any reason.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Marie Robinson for TeensReadToo.com

For the first half of this book, I thought the title referred specifically to the protagonist, Maggie, learning how to score a baseball game. It's 1951, Maggie is a huge Brooklyn Dodgers fan, and baseball is central to her life. She learns how to score a game when her dad's firehouse colleague teaches her.

I admit I find it frustrating that Maggie has no real desire to learn to play baseball herself. There is a brief mention of the strides that women had made with the game, including the women's league that existed during World War II, but Maggie is content to be a fan. Not that there is anything wrong with fandom, but it is energy that seems misplaced in a story about a spunky, outgoing, full-of-life girl with baseball on the brain.

The conflict finally arises when Jim, the fireman who took Maggie under his wing and taught her how to score, is drafted to Korea. At first, Maggie and Jim write letters back and forth. Then Jim's letters stop coming. Maggie is hurt and confused that her friend no longer seems to appreciate her letters.

When Maggie's father finally breaks the news that the reason Jim hasn't written is because he is at home in a catatonic state after witnessing something very bad in Korea, Maggie begins brainstorming ways that she can help make Jim "better."

First, she keeps score of his team, the New York Giants, who are rivals of her beloved Brooklyn. Then she tries prayer, also to no avail. Then she comes up with an idea that is so precious and selfless that I won't spoil it by recounting it here. But I will say that the idea is the heart of the book, and it's a shame that it took half of the story to get there.

KEEPING SCORE starts out as a story about a girl learning to score a baseball game. By the time it ends, Maggie finds herself keeping score of her own efforts to help her friend. While the adults around her realize that there is nothing she can do to help Jim, and that his illness isn't her fault, this lesson never really hits home for Maggie. She continues to accept responsibility for Jim's struggle. However, though misguided as Maggie may be at times, she is also selfless, kind, and caring. She is a dutiful daughter who not only respects her parents, but has a real affection for them. She certainly has at her core the idea that it is better to help others than to help yourself.

The story weaves in some interesting facts and information about the Korean War that will help kids better understand a time in our history. It definitely will lead readers to contract baseball fever. And, it ends with some helpful websites that readers can visit to learn to score baseball games on their own.

[mitchell dwyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love baseball. Love it in that geeky way that even most baseball fans don't love it. I keep score when I watch games in person or on television. When I travel to the continental United States I bring my scorebook with me in case I see a game. So when I heard that Newbery laureate Linda Sue Park wrote a book about keeping score, I knew I had to read it.

Maggie is an elementary-schooler who, like almost everyone in her neighborhood in the early 1950s, is a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. She spends afternoons listening to games on the radio with her friends at the local fire station. A young fireman named Jim introduces Maggie to the intellectually stimulating practice of keeping score. Maggie is so hooked that she invents new notations to record game events for which no established traditional notations exist.

It would be a shame if the baseball stuff in this book prevents readers from getting through it, because it's not a book about baseball; it's a book about growing up during wartime. Maggie's friend Jim is drafted for service in the Korean war, and with fierce loyalty and determination, Maggie does what she can in her sixth-grade way to support him until he can return. Not content only to send CARE packages, she attempts to understand as much about the war as she can in search of a way to help bring him back.

Linda Sue Park writes a touching story that should appeal to middle- and late-elementary school readers who can appreciate Maggie's passion even if they don't sympathize. I would encourage such readers not to focus on the baseball part of Maggie's obsession but on the aspects of the game that appeal to her, or at the very least to endure the first half of the book until it becomes no longer a book about baseball. Unlike other Park books I've read, I don't think older middle-schoolers or high-schoolers are likely to respond well to the writer's voice in this novel, which definitely slants younger.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keeping Score is the very best kind of historical novel - one that first introduces kids to funny, dynamic characters they'll love and then brings in historical elements that are so much more meaningful as they affect the lives of those characters.

Ten-year-old Maggie Fortini loves the Brooklyn Dodgers. Loves them with a big, fat capital L. When Jim, a pal at her dad's firehouse, teaches her how to keep score, she finds a way to be an even better fan and believes she's helping the team when she keeps track of every play. But as Maggie cheers the Dodgers in the early 1950s, the Korean conflict rages overseas. The war that isn't called a war comes crashing into Maggie's life.

