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Shakespeare Bats Cleanup #2
Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs
"Koertge's pleasing variety of verse - a villanelle here, a sestina there - is a seamless fit for his story and characters." - The Horn Book (starred review)
Ron Koertge, master of snappy dialogue and a deft poet, offers a fast-paced, sympathetic story that interweaves two narrative voices with humor and warmth. Fourteen-year old Kevin juggles his passions for poetry, baseball, and two very different girls in this funny, insightful sequel to Shakespeare Bats Cleanup.
Ron Koertge, master of snappy dialogue and a deft poet, offers a fast-paced, sympathetic story that interweaves two narrative voices with humor and warmth. Fourteen-year old Kevin juggles his passions for poetry, baseball, and two very different girls in this funny, insightful sequel to Shakespeare Bats Cleanup.
176 pages, Paperback
First published March 9, 2010
14 people are currently reading
333 people want to read
About the author
Ron Koertge
71 books104 followersAsk Ron Koertge what he brings to the realm of young adult fiction, and the seasoned author responds matter-of-factly. "I write dialogue well, and I'm funny," he says--an assessment few would argue with. "I like iconoclasm and practice it in my fiction. I don't like pretense or hypocrisy. I'm almost always irreverent."
A faculty member for more than 35 years at Pasadena City College, where he has taught everything from Shakespeare to remedial writing, Ron Koertge is the author of several acclaimed novels, most of them for young adults. That Ron Koertge is a master at capturing teenagers' voices--often in witty repartee--is fully evident in MARGAUX WITH AN X, the story of a sharp-tongued beauty and a quirky, quick-witted loner. "MARGAUX WITH AN X started as a short story, but the heroine wouldn't let me alone," the author says. "She had a story to tell, and she wanted a whole novel to tell it in." Another unlikely pairing is found in STONER & SPAZ, Ron Koertge's funny, in-your-face tale of a young cinephile with cerebral palsy and the stoner who steals his heart. "My wife works with the disabled," the writer says of his inspiration for the novel, which quickly garnered critical acclaim. "One night she came home and told me about a young man she'd been working with. He had C.P. and a terrific sense of humor. Coincidentally, that day I had talked to a former student of mine who'd recently been in rehab for substance abuse. What would happen, I wondered, if those two knew each other?"
In addition to his young adult novels, Ron Koertge writes poetry, and has been dubbed "the wisest, most entertaining wiseguy in American poetry" by poet-laureate Billy Collins. SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP is narrated by a straight-talking, fourteen-year-old first baseman who has been benched by mono and decides to take a swing at writing poetry. Written entirely in free verse, with examples of several poetic forms slipped into the mix--including a sonnet, haiku, pastoral, and even a pantoum--SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP is a veritable English teacher's dream. "The interest in SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP is less with the arc of the plot than with the individual poems, some of which demonstrate poetic form, some of which tell the story," the author says. "One of my biggest challenges was to write like a fourteen-year-old who has a knack for writing poetry, and not just sound like a sixty-one-year-old pretending to be one!"
The author's first book with Candlewick, THE BRIMSTONE JOURNALS, is also a novel written in free verse, with 15 different teenage characters narrating four or five poems each. "The book started to nag me a few months before the shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, and I started to make notes in the form of poems," he says of the hauntingly prescient work. "BRIMSTONE needed to move at high velocity, and this form is perfect for that: no tail fins, no leather seats, no moon roof. Just get in and go."
Ron Koertge grew up in an agricultural area in an old mining town in Illinois, just across the Mississippi from St. Louis, Missouri. There he learned to "drive a tractor and buck hay bales, which are clearly useful skills in Los Angeles," he quips. He and his wife live in South Pasadena, California.
A faculty member for more than 35 years at Pasadena City College, where he has taught everything from Shakespeare to remedial writing, Ron Koertge is the author of several acclaimed novels, most of them for young adults. That Ron Koertge is a master at capturing teenagers' voices--often in witty repartee--is fully evident in MARGAUX WITH AN X, the story of a sharp-tongued beauty and a quirky, quick-witted loner. "MARGAUX WITH AN X started as a short story, but the heroine wouldn't let me alone," the author says. "She had a story to tell, and she wanted a whole novel to tell it in." Another unlikely pairing is found in STONER & SPAZ, Ron Koertge's funny, in-your-face tale of a young cinephile with cerebral palsy and the stoner who steals his heart. "My wife works with the disabled," the writer says of his inspiration for the novel, which quickly garnered critical acclaim. "One night she came home and told me about a young man she'd been working with. He had C.P. and a terrific sense of humor. Coincidentally, that day I had talked to a former student of mine who'd recently been in rehab for substance abuse. What would happen, I wondered, if those two knew each other?"
