Game 2: Barnstormers: Tales of the Travelin' Nine Series, Book 2

The Sluggers #2

by Loren Long, Phil Bildner, Josh Hamilton

The year is 1899, and the Travelin' Nine are crisscrossing the good ol' U.S. of A., raising money to pay off the Payne family's big-league debt!

As the team heads into the River City, Griffith is beginning to realize that there's more at risk than meets the eye, something beyond the need to raise money -- something involving the ball that could put his entire family in danger.

Ruby is eager to help solve the mystery of the ball and plans on keeping her eyes and ears wide open and writing everything down. She knows the answer is out there. All she has to do is see the things that others don't. And figure out what those things mean.

Then there's Graham, who usually only thinks about how to get more time on the baseball field. Even he's beginning to notice that there are strange and shady characters at just about every turn.

Finally there's the Chancellor, one of the wealthiest and greediest businessmen in the entire world. And it looks like he's got his eye on the ball!

Genres: Historical Fiction

MP3 Book

First published September 25, 2007

About the author

I grew up in Lexington, Kentucky in the 1970’s. We had no artists of any kind in the family. We didn’t know any artists. I liked sports, especially baseball. My mother read to me a lot. But I have to admit, my favorite subject in school was gym class. I also liked to draw. My parents encouraged me to keep drawing.

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 2nd book in this series is just as much fun as the first book, maybe even more so with the famous old-time baseball player from Louisville, Rube Waddell, making an appearance. I knew about the eccentric Waddell already, but I did learn a couple of new things. For example, among the 260 men who lost their lives in the sinking of the USS Maine in the Havana harbor, ten were members of their baseball team -- they had won the Navy's championship just the month before. You can also get to know the horses from the Kentucky Derby races of the late 1890s in an unusual, clever way.

The obligatory summary of the first book is also achieved in a clever and cute way, and while a couple questions may have been answered, the mystery continues to deepen.

[Allie Bayer · Rating 2 out of 5]

These are so short because of the many (really cool) pictures and the page format, but I’m still lost on a lot of the plot. I read both this and the first book in one 24 hour stretch and I thought maybe things would clear up in this second book, but they didn’t much. It was essentially the exact same story as the first, only a different city. I have Book Four, but it turns out there are actually at least six books and I don’t feel much drive to finish them because they get longer with each. I’m totally going to make JP give them a try though; as the target audience maybe he’ll enjoy more than I did.

[Silvia Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loved this series. We read these together when he was younger and now that he's 15 he still remembers them!

[Jodysegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book two of the NY Times best-selling Barnstormers series finds the three Payne children and their magical baseball afloat on the Mississippi River, steaming toward Louisville for game 2 of the Travelin’ Nine exhibition baseball tour. The story opens with a mysterious letter from their absent Uncle Owen warning them to beware the Chancellor and, above all, to protect the baseball. Adding to their worries, the children must figure out how to help the team win this game, so they can help pay off their family debt. When Kentucky Derby horses magically appear on the field, the children have to work as a team, just as the ballplayers do, in order to harness the power of the racehorses, win the ballgame and begin to unravel the mystery. Though disappointingly uneventful, the novel offers something to 3rd – 5th grade boys who like sports, history and a mystery in their literature. Girls may also be drawn to the smart, resourceful Ruby. Lovely, pencil-drawn illustrations create an historical feel to the novel. While throwing together multiple plot elements, a mystery, magic, baseball, journaling, poetry writing, historical fiction, and both boy and girl protagonists bogs down the story, interesting settings and the developing central mystery might keep readers coming back for more of this series.

[Sonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of teamwork, magic, memories, mystery and challenge.
Three siblings follow a baseball team created from veterans.

The second in a series, some of the incidents were not clear without reading the first in the series.

The author intertwined historical landmarks and events into the magic of a game dependent upon three children who must solve how to win before they can understand why they must win.

[Anish Surepeddi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sequel to the special and amazing series Barnstormers or Sluggers does not disappoint at all. It Includes to have enough sports and fantasy fun to be a sequel as good as Magic in the outfield also known as Sluggers book 1.
I think Sluggers book 2 Horsin Around is a great book and does not disappoint.

[Ezra · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a very exciting book from start to finish. My favorite part was when they played the game.