Knowing Park's work, knowing that she's a Newbery Medalist, I expected this book to be fantastic. Still, there were some passages that took my breath away, some that made me cry, and some that made me feel like I'm missing out on something spiritual because I'm not much of a baseball fan. Readers will feel like they've moved right into 1950s Brooklyn.

Keeping Score does for the Korean War what Gary Schmidt's The Wednesday Wars does for Vietnam - contextualizes it through a funny, poignant story of life on the home front, told from a young person's point of view.

This is a perfect book for baseball fans,but you don't have to be a baseball fan to love this one. Like so many great kids' books, baseball may be the hook, but there's so much more here.

Keeping Score is full of colorful characters, like George at the firehouse, who shares his roast beef sandwiches with Maggie, her dad, who worries about crowd control, and her mom, who prays for the Dodgers while she knits. It's about baseball, but it's also about family and friends and war. Most, though, Keeping Score is about holding on to hope - something that old-time Dodgers fans knew all about.

[Liz Hammet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a little girl named Maggie. Maggie is a 9-going on-10 girl, who is a huge New York Dodgers fan. She is also the daughter of Korean immigrants who live in Brooklyn. The story is set in Brooklyn between 1951 and 1955. Maggie’s dad is a fireman and Maggie often visits the firehouse. Whenever she is at the firehouse, they firemen watch the Dodgers games, and Maggie watches intently as well. Maggie becomes so involved with learning about the game of baseball. One of Maggie’s father’s friend, Jim, teaches Maggie how to fill out a baseball scorecard. She is very appreciative for him teaching her, and becomes even a bigger Dodgers fan. Although Maggie knows that the Dodgers aren’t the best team of the year, she roots them on and feels like she is a part of the team.
Maggie not only learns about the hardships of baseball but also about other hardships in life. Maggie’s father’s friend, Jim, has to go back to Korea and fight for the Korean conflict. Maggie is disappointed and realizes that he will be going through a difficult time. Maggie learns about the Korean War and how gruesome it actually is for the individuals apart of it. Throughout the book, Maggie consistently keeps rooting for her Dodgers and also roots for other people that mean a lot to her. Maggie loves her community and realizes how important it is to help others.
This book would be great for individuals who are big baseball fans. This book is a great read and it shows great compassion that this little girl, Maggie has, even after learning about the rough details that life comes with sometimes. Maggie is hopeful and her hopefulness is spread throughout the book. This would be a great read for students in the fourth and fifth grade.

[Amy Seto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie-O, named after baseball great Joe DiMaggio, is a devoted Brooklyn Dodgers fan. It’s the 1950’s and it seems like Maggie has been hoping and praying for the Dodgers to win the World Series for her entire life. But her devotion to baseball takes a new form when Jim, a new firefighter and a Giants fan, teaches Maggie how to score baseball games. Maggie’s world takes another unexpected turn when Jim is drafted into the Korean War. At first he replies to all of Maggie’s letters, but suddenly he stops. Now Maggie worries about two things: Jim and the Dodgers. She does everything she can think of to help, but what if nothing she does makes a difference?

Maggie is a genuine and enthusiastic protagonist and her observations and emotions will keep readers’ attention as she learns about baseball, friendship, and the world beyond Brooklyn.Park uses vernacular of the 1950’s Brooklyn to bring Maggie, her friends, and family to life. Readers will also learn about the Korean War as Maggie struggles to understand the events that change Jim. Written in 3rd person, this book is a compelling read for die-hard, as well as new, baseball fans. Maggie’s entire world revolves around baseball and the characters often give each other play-by-play details of a particular game. For readers who aren’t familiar with the rules of scoring (such as myself), illustrations are helpfully incorporated into the text. More information about scoring a baseball game is provided in the author’s note.

Full Review at Chapter Book Explorer: http://chapterbookexplorer.blogspot.c...

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

***MINOR SPOILER****

In this book, one of the characters gets sick and Maggie is hoping and praying for him to get better. I've been thinking a lot about prayer and hope because our landlord just found out that he has colon/liver cancer. It has been a pretty bleak diagnosis...and I wonder how much to hope, how much to pray...how to believe in answers even if it isn't the one you want, and how to pray to God and accept his will, and yet not loose the hope that miracles can still happen. I like that Maggie explored these kinds of questions. How she wondered about God, and if he would help a team win if she prayed, or help her friend get better if she prayed. And why sometimes her prayers weren't answered...