In addition to his young adult novels, Ron Koertge writes poetry, and has been dubbed "the wisest, most entertaining wiseguy in American poetry" by poet-laureate Billy Collins. SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP is narrated by a straight-talking, fourteen-year-old first baseman who has been benched by mono and decides to take a swing at writing poetry. Written entirely in free verse, with examples of several poetic forms slipped into the mix--including a sonnet, haiku, pastoral, and even a pantoum--SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP is a veritable English teacher's dream. "The interest in SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP is less with the arc of the plot than with the individual poems, some of which demonstrate poetic form, some of which tell the story," the author says. "One of my biggest challenges was to write like a fourteen-year-old who has a knack for writing poetry, and not just sound like a sixty-one-year-old pretending to be one!"
The author's first book with Candlewick, THE BRIMSTONE JOURNALS, is also a novel written in free verse, with 15 different teenage characters narrating four or five poems each. "The book started to nag me a few months before the shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, and I started to make notes in the form of poems," he says of the hauntingly prescient work. "BRIMSTONE needed to move at high velocity, and this form is perfect for that: no tail fins, no leather seats, no moon roof. Just get in and go."
Ron Koertge grew up in an agricultural area in an old mining town in Illinois, just across the Mississippi from St. Louis, Missouri. There he learned to "drive a tractor and buck hay bales, which are clearly useful skills in Los Angeles," he quips. He and his wife live in South Pasadena, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
October 19, 2015
4.5 actually. i liked this more than the first one.
September 15, 2013
"I'm basically a good kid. But imperfect enough to be interesting.
Like a good poem."
3.5 Stars
Before I begin, I have something that I need to announce:
I HAVE A BOOKSTORE IN MY OFFICE.
Yes. You heard me right...or read me right.
An actual bookstore. In my office campus. And as if that wasn't enough, there's heavy discounting.
Excuse me as I squeal like a pig in quicksand
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
So with that out of my system :D
Shakespeare makes the Playoffs is this random book that I picked up one day from the store because it was around 70% off.Yes I'm cheap like that yo.But I'm glad I did.
"Five a.m. It won't
be long now and day will
lay out its merchandise"
This is a charming little book and I have such love for it. This is the second book in the Shakespeare Bats Cleanup series by Ron Koertge. I haven't read the first one yet but this still makes a good standalone. Shakespeare makes the Playoff is basically the story of fourteen year old Kevin Boland: Baseball Player and Closet Poet. The book represents a diary that his father gifts Kevin and goes on to become a chronicle of his life in the form of poems, couplets, pantoums and more so.
"We listen to each other listen to each other breathe"
Now, I have always been daunted by the task of reading someone else's poems in the fear that I would never be able to grasp the hidden meaning out of them and appreciate it. I also have no clue regarding the different types or forms of Poetry and nada on the technical aspects of it. This is where Ron Koertge comes in. He eases you into it by slowly describing different terms and gives you examples by way of Kevin's adolescent thoughts and yearnings.
Kevin's in a relationship with a girl Mira who doesn't 'get him', he has growing feelings for another he met at a poetry reading of all places, he had lost his mother to sickness and her absence becomes a major presence in his life, his father slowly tries to pick up the debris of their old life.Like that, Kevin's life has numerous layers to it and his way of dealing with is by either trying to hit a home run ( I hope I'm saying that right) or trying to get his sestina working.
What I like about Kevin as a character is that he is honest to himself. Or at least tries to be. He's living a life of carefully masked white lies and to save himself from drowning in them, his haikus and sonnets reek of truth. He looks into himself, introspects, questions and pokes and prods his thoughts until he squeezes the raw truthful core out of them.
"Sadness is a big dark bus
with a schedule of its own.
But when it pulls up and the door
opens with a hiss, you pretty much
have to get on. "
Koertge manages to make the poems sincere without being difficult and while this is a middle school read, it's got so much heart that the slight childishness, that's a given, is easily overlooked. My only qualms with it is that it ended quite abruptly and he could have worked on the last few poems and emotions a little more
All in all, I was charmed. Kevin would chide me for not learning synonyms but Charmed is still the word I would use.
