Saving ARM PIT

Gr 3—6—It's hard to keep a good attitude when your baseball team has never won a game, and, in fact, the whole town of Harmony Point has a reputation for losing. Last Halloween, vandals deleted letters from the town's name, leaving the sign to read "ARM PIT." Clay and his teammates are tired of losing and tired of the town being a joke. Things look up when a new postmaster who actually knows something about baseball arrives and takes over coaching the Terriers. They don't win their next game but they do make a double play. Then, as soon as they start to believe in themselves, they learn that Coach Blackmore may be transferred because the post office simply doesn't have enough business to justify keeping it open. Coming up with a secret letter-writing campaign to increase mail and keep Coach Blackmore, the kids request summer-camp brochures, write to the state government for information, make the Town Council aware of potholes, submit a grant for a playground, and more. Through the letter writing, the kids are able to bring about change and become aware of the power of words, and the power of organization. Examples of responses to their letters are included between chapters. This book would be a terrific read-aloud for students to learn about citizenship, community service, and collaboration. Sportsmanship and hard work, respect for coaches are also valuable lessons within the story.—Nancy Baumann, University of Missouri-Columbia, MO