Just a quote that I really liked:

"Dodger fans probably had more practice at hoping than fans of any other team. The same thing over and over again, but always different.

Prayers were like that too. Her bedtime prayers-saying almost the same thing each night, but feeling a little different sometimes, depending on what she was praying for...

Maybe praying was another way to practice hope.

If that was true than maybe between the Dodgers and praying, she ought to be getting awfully good at hoping.

Maggie sighed. What's the use of getting good at it. Hope doesn't do anything.

Another voice spoke up inside her head. But hope is what gets everything started. When you make plans, it's because you hope something good is going to happen. Hope always comes first."

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maggie Fortini,12, is a rabid baseball fan. She loves the Brooklyn Dodgers. It's the early 50's and every New Yorker roots for one of the city's teams...Dodgers, Giants, or Yankees. Maggie loves sitting with the neighborhood fireman as they listen to the games on radio. They're like family, especially Charky, the firehouse dog. All the firemen love the Dodgers, too...until Jim joins the house. He's a Giants fan!

But, Maggie and Jim form a bond as he teaches her how to keep score for the intricate game of baseball. She becomes a pro at it...even her older brother Joey-Mick is impressed. When Jim gets shipped out to war and to Korea, nonetheless, Maggie is worried, yet she faithfully writes to him and keeps score for his beloved team. Maggie gets worried, though, when Jim stops writing back and can't get any answers from her parents or Jim's sister, Carol.

Jim finally comes back from Korea...wounded, broken, and silent. He met a demon in Korea and carried it back with him to Brooklyn. His memories have changed him in every way and no one can reach him. Maggie prays, Maggie writes to him, Maggie tries to get him to a baseball game, yet nothing works.

Maggie realizes, whether rightly or wrongly, that Keeping Score is a useless waste of time, if it can't even bring her beloved friend back to her. But, time has a way of slowly healing even the deepest of hurts...maybe patience and time are what Maggie and Jim need most.

[Cassa M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keeping Score
Linda Sue Park
Non-fiction
Biography
203 pages


Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park is about a girl named Maggie who loves baseball. She always goes to the firehouse down the street from her house where her dad works to listen to the Dodgers game with the guys her dad works with. One day the firehouse gets a new firefighter named Jim and Jim and Maggie become really good friends. Jim teaches Maggie how to keep score of a baseball game. Maggie and Jim become really close and Maggie is devastated when Jim gets drafted to the army and has to go to war. Maggie writes to Jim all the time and Jim writes back. But eventually Jim stops writing back and Maggie is starting to wonder if something happened to him.

This was a very good book. The way the book is written it doesn't even seem like it is a biography. It just seems like a story the author wrote. I was afraid that Jim died when he stopped replying to Maggie but it turns out its a different problem. You will have to read the book to find out. This book always keep me wanting to keep reading it. When Jim stopped replying to Maggie's letter I had so many questions about what was going to happen so I had to keep reading. I would recommend this book to people who like interesting biographies and who need just a good nonfiction book to read. I normally don't like nonfiction but this one was really good. I would definitely read this book again. Keeping score was a really good book.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of baseball AT ALL (or any kind of sport for that matter). But this book wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Firstly, I did like Treecie. She was the only character I really liked, and I wish she'd had more "page" time. I liked and enjoyed reading about her interest in photography, and I really felt she was a great character.

The religious side of things I didn't agree it; mainly coz I'm not a Catholic, and the whole prayer story got a bit irritating sometimes because it wasn't what I agreed with or believed in; so religiously, I differed a lot from the book's ideas.

From about chapter 9 to chapter 12 I found it quite moving and touching, considering the sadness of Jim's situation, etc, and Maggie's attempts to help. That was sad.

Joey-Mick was infuriating. I'm sorry, but because I don't have any interest in baseball, I found his obsession (and Maggie's of course, but his was more in your face) very annoying. He took things too seriously, which again because I'm not a baseball fan, I found very frustrating and stupid.