"The sky is all eyes-down like it's just been yelled at unfairly"
December 30, 2010
I'd give this three and a half stars if I could. I love, love, love Shakespeare Bats Cleanup. Here is my main complaint with the sequel: when does it take place? Becuase Kevin is in 8th grade in the first book, and it's June by the end of the book. And Kevin is in 8th grade in this one, while school is in session. My other complaint is that Mira seems to have gotten a pretty big personality change in between the two books. The whole reason Kevin is interested in her is that she notices him writing at one of his baseball games. And he takes her to a poetry reading, and they discuss the poems they like. Now all of a sudden she doesn't like poetry? It felt to convenient for me. The rest of it, though, is great. I love his dad's dating frustrations. Some of the insights into 8th grade love affairs are hilarious. And Kevin's struggles between two girls are very heartfelt and acurate, I just feel like the circumstances are contrived.
Some of my favorite parts:
A lot of teachers don't fit anywhere but school. I saw my geography teacher, Ms. Baldwin, in Target once and I thought, What are you doing out of your room? Like she stood in the corner at night on Sleep Mode and then at 7:30 the principal came by and switched her to Hyper-Teach.
"I told Ashley to tell Ella to tell Kaylee to tell Maya to tell Rick to tell William that Jennifer's going to be here tonight."
I ask, "How'd Rick get in there?"
"Rick's the guy who tells the guys. Maya can't tell William."
And that part come up again later:
"...it would be cool to leave each other poems in secret places. That sounds easier than me telling Ashely to tell Ella to tell Kaylee to tell Maya to tell Rick that I've got a sonnet for you."
I also like this part about Emily Dickinson, which won't make a whole lot of sense out of context because it's fragments, but I like it enough to write it down anyway:
Emily (he says to call her Emily, to think of her as Emily, somebody who -let's face it- is extraordinary but is still just Emily)
Some of my favorite parts:
A lot of teachers don't fit anywhere but school. I saw my geography teacher, Ms. Baldwin, in Target once and I thought, What are you doing out of your room? Like she stood in the corner at night on Sleep Mode and then at 7:30 the principal came by and switched her to Hyper-Teach.
"I told Ashley to tell Ella to tell Kaylee to tell Maya to tell Rick to tell William that Jennifer's going to be here tonight."
I ask, "How'd Rick get in there?"
"Rick's the guy who tells the guys. Maya can't tell William."
And that part come up again later:
"...it would be cool to leave each other poems in secret places. That sounds easier than me telling Ashely to tell Ella to tell Kaylee to tell Maya to tell Rick that I've got a sonnet for you."
I also like this part about Emily Dickinson, which won't make a whole lot of sense out of context because it's fragments, but I like it enough to write it down anyway:
Emily (he says to call her Emily, to think of her as Emily, somebody who -let's face it- is extraordinary but is still just Emily)
December 3, 2019
The story, “Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs” is a poetry story written by Ron Koertge. It’s about a teenage boy named Kevin Boland. Kevin plays baseball but he also has a secret talent. Writing poetry. Not many people know this but those who do know call him Shakespeare. Kevin has a cute girlfriend named Mira and his baseball team is in the playoffs so he’s living the life. Then, his dad introduces the idea of going to a poetry reading. While they’re there, Kevin meets a girl named Amy. Amy also writes poetry. They’ve started to eMail poems back and forth giving each other feedback. Kevin then starts to fall for Amy.
Then, Kevin’s baseball team made it to the finals and Mira is there. Kevin also sees Amy in the crowd with her boyfriend, Trevor. Trevor is like Mr. Perfect. Kevin knows there is no way he’s going to get Amy over him. That is until they break up. Trevor and Amy have just split and Amy mentions a movie to Kevin. They go to the movies and unfortunately, Mira finds out. She breaks up with Kevin and finally, Kevin and Amy are happy together writing poetry.
My favorite part of the story is when Mira marches onto the soccer field to scream at Kevin about his “date” with Mira. Kevin doesn’t even try to defend himself and Mira is left heartbroken. This is my favorite part because of how descriptive it is. I can almost picture Mira stomping onto the field. The story says,”...and then the door flies open and Mira storms out and comes right at me.” I can picture Mira getting out of the car and marching over to Kevin on the soccer field.
I would recommend this book to middle school students who enjoy reading poetry. I think they would enjoy it because of the other different poems mixed in.
Then, Kevin’s baseball team made it to the finals and Mira is there. Kevin also sees Amy in the crowd with her boyfriend, Trevor. Trevor is like Mr. Perfect. Kevin knows there is no way he’s going to get Amy over him. That is until they break up. Trevor and Amy have just split and Amy mentions a movie to Kevin. They go to the movies and unfortunately, Mira finds out. She breaks up with Kevin and finally, Kevin and Amy are happy together writing poetry.
