Pop Flies, Robo-Pets, and Other Disasters

  • Interest Level: Grade 4 - Grade 8
  • Reading Level: Grade 4

Thirteen-year-old Satoshi Matsumoto spent the last three years living in Atlanta where he was the star of his middle-school baseball team—a slugger with pro potential, according to his coach. Now that his father’s work in the US has come to an end, he’s moved back to his hometown in rural Japan. Living abroad has changed him, and now his old friends in Japan are suspicious of his new foreign ways. Even worse, his childhood foe Shintaro, whose dad has ties to gangsters, is in his homeroom. After he joins his new school’s baseball team, Satoshi has a chance to be a hero until he makes a major-league error.

“A heart-warming story about a baseball player who learns that teamwork is much more important than being the star of the team. I loved the family dynamics and depiction of life, and especially baseball, in Japan.”—Shauna Holyoak, author of Kazu Jones and the Denver Dognappers (Hyperion, 2019)

“A story set in Japan rich in details only Kamata, an insider, could share. With ease and respect, she weaves the pressures, agonies, and loyalties of Satoshi’s life at home, at school and on a junior high baseball team with the practices and traditions of the game played in Japan. I am a big fan of this middle-grade homerun!”—Annie Donwerth Chikamatsu, award-winning author of Somewhere Among (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 2017)

Pop Flies really pops! A lively, fun, easy read that draws you in and keeps you guessing.”—Dori Jones Yang, award-winning author of The Forbidden Temptation of Baseball (SparkPress, 2017)

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978-1-947159-36-5
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978-1-947159-39-6
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Interest Level Grade 4 - Grade 8
Reading Level Grade 4
Category Diverse Books: Race & Ethnicity, Diversity, SEL: B Self-Management, SEL: D Relationship Skills, SEL: E Responsible Decision-Making, Social Emotional Learning
Copyright 2020
Publisher Red Chair Press
Imprint One Elm Books
Language English
Number of Pages 208
Publication Date 2020-03-03
Text Type Fiction
BISACS JUV039140, JUV032010, JUV013030
Dewey [Fic]
Graphics 1-color illustrations
Dimensions 5.5 x 7.75
Lexile 690
Guided Reading Level W
Features Awards, Original artwork, Reviewed, Teaching Guides, and eSource

Author: Suzanne Kamata

Award-winning author Suzanne Kamata was born and raised in the United States, but has lived in Japan for more than half of her life. Suzanne raised two kids and now lives with her husband in Aizumi, Japan.

Illustrator: Tracy Bishop

Tracy Nishimura Bishop is an illustrator working in San Jose, CA. She grew up in Japan and got hooked on drawing when she won an art contest in Kindergarten.

Lerner eSource™ offers free digital teaching and learning resources, including Common Core State Standards (CCSS) teaching guides. These guides, created by classroom teachers, offer short lessons and writing exercises that give students specific instruction and practice using Common Core skills and strategies. Lerner eSource also provides additional resources including online activities, downloadable/printable graphic organizers, and additional educational materials that would also support Common Core instruction. Download, share, pin, print, and save as many of these free resources as you like!

Pop Flies, Robo-Pets, and Other Disasters

Thirteen-year-old Satoshi Matsumoto spent the last three years living in Atlanta where he was the star of his middle-school baseball team—a slugger with pro potential, according to his coach. Now that his father’s work in the US has come to an end, he’s moved back to his… View available downloads →

Awards

  • 2021 Sakura Medal Longlist, Long-listed, 2021

Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

“An engaging, sports-focused, family-driven Japanese spin on the new-kid-in-school narrative.”—Kirkus Reviews