I really liked the Mom too. I liked how Maggie found out about who her Mom's favourite player was, even though her Mom never said so in so many words. I liked how Maggie seemed to learn more about her Mom, even though it wasn't at all central to the story, and how she discovered more about her Mom. Again, it didn't get a lot of page time, but I liked how it was subtly woven into the story.

[Elizabeth K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another girls and baseball book, this one set in the 1950s, in Brooklyn, where Maggie hangs around the neighborhood fire station and listens to Dodgers games on the radio. One of the firemen teaches her how to score games ... and then he is drafted to Korea. Maggie writes to him when he is serving overseas, but soon stops receiving letters in reply. I liked this a lot, although Maggie is supposed to be nine and I'm not sure I believed that, the character seems more like 11 or 12 in a lot of ways. It's got a nice old timey New York feel, where everyone gets to be nostalgic about the Dodgers. One major annoyance, which is not about the book but about the publisher, is that the book cover shows a girl in a modern-day baseball stadium. I also learned from the back of the book that the author grew up as a Cubs fan in Chicago, and then became a Mets fan later in life when she moved to New York, which I find unsettling because 1. gee, nice team loyalty and 2. are you some kind of glutton for punishment or what?

Grade: B
Recommended: Also a middle reader, probably better for kids who are more thoughtful readers. i don't think you need to be particularly a baseball fan to enjoy it, although an appreciation of that era of baseball would probably enhance the reading experience.
(2009/32)

[Kosei K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keeping Score
by Linda Sue Park
Nonfiction
224pages

This book Keeping Score by Linda Sue park is about a girl named Maggie who loves the Brooklyn Dodgers (a baseball team). Maggie and her brother Joey-Mick were named for baseball great Joe DiMaggio. Maggie doesn't play baseball like his brother but at almost ten years old, she is a huge fan of the Brooklyn dodgers. Maggie can recite all the players' statistics and understands the subtleties of the game. Jim Maine is a Giants fan, but it's Jim who teaches Maggie all the good things of scoring a baseball game.
Jim is drafted into the army and sent to Korea, and although Maggie writes him often, his silence is just one big disappointments. But Maggie goes on trying to help the Dodgers, and when she finds out Jim needs help, she's determined to provide it. Maggie looks for and finds a way to make a difference.

I gave this book ★★★☆☆　because unlike Maggie I had no interests in baseball. so this book was just like a normal story until the story of Korean war started. The story was kind of emotional by Jim leaving to Korea and how Maggie wrote some letters to him. I liked the ending because I think that it was really kind how Maggie bought two note books and saying one was for her to keep scores on the Brooklyn Dodgers and the other one was to keep scores on the Giants for Jim.

[Melissa Housholder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie-O and her brother, Joey-Mick are huge Dodgers fans. They live in Brooklyn, home of the Dodgers and they listen to every game on the radio. Maggie spends most of her free time at the fire house where her dad used to work. She listens to the games with the guys there sometimes. One day a new guy starts working at the fire house, but he is a Giants fan. He and Maggie spark an immediate friendship and he teaches her how to keep score. She impresses everyone she meets with her amazing score taking abilities. Jim, the new guy, gets sent to Korea to serve in the army, Maggie writes to him everyday, and he writes her back as soon as he can. One day, the letters just stop coming. Maggie worries that something awful has happened to Jim, or that maybe he just doesn't want to be her friend anymore.

This is a great book for anyone who is interested in sports. With baseball being the backdrop of the entire book, it will keep a sports fan interested. Great for teaching about the Korean War as well. It does not go into great depth on the war, but it does touch on some interesting and important parts of the Korean War. Also great for teaching about PTSD. Definitely for 4-5 grade. Maybe 3rd, depending on the kids.

[Stephanie]

Linda Sue Park’s Keeping Score is about a nine-year-old die hard Brooklyn Dodger fan named Maggie during the 1950’s. She becomes fast friends with Jim a firefighter, even though he is a New York Giants fan. He teaches her how to track plays and keep score during games. Then Jim is suddenly drafted into the army and sent to Korea to fight in the Korean War. They write letters to each other and Maggie learns about Korea and Jim’s new life through his letters. Something happens to Jim and he stops writing to Maggie; she wonders if there is anything she can do to help Jim.