My favorite part of the story is when Mira marches onto the soccer field to scream at Kevin about his “date” with Mira. Kevin doesn’t even try to defend himself and Mira is left heartbroken. This is my favorite part because of how descriptive it is. I can almost picture Mira stomping onto the field. The story says,”...and then the door flies open and Mira storms out and comes right at me.” I can picture Mira getting out of the car and marching over to Kevin on the soccer field.
I would recommend this book to middle school students who enjoy reading poetry. I think they would enjoy it because of the other different poems mixed in.
March 24, 2017
I can't help (unfairly) comparing the two books in this series to Kwame Alexander's *Crossover* and *Booked.* Unfairly, since both of the "Shakespeare" books are actually really good examples of YA books featuring athletes who write poetry. And of all four of these books, this one has the best poems (moving, heartfelt poems about dracula and king kong!). If it wasn't for a character who seems like she had a personality transplant in between books one and two, it would have been five stars.
February 27, 2019
I thought this book was very good but could be confusing sometimes. I really liked how this book was laid out and how it wasn't a very hard read. I liked how there was very little short stories but I did not like how some of them rhyme. I am not a rhyming person. I would recommend this book for people that do not really like long and hard reads but it could also be a good book for readers that like reading. I rate this book a 7/10 because it is so interesting.
March 1, 2010
About the Books: 14-year-old Kevin is stuck at home with Mono, which means he's not allowed to play any baseball. To pass the time, he starts to write. First he writes so it looks like poetry, then he begins to take an interest in poetry and explores different types of poems. He writes about his mom's death, baseball, and life in middle school. He also meets Mira, a new girl in school that makes him not want to hide the fact that he's a writer.
In Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs, Kevin is back. He's grown more confident in his
writing, he's dating Mira, and he's playing baseball. But when Kevin meets Amy at a poetry reading, he can't stop thinking about her-but that's not right-he has Mira! Why should he care that Amy understands his poems and Mira doesn't? On top of his own dating confusion, Kevin's dad is starting to date again.
GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: These books are why I love my job. Just this week I had a patron come in looking for a book of poetry for her son. His assignment was to identify the different types of poems that were written. I immediately took her over to Shakespeare Bats Cleanup and handed it to her. I mentioned how Kevin writes different styles of poems and talks about the various styles, how they work, but the poems were all connected into one big story. She grabbed it and said "this will be perfect!"
I have to hand it to Ron Koertge. He's a tricky author-he gets his reader to learn about poetry without letting them know they're learning. And he pulls it off in a way that will grab your attention and make you care about what you're reading. I think these books should be required reading in English class poetry units.
Kevin's observations about middle school life, romance and friendships are spot on and will resonate with readers. It's been a long time since I was in middle school (thank goodness!) but I found myself nodding along and remembering exactly what those days were like. The books also touch on tougher issues like Kevin's mom's death and his dad's dating. But these never bog down the book and make it feel "issue heavy." There's lots of humor to keep readers laughing as well, which helps the books feel lighter and move quickly.
Hand these over to readers who enjoy sports, poetry or a mix of both. Because as Kevin proves, you can be an athlete and a writer!
In Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs, Kevin is back. He's grown more confident in his
writing, he's dating Mira, and he's playing baseball. But when Kevin meets Amy at a poetry reading, he can't stop thinking about her-but that's not right-he has Mira! Why should he care that Amy understands his poems and Mira doesn't? On top of his own dating confusion, Kevin's dad is starting to date again.
GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: These books are why I love my job. Just this week I had a patron come in looking for a book of poetry for her son. His assignment was to identify the different types of poems that were written. I immediately took her over to Shakespeare Bats Cleanup and handed it to her. I mentioned how Kevin writes different styles of poems and talks about the various styles, how they work, but the poems were all connected into one big story. She grabbed it and said "this will be perfect!"
I have to hand it to Ron Koertge. He's a tricky author-he gets his reader to learn about poetry without letting them know they're learning. And he pulls it off in a way that will grab your attention and make you care about what you're reading. I think these books should be required reading in English class poetry units.
Kevin's observations about middle school life, romance and friendships are spot on and will resonate with readers. It's been a long time since I was in middle school (thank goodness!) but I found myself nodding along and remembering exactly what those days were like. The books also touch on tougher issues like Kevin's mom's death and his dad's dating. But these never bog down the book and make it feel "issue heavy." There's lots of humor to keep readers laughing as well, which helps the books feel lighter and move quickly.
