[Dan Gutman]Shoeless Joe & Me(pdf){Zzzzz}

When Joe Stoshack hears about Shoeless Joe Jackson -- and the gambling scandal that destroyed the star player's career -- he knows what he has to do. If he travels back in time with a 1919 baseball card in his hand, he just might be able to prevent the infamous Black Sox Scandal from ever taking place. And if he could do that, Shoeless Joe Jackson would finally take his rightful place in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

But can Stosh prevent that tempting envelope full of money from making its way to Shoeless Joe's hotel room before the big game?

Publisher: HarperCollins; Reprint edition (March 4, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0064472590
ISBN-13: 978-0064472593

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this latest Baseball Card Adventure, Shoeless Joe & Me by Dan Gutman, Joe "Stosh" Stoshack travels back to 1919 but will he be in time to prevent Shoeless Joe Jackson from being implicated in a conspiracy to throw the World Series?

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-"Life isn't always fair," the team's sponsor tells 13-year-old Joe "Stosh" Stoshack after an umpire errs in calling him out during the Louisville Little League Championship. To reinforce his message, Flip tells the boy about the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, when gamblers allegedly paid Shoeless Joe Jackson and seven other members of the Chicago White Sox to throw the World Series. They were expelled from baseball for life, but Flip contends that the illiterate Jackson was innocent. What Flip doesn't know is that Stosh can time travel into the past via old baseball cards. He goes back to 1919 to try to save Shoeless Joe and meets him shortly before the fateful payoff is about to be made. The criminals are out to make sure that nothing interferes with their profits and are willing to kill the boy if necessary. Antique photographs, baseball cards, and news clippings add to the authentic representation of the time. Action is intense and exciting, both on and off the baseball field, and there are touches of humor when Stosh mixes up his own era with 1919. The story evokes strong sympathy for Jackson, and an endnote suggests that readers write to the Baseball Hall of Fame in support of his induction. The fourth in a series, this novel is an intriguing melding of sports history and science fiction that should be a hit with middle-school readers.
Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

A Baseball Hit!
A Kid's Review on May 8, 2003
Baseball fans here comes a new hit! It's called Babe and Me and it's got baseball, time-travel, and mystery all rolled into one. This novel is about a boy named Joe Stoshack and his Dad. They live in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1990s. This pair are big Babe Ruth fans, and like most other fans, they are DYING to know if he did call his famous home run on October 1, 1932. Unlike others, they have a secret. Joe can travel to any time on a baseball card by holding the card for 30 seconds! So they travel back to the Depression and watch the famous game.
This novel has a moral too. Joe learns tht behind the glory, Babe's life isn't perfect like you'd think it would be. He has troubles like any average person.
So if you like baseball, fantasy, or even history, read Babe and Me. It's a novel most baseball fans won't want to miss.


Call It What You Will
By M. Allen Greenbaum HALL OF FAMEVINE VOICE on September 28, 2002
In this third book of the time travel series, young Joe Stoshack touches Babe Ruth's 1932 baseball card, and journeys back to Wrigley Field in 1932. His goal is to see whether Ruth really did "call his shot," that is, point to the outfield stands just prior to hitting a home run there. Joe's angry, divorced, recently laid-off father sees the trip as a money-making opportunity (by betting on know outcomes, accruing 70 years of interest, and obtaining Ruth-autographed baseballs to sell when they return to the present).
This well-written book will appeal to all baseball fans, especially its audience of kids around 7 to 12 years. Gutman obviously loves the game and its lore, and he vividly recreates 1932 Chicago. It's a very good history as well as sports book, as Gutman describes (aided by newspaper clippings and photos) such topics as segregation, the Depression, and the arrival of German Fascism. At times, Gutman is a little too sentimental, especially when describing the eventual (and predictable) family rapprochement, and there's a somewhat simplistic nod to the Holocaust.
The main appeal is its depiction of early baseball and the larger-than-life character of the Babe.
Although Gutman exaggerates some of Ruth's grandiosity (which the author points out in an afterward), most of the book is factual. Gutman's researched his subject with sources such as the Society for American Baseball Research and the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Baseball Center. There's also a terrific section featuring contemporaries' opinions on the called shot, and a 2-page summary of Ruth's batting and pitching stats. These are inspired ideas, that, again, show Gutman's skillful weaving of fiction and fact.
This book offers much more than the usual sports fiction for kids. The family dynamics, the historical references, and the awesome presence of the Babe, Lou Gerhrig and other Hall of Famers are a winning combination.