King of the Mound: My Summer with Satchel Paige

by Wes Tooke

Baseball legend Satchel Paige changes a boy’s life in this coming-of-age tale from the author of Lucky .

When Nick is released from the hospital after suffering from polio, he is sure that his father will never look at him in the same way again. Once the best pitcher in youth league, Nick now walks with a limp and is dependent on a heavy leg brace. He isn’t sure he will ever return to the mound, never mind be the star he once was.

When Nick starts working for Mr. Churchill, the owner of the semiprofessional team Nick’s dad plays for, he meets Satchel Paige, arguably the best pitcher in the world. Not allowed in the major leagues because of his skin color, Satchel teaches Nick that some things can be overcome with hard work and dedication, and that just because you’re down, you are most certainly not out.

As Satchel and his unique teammates barnstorm toward a national baseball tournament, Nick wonders if he can really overcome what seems like the impossible and pitch again.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Sports, Baseball, Middle Grade, Juvenile, Fiction, Childrens

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 21, 2012

Reviews

[Colby Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

AWESOME! I grew up on Satchel Paige stories from my dad, so reading King of the Mound only added to his legend.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was at our public library yesterday reserving books, and I just happened to check my GoodReads. Noticed that a friend I trust for recommendations, had recommended this sports historical fiction. For any students who really enjoy baseball, and liked We Are the Ship by Kadir Nelson, this would be a perfect fit. I enjoyed so much about this book: each chapter is sequentially titled with what inning it is and whether it is top or bottom of ending (so clever), the main character had polio but learns to overcome some of the disease's obstacles, the main character and his father have a very strained relationship which made for good reading even when I didn't like the dad, and the best part of all was how the author took real events from the life of Satchel Paige and fictionalized their context for the story. The author takes a good look at the bigotry of the time as well without being too preachy. I would agree with my friend, Susan, who recommended this book - King of the Mound is a must read (and now for me, a must buy!!).

[Caristy Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice story talking about the way there was still issues with race and black and white players playing together. Also the chance to have a great conversation about the reason it's not right to prevent someone from doing something just because of the color of their skin. It's also a great story about trying to figure who you are after something has happened to you. How do you move on and still be the person you were before you were sick?

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't sure we were going to enjoy this one when we started but it turned out to be a great book.

[NATHAN GREENE · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was good and kept my attention. It made me want to keep reading it until I finished. Here is my spoiler free summary of the book.

After a year in the hospital due to polio, Nick is greeted by his depressed father. Nick came out and gave his father a hug and he saw that his father wasn't very happy to see him because he had a brace on his leg. Nicks father asked the doctor if he was a cripple and would be able to pitch. Once Nick got home, he met a neighborhood girl named Emma. She knew a lot about baseball and promised to help him to get back on the mound. Later that same summer, a colored boy named Satchel Paige returns to Bismarck's baseball team. At that time, Nick worked for Mr. Churchill (teams owner) in the stadium and got to know Satch very well. One day Satch told Nick to get into his nice convertible and the drove to get some "deer oil" as Satch called it. Satch told Nick that it would help his leg heal if he put it on every day. Once he got home, Nick put it on his leg and it burned so bad that he ran out of the house and pumped water onto his leg. Then, he realized he did it without his brace. Nick drove with the players to tournaments and saw them win a grand prize of about a thousand dollars per person on the team (that was a lot of money back then.)
By then, Nick was easily walking without his brace. Would he be able to get back on the mound?

Read it to find out!

[AMY · Rating 4 out of 5]

155 pgs. This book features a boy named Nick who is recovering from polio and longing to return to pitching baseball. Even more than that, he wants to meet Satchel Paige, a baseball pitching legend who is coming to his town to play ball. This historical fiction book also features a neighbor named Emma who encourages Nick to get back to what he loves most. This book is well-written with well-developed characters. Boys will especially love this one. It has enough baseball lingo to make it real but does not overwhelm someone who does not know the game well. Highly recommended for Grades 5 - 7.

[Readlaxing · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw this come up on my reading list for american history I sighed. I am a Kiwi, we don't play baseball here! I obviously thought I wouldn't enjoy it,but it was much more than just baseball. The power to overcome difficult situation, even when others thought you would fail, friendships that were forged, lessons learnt, injustices endured, all came together for a good read. I did sigh a little with all the baseball jargon...