Hand these over to readers who enjoy sports, poetry or a mix of both. Because as Kevin proves, you can be an athlete and a writer!
July 11, 2011
This book is a sequel to "Shakespeare Bats Cleanup". While I haven't read that book, I might sometime in the future.
"Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs" is written in the perspective from Kevin's diary - which he uses to write down his feelings, most often in the forms of poems.
Kevin is very good at two things - baseball and writing. He has a girlfriend (Mira) but meets another girl at a poetry-sharing event (Amy) - and then the conflict ensues. Kevin struggles with his feelings for both girls, along with the continuing fallout of his dad beginning to date other women after the death of Kevin's mother.
I loved the format of this book, as well as the characters and the themes. I liked that Kevin played baseball AND wrote poetry. So often, we are shown stereotypes of the jock that's good at sports, or the nerd/loner who's good at writing. I love baseball so it was quite expected that I'd like this story. I also love some of Kevin's feelings about girls - expressions that show guys' confusion and amusement about how females operate. A good example - "How can somebody, even a girl, not be interested in the playoffs?" (p. 107)
There's only one reason this book doesn't get five stars from me. I dislike when a character's choice is between either a pretty/vain girl and a smart/understanding/cute girl. I find these types of characters - Mira and Amy in this case - very predictable and formulaic. I'd like to think that sometimes we can have characters that are both very attractive AND intelligent.
"Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs" is written in the perspective from Kevin's diary - which he uses to write down his feelings, most often in the forms of poems.
Kevin is very good at two things - baseball and writing. He has a girlfriend (Mira) but meets another girl at a poetry-sharing event (Amy) - and then the conflict ensues. Kevin struggles with his feelings for both girls, along with the continuing fallout of his dad beginning to date other women after the death of Kevin's mother.
I loved the format of this book, as well as the characters and the themes. I liked that Kevin played baseball AND wrote poetry. So often, we are shown stereotypes of the jock that's good at sports, or the nerd/loner who's good at writing. I love baseball so it was quite expected that I'd like this story. I also love some of Kevin's feelings about girls - expressions that show guys' confusion and amusement about how females operate. A good example - "How can somebody, even a girl, not be interested in the playoffs?" (p. 107)
There's only one reason this book doesn't get five stars from me. I dislike when a character's choice is between either a pretty/vain girl and a smart/understanding/cute girl. I find these types of characters - Mira and Amy in this case - very predictable and formulaic. I'd like to think that sometimes we can have characters that are both very attractive AND intelligent.
June 26, 2012
Koertge, R. (2010). Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs. Massachusetts: Candle Wick Press.
Gr. 7-12. Kevin is nicknamed Shakespeare because he likes to write poetry, but this doesn’t stop him from playing baseball. And Kevin has a problem: he has a girlfriend, but he doesn’t have much in common with her, and he likes a girl who loves poetry as much as he does. He wants to break up with his girlfriend, but can’t find the words, even though words are something he is good at.
Curriculum: This would be a great book to use in a writing class to talk about the different types of poetry. There are several forms used throughout the story, so this would be a good mentor text. It is nice that there is a story told through the different forms of poetry, so it could be a good mentor text for narrative poetry as well. It is also told from a male’s perspective, so it would appeal to male readers.
Awards: YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2011)
Gr. 7-12. Kevin is nicknamed Shakespeare because he likes to write poetry, but this doesn’t stop him from playing baseball. And Kevin has a problem: he has a girlfriend, but he doesn’t have much in common with her, and he likes a girl who loves poetry as much as he does. He wants to break up with his girlfriend, but can’t find the words, even though words are something he is good at.
Curriculum: This would be a great book to use in a writing class to talk about the different types of poetry. There are several forms used throughout the story, so this would be a good mentor text. It is nice that there is a story told through the different forms of poetry, so it could be a good mentor text for narrative poetry as well. It is also told from a male’s perspective, so it would appeal to male readers.
Awards: YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (2011)
June 3, 2013
Shakespeare makes the playoffs is a 176-page realistic fiction novel written in verse by Ron Koertge. It is about a young kid named Kevin, who has a love for both baseball and poetry. When he goes to a poetry reading, he meets a girl named Amy. Kevin's current girlfriend Mira doesn't care much for poetry, and Kevin connects with Amy through poetry. It eventually leads to Kevin having to make a choice, and when he breaks up with Mira, Kevin and Amy are able to become more than just "poetry buddies".