Keeping Score is classified as a historical fiction book for several different reasons. The story is set during a real historical time period, the 1950’s, and the characters experience real historic events and situations, like the Korean War. Additionally, through the experiences of the fictional character, Maggie, the reader experiences what it was like to be a baseball fan during the 1950’s and what the Korean War was like through Jim’s letters. Furthermore, this book is a good text to use when teaching students about the Korean War, American baseball, and courage. Keeping Score is a great book for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it hard to get into this at first, because the main character, Maggie, is so into baseball and I'm just not. But I really enjoy Linda Sue Park's work, so I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did. While there is a LOT of emphasis on Maggie's love of baseball, Park also explores deeper, more meaningful issues. When a friend of Maggie's is sent off to fight in Korea, she starts paying attention to what is happening in the rest of the world and finds herself asking questions she'd never before considered. When is a war justified? How do we decide if it's successful or not? Do the benefits outweigh the costs to soldiers and their loved ones? Why are some prayers answered and others not? How selfless do we really need to be?

Since you can't really talk about those kinds of issues in public school, I think this could be an excellent choice for a family to read together or for a non-school-related book club/reading group.

I also should note that I found the book to be a good refresher on the Korean War. I had forgotten a lot about the reasons behind it, and Park does it in a way that is also very accessible to older children.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maggie meets Jim at the firehouse where her father used to work before being injured. Maggie goes to the fire house often to listen to the Dodgers games on the radio with the guys, until they hire a new guy, Jim, who is an avid Giants fan. Jim shows Maggie show to score a game and she gets so good at it that she's able to add her own unique touch to her scorecards. Jim is sent off to fight in the Korean War and while Maggie gets letters from Jim for awhile, the letters suddenly stop. We find out later in the book that Jim has been deeply affected mentally and emotionally by the War and has been sent to a hospital in Washington, DC to "heal". Even though Maggie tries to help Jim by buying tickets to the Dodgers/Giants game and talking to him about scoring the games, Jim never does fully recuperate.

This book does a very good job of describing the effects of war, whether they be physical or mental. Many times, the mental injuries are as devastating as physical injuries but aren't early as accepted or reported. I thought the book had a little too much religion to be an MHL book but otherwise, it was a good read.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

With overtones of ‘In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson’, Park’s story focuses on the Brooklyn Dodgers of the early 1950s with the main character, Maggie, among their most ardent fans. Maggie spends considerable time with the firemen at the local firehouse where her father once worked. She sits with the firemen and Charcoal, the firehouse Labrador, and listens fervently to the games on the radio. A new fireman, Jim, a (gasp!) Giants’ fan, teaches Maggie how to keep score, which Maggie does with religious, but somewhat futile, conviction for her Dodgers after learning with Jim and the Giants’ games. Then, Jim goes to Korea to serve. He replies to Maggie’s regular letters for a while, then… nothing…. Description stops here to avoid spoilers. Maggie, with her youthful enthusiasm, energy, and good will is an enjoyable character. Her supporting characters, her best friend, her family, and the firemen mostly, are warm additions to her world, Maggie and the story are endearing and recommended for an intermediate grades student, most especially for a compassionate girl who happens to enjoy baseball.

[Michele Maakestad · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was much younger, my father taught me to keep score for baseball/softball. To this day, it is still my favorite way to enjoy the game. I've been teaching my daughter as we attend and watch baseball games around the country.

Keeping score is about a young girl named Maggie who lives in Brooklyn in the 1950's. She is a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, and listens to all the games on the radio, usually with the men from the local fire department where her father works. The men all treat her like their own daughters, and she loves to take care of the firehouse dog.

One day, a new fireman joins the firehouse. His name is Jim, and he's a New York Giants fan. While they are listening to games, she notices him writing in a notebook, and asks him about it. He tells her he is scoring the game and begins to teach her. The two become great friends until Jim goes to fight in the Korean war. They write to each other during the war, but Jim suddenly stops writing. It takes a while for Maggie to find out that Jim has come back, but is not the same.

This is a well-written, lovely tale about friendships, baseball, and faith. I highly recommend this to readers of all ages.