Review of "The Baseball Trick," by Scott Corbett

Review of

The Baseball Trick, by Scott Corbett

Five out of five stars

 While the title is accurate in that this is a book about baseball, it also includes an old woman that is capable of performing magic. Her name is Mrs. Graymalkin and her mode of operation is the magic potion. When Kerby Maxwell and his friends are preparing to have a game against his archrival Red Blake, they are taken advantage of. The unwritten rules are that the players on the teams have to be boys from their respective neighborhoods and below a certain age.

 However, Red brings in some bigger, more powerful boys from elsewhere as ringers and so Kerby’s team looks to be in danger of being blown out. Therefore, he asks Mrs. Graymalkin for help and she tells him to mix two chemicals in the chemistry set that she gave him and then pour a certain amount into the water that his team will drink.

 The potion works and the boys that consume it are suddenly capable of amazing feats on the baseball diamond. However, things do not go entirely the way that Kerby wanted it, even though everything works out in the end. Kerby’s dog Waldo also emerges as something of a hero when it faces down a large and very intimidating dog after drinking the potion.

 The combination of baseball and magic will delight young readers, even those that don’t really get excited about baseball.