I liked the story and plot of this book, but for me the verse subtracted from the book. It was good poetry, but I just didn't feel that it came naturally. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in poetry and/or people that like the warmth that comes from stories like this.
I liked the story and plot of this book, but for me the verse subtracted from the book. It was good poetry, but I just didn't feel that it came naturally. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in poetry and/or people that like the warmth that comes from stories like this.
September 17, 2012
The sequel to Shakespeare Bats Cleanup was written for all those who wanted to know what happened:-) Great book, a little thicker than the first but same style as the first and good for relucant readers as well as those who just love to mix baseball with poetry. I had kids fighting over who was going to borrow the first one today so this can't join my classroom library til I can give enough time for a few people to read the original story.
March 10, 2015
This was a lovely little story about a boy Learning to navigate between friends and dating. It's not really about baseball. So if you aren't familiar with the game, it's okay. The story is written in prose with a mix of specific poetry types. A great book for a quiet Saturday morning.
October 7, 2011
i loved it!
April 26, 2019
Recommend this book if you are interested in baseball itself, poems, or even relationships. One of the most interesting books I have ever read my whole reading career. Ron Koertge the author also has some funny lines where it can be a good moment to make your day better. It is about a fourteen year old boy who really enjoys playing baseball and is very good with poems himself. Although, his social life does get pretty challenging for him throughout the book and hard for him to attend baseball.
Kevin has just not been comfortable since his mom’s death. He doesn’t understand why his dad throws a bunch of his mom’s stuff away. This hurts him because then his dad is trying to introduce him a new mom. Kevin’s relief is writing poems, however he doesn’t want the guys on his baseball team to know that he likes baseball. Mira who is Kevin’s girlfriend is not interested in neither of baseball nor poems. Kevin does not tell Mira that he is going to attend Bungalow Books. Kevin who then meets Amy who is very passionate about poems. Kevin starts to catch feelings for Amy and doesn’t know if to stay with Mira, or end Amy’s and his friendship, by asking her out.
Excellent book, with creative ideas, it really amused me. I liked how the author made it looked like baseball and poems really go together. I also enjoyed how the main character Kevin was very relaxed with his decisions and didn’t panic.
Kevin has just not been comfortable since his mom’s death. He doesn’t understand why his dad throws a bunch of his mom’s stuff away. This hurts him because then his dad is trying to introduce him a new mom. Kevin’s relief is writing poems, however he doesn’t want the guys on his baseball team to know that he likes baseball. Mira who is Kevin’s girlfriend is not interested in neither of baseball nor poems. Kevin does not tell Mira that he is going to attend Bungalow Books. Kevin who then meets Amy who is very passionate about poems. Kevin starts to catch feelings for Amy and doesn’t know if to stay with Mira, or end Amy’s and his friendship, by asking her out.
Excellent book, with creative ideas, it really amused me. I liked how the author made it looked like baseball and poems really go together. I also enjoyed how the main character Kevin was very relaxed with his decisions and didn’t panic.
May 30, 2019
Choice book #3 quarter 3
Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs written by: Ron Koertge, is a poetry book. the setting is the baseball field, home and school.
Main character:
Kevin: Kevin is a great poet and he loves baseball. his mom passed and his dad has just started dating again, though Kevin dose not know what to think about that. Kevin also has a girlfriend, though he thinks that he might like someone else.
The main problem is the story is, Kevin´s girlfriend and her love each other, but after a while, he realizes that they don´t have much in common. he likes a different girl but he cant tell anyone.
the author believes that, you should never lie. one example is, Kevin´s honesty when he realizes, he dose not lie to himself, he knows he likes someone different. another example is, when he dose not understand his girlfriend. she was going on and on about her friends gossip and he just told her he did not understand instead on lying. third is when him and his crush are e-mailing each other and he admitted he liked her even though he was afraid of what she was going to say.
three things i liked about this book was, what was going on. i loved that Kevin and his dad were doing and going through the same things like greeving and trying to find a girlfriend. i also liked how kevin would always try to be honest to maria even when he new she might not like it. lastly, i liked how much Kevin liked baseball. we seems really passionet about it and it was fun to learn about his friends there.
Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs written by: Ron Koertge, is a poetry book. the setting is the baseball field, home and school.
Main character:
Kevin: Kevin is a great poet and he loves baseball. his mom passed and his dad has just started dating again, though Kevin dose not know what to think about that. Kevin also has a girlfriend, though he thinks that he might like someone else.
