Henry Heckelbeck Takes a Swing

Henry Heckelbeck #17

by Wanda Coven, Priscilla Burris (illustrator)

In this seventeenth Henry Heckelbeck adventure, Henry steps up to the plate!

Henry Heckelbeck is so excited to join the Brewster Batters for his first baseball game! But soon he discovers that playing baseball isn’t quite as easy as he thought it would be. Can a little spark of magic help him, or is he doomed to strike out?

With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Henry Heckelbeck chapter books are perfect for emerging readers.

128 pages, Paperback

Published January 14, 2025

Reviews

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry, Dudley and Mac enjoy playing catch for fun. When a player from the local baseball team invites them to join, Dudley and Henry decide to give it a try. They discover how much work conditioning is and how intense some players can be. Henry is nervous before the first game and his spells book appears and offers the perfect spell. He gathers the ingredients but then observes a teammate practicing before the game. I appreciate the decision he makes to simply play his best and not use magic. This is a valuable lesson for readers to work hard and practice rather than take shortcuts to be who they want to be.