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. We’re not really baseball fans, but read this anyway since it was part of our curriculum. Sonlight made another great choice. I had to explain or look up some of the baseball language, but otherwise we loved this story of overcoming the odds that others set against you.

[Eileen Winfrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nick comes back to his widowed father after spending a year in the hospital recovering from polio. He learns to deal with his new leg while working for the local minor league baseball these which employs his aging father and the best pitcher in the world: Satchel Paige. I was spellbound. I can’t wait to try and get my 4th and 5th grade baseball crazies to read this.

[Elizabeth Connors · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of a boy recovering from polio who gets to know Satchel Paige as he works with his father on a minor league baseball team in Bismarck, North Dakota. This a short fictional chapter book that offers an picture of what Paige may have experienced before the major leagues offered him all of the career opportunities he deserved.

[Meghan Nels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see why King of the Mound was chosen as a Sunshine State Young Reader Award for elementary age readers! Students will love reading about baseball legend Satchel Paige and will be captivated by Nick's story.

[Mrs. Essagof · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. Great story about making dreams come true against all odds. Historical fiction and a real page turner. Must read even if you are not a baseball fan. Great for boys and girls. I fell in love with many of the main characters.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

read aloud to the kids. story about a boy who loves baseball but gets polio and has to deal with a leg that no longer works properly. also very good to read about life for black baseball players prior to being allowed to play in the major leagues.

[Austin Spears · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty heartwarming story and I thought the relationship between Nick and Satchel was great. However the book was shallow and didn't get to much into the character's, aside from Nicks's, life because it was almost all centered around baseball games.

[Mollyanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a light middle grades read, but still pretty honest about segregation and racism in the 1930s. We both enjoyed the story and all the baseball talk, and I though Tooke did a good job including the tougher topics while still keeping my 10-year-old’s full attention.

[Renee Haug · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this with my daughter as part of her 4th grade curriculum. We had great discussions about polio and vaccinations. We talked a lot about the sadness of segregation. Neither of us are baseball fans but we both thoroughly enjoyed the book.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

For fans of the sport and those of just good people, loved watching Nick grow through that summer.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it so far!

[Jonathan Kistemann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun book. It will only take a couple hours to read, I highly suggest for a good Sunday read.

[Mamiko · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since my son loves baseball and we had just finished "Satch and me" by Dan Gutman, I borrowed this book from the library to see if it's a good book for read-aloud. Though I wanted to like it, and the content/plot was interesting, I just didn't feel excited by the author's writing. It just goes on and on, and no one in this story felt real nor relatable. I didn't quite get how the protagonist's dad is so mean and cruel to his own son who's lost his mother AND is also now disabled due to polio, yet this son continues to love him and suddenly the ice thaws between them, just because some neighbor's mom paid attention to him (the dad). It just didn't feel real or relatable.

[Beth Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read aloud to my kids. I love how we are able to make connections, even with fiction. This book follows a integrated semipro baseball team through the summer of 1935. Satchel Paige is larger than life, and yet he is a powerful mentor for the main character of this book. Loved the historical elements.

[Ellison · Rating 4 out of 5]

a lad leaves the hospital and is bullied by his father for his hurt foot. they return home to their depression-era shack then make their way to the ballpark where paige shows up as a hired arm. he takes the lad under his pitching arm and teaches him things about pitching, life, and overcoming issues. skirt flirt. legends included. rip.

[Danielle Bilyeu Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides a glimpse into the history of racial injustice in the US in a way that fosters great conversations with kids. Highly recommended as a read aloud for 7 to 10 year olds. It’s also a wonderful and enjoyable story. It was one of my 7-year-old son’s favorites.

[Jessica Kirsch · Rating 2 out of 5]

My son enjoyed this one. It had some great theme about racism and enduring through hard things. But it was super technical about baseball, and honestly over my head in that regard. Because of this, I wasn't very drawn into the story.

[Sam Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it, and I don't even like baseball ten stars **********

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my 10-year-old son, and he really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it as well.

[Laura Henson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little read about a kid with polio. Hard for Caleb because he knows nothing of baseball, Satchel Paige, or polio, but I enjoyed it.

[Coen Cato · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very interesting. I loved the sensations of happiness, sadness, anger, and suspense. This is my all time favorite book!!!!!!!!!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expect this to be a book my boys return to in the future. Lots of great life lessons and a captivating story.

[Amanda Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Satchel was a fun and important guy & he was really great at baseball ⚾️.