The main problem is the story is, Kevin´s girlfriend and her love each other, but after a while, he realizes that they don´t have much in common. he likes a different girl but he cant tell anyone.
the author believes that, you should never lie. one example is, Kevin´s honesty when he realizes, he dose not lie to himself, he knows he likes someone different. another example is, when he dose not understand his girlfriend. she was going on and on about her friends gossip and he just told her he did not understand instead on lying. third is when him and his crush are e-mailing each other and he admitted he liked her even though he was afraid of what she was going to say.
three things i liked about this book was, what was going on. i loved that Kevin and his dad were doing and going through the same things like greeving and trying to find a girlfriend. i also liked how kevin would always try to be honest to maria even when he new she might not like it. lastly, i liked how much Kevin liked baseball. we seems really passionet about it and it was fun to learn about his friends there.
May 4, 2022
This is the sequel to Shakespeare Bats Cleanup and picks up where it left off. Kevin is still in denial about his poetry writing and still considers himself an athlete. He's been dating Mira and not sure that he likes it, even though she's cute and his friends think she's cute. She isn't into his poetry and he isn't into her dance class or her new found love for all things green. He begins to go to poetry readings with his father, who has recently begun dating. This books follows the same format as the first, exploring various styles of poetry as Kevin safely explores his feelings. He meets Amy at an open mike night at the bookstore and they quickly become "poetry buddies", talking about poetry and critiquing each other's work. Things become strained as Mira expresses her jealousy, and Kevin meets Amy's "perfect" boyfriend Trevor. Like the first book, a lot of middle school ground is covered. The poems show that Kevin is not thinking exclusively about baseball, even as his team heads for the playoffs. He's not just a jock and he's okay with that. Recommended for grades 6-10. This is short, fun, easy-to-read and humorous. Good for reluctant readers and teachers of poetry.
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November 17, 2022I just finished the sequel to SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP. Author Ron Koertge takes readers back into the life of Kevin Boland. Now he's an 8th grader looking forward to playing baseball in high school and maybe beyond. Still writing poetry, he shares how some things have changed in his life.
Kevin is learning to cope with the fact that his father is dating. It's a little uncomfortable, but he realizes his father is probably lonely. Assured that neither of them have forgotten Kevin's mom, it seems natural that it's time for his dad to move on.
Kevin's own love life is subject of many of his poems. He is in a relationship with Mira. She's quite cute and definitely a great kisser, but she doesn't really care about baseball and only likes his poems if she is mentioned in them. When he meets Amy at a reading at the local bookstore, they become what Amy calls "poetry friends." That works out well until Kevin realizes Amy is starting to feel like more than just a friend because of poetry.
I enjoyed following Kevin's life again. He is clever and creative. His way with words and humor will stay with me a long time.
Kevin is learning to cope with the fact that his father is dating. It's a little uncomfortable, but he realizes his father is probably lonely. Assured that neither of them have forgotten Kevin's mom, it seems natural that it's time for his dad to move on.
Kevin's own love life is subject of many of his poems. He is in a relationship with Mira. She's quite cute and definitely a great kisser, but she doesn't really care about baseball and only likes his poems if she is mentioned in them. When he meets Amy at a reading at the local bookstore, they become what Amy calls "poetry friends." That works out well until Kevin realizes Amy is starting to feel like more than just a friend because of poetry.
I enjoyed following Kevin's life again. He is clever and creative. His way with words and humor will stay with me a long time.
November 14, 2022
I'd give this a 3.5 star rating, if I could.
Like the first verse novel, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup, Kevin is the main narrator, including his poems about his life in a "journal" that we are reading. The poems vary in length and style, and he intentionally touches on formats like the villanelle and the pantoum, not to mention limericks and free verse and blank verse and haiku, etc. But he is not the only poem-writer included in the book - fellow teen poet Amy also sends him poems that are included here, so we see both of their emotional struggles through their poems. Kevin writes about his girlfriend, his dad's emerging love-life, baseball and his friends on the team; Amy writes about her boyfriend, monsters, and her development as a first-rate pianist. Overall, a quick read (for me, an adult) and another nice collection of "real life" poetry.
Like the first verse novel, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup, Kevin is the main narrator, including his poems about his life in a "journal" that we are reading. The poems vary in length and style, and he intentionally touches on formats like the villanelle and the pantoum, not to mention limericks and free verse and blank verse and haiku, etc. But he is not the only poem-writer included in the book - fellow teen poet Amy also sends him poems that are included here, so we see both of their emotional struggles through their poems. Kevin writes about his girlfriend, his dad's emerging love-life, baseball and his friends on the team; Amy writes about her boyfriend, monsters, and her development as a first-rate pianist. Overall, a quick read (for me, an adult) and another nice collection of "real life" poetry.
