I’ve read this young adult baseball book a million times and loved loved loved it, which is why I picked it up when I was stressed out and needing something easy and comforting to ease my monkey mind. I can’t say it was everything it had always been to me when I plucked it from my shelf this time around. It was as absorbing as ever, but I was more conscious this time through of how dated it is--and not just because Tunis uses the word “pickaninny” casually once to refer to the Dodger mascot. It was originally published in 1940--just seven years before Jackie Robinson broke into the majors. Weird, right?
Basically it’s the story of a 19-year-old pitcher’s first two seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Kid has a lot of heart and and gets some excellent help from an aging catcher at the end of his playing career. One jarring thing I observed in TKFT, as well as in the first Nancy Drew, back in the day, people weren’t weird about talking about money--wanting to have it, who deserved it, etc., even in a book written for teens.
For me the real problem with the book is the lack of emotional depth. The baseball stirs more emotion than the character himself’s foibles.
Cats: none!