April 6, 2023
Totally similar thoughts to the first book, but I think I liked this one a bit less. The poetry got more involved with all of Amy and Kevin’s monster poetry, and I’m personally more into narrative poetry that would’ve progressed the plot. (Although I didn’t *love* the plot. Don’t get me wrong, it felt VERY accurate to 8th grade dating woes, but Mira seemed to have a little personality change since Book One, and I didn’t like Amy much at all considering the circumstances; soooo the love triangle didn’t thrill me.) I liked Kevin less than I did in the first book too. All fine, but he still didn’t seem fully developed for whatever reason. Super quick reads though. I honestly do wish there were 3-4 more following Kevin into and through high school!
March 1, 2018
This was so frustrating! It wasn't half as good as the first book and had THE WORST ENDING EVER. Why would you ever even write a sequel that doesn't really have a purpose? The first book was really good (it had a great plot) but this... most of the book was like Tra la la I'm mad at this person, now I'm going to school la di da, I'm so confused what do I do, So and so is so annoying... etc. I did really like how the book is written in verse and talks about a lot of different kinds of poems but that ending...
May 10, 2024
I LOVE this book. I can't count the number of times I laughed. Out loud. In the library. Or had to do one of those crazy silent laughs with my hand over my mouth so I didn't interrupt anyone.
So, I am in great love with Koertge's writing style. And not just the humor. His poetry is well done and super fun to read. Kevin is very relatable and dynamic. I love his wit and heart. I'm sad that I read this one first - I didn't know this one was a follow-up novel. I'll be getting that one next. This one was phenomenal.
So, I am in great love with Koertge's writing style. And not just the humor. His poetry is well done and super fun to read. Kevin is very relatable and dynamic. I love his wit and heart. I'm sad that I read this one first - I didn't know this one was a follow-up novel. I'll be getting that one next. This one was phenomenal.
March 14, 2023
This book is about a fourteen year old boy named Kevin. He likes poetry and baseball. His girlfriend Mira isn't into either of those things. Kevin meets a girl named Amy at a poetry slam. Amy likes poetry which intrigues Kevin. Should Kevin stay with Mira or ask out Amy?
I thought this book was cute. I thought it was for the most part, lighthearted. One thing that I didn't really like as much was the rhyming within the book.
Content Warnings:
none
I thought this book was cute. I thought it was for the most part, lighthearted. One thing that I didn't really like as much was the rhyming within the book.
Content Warnings:
none
July 17, 2018
Kevin is back playing baseball and still writing his poetry. His teammates make fun if him and call him Shakespeare. His girlfriend, Mira, doesn't really get it either. But one day he meets a girl named Amy who writes poetry and they become instant poetry pals.
This book was just as cute and funny as the first one. I loved the poetry and the messages it gives about poetry as well. It made me want to write some poems of my own. I loved how Kevin found a friend through his love for poetry and someone that understood him when no one else did.
This book was just as cute and funny as the first one. I loved the poetry and the messages it gives about poetry as well. It made me want to write some poems of my own. I loved how Kevin found a friend through his love for poetry and someone that understood him when no one else did.
April 2, 2019
This book was a delight to read. I think this would make a great introduction to poetry for students, as it shows off many different forms of poetry. The story also deals with relatable issues, told in a fun and interesting way. I haven't read the first book in the series but this was enjoyable on its own, and I would like to go back and read the first book sometime.
September 18, 2017
Sweet and clever little YA book very cleverly using a variety of poetic styles to tell the story. I should have brushed up on my poem knowledge before reading these to appreciate it more (lol!). My high school literacy teacher sister loves this book.
September 23, 2017
Fantastic! A book written in verse, found on a shelf at local library highlighting such books. Great story, characters, and poetry (yes, even for this one who is not attracted to poetry as a general rule)
May 12, 2018
Loved the continuation of this sweet story and love all the poetry types on display. This is a great way to I trod ice teens to poetry and keep them engaged. I’m so glad Shakespeare made the playoffs!
May 12, 2017
Really enjoyed this one. I liked the relationships portrayed--Kevin and his dad, Kevin and Mira, Kevin and Amy, Kevin and his friends.
September 28, 2017
Panting after pantoums, salivating over sonnets. How does he find time between oiling his glove and making out with Mira? Well, that is the name of the game.
August 24, 2018
Middle school semi romance written in verse. Great for students studying poetry.
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