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Stealing Home
Joey is sure he will not get along with the exchange student from Nicaragua who is staying with his family for a year, but they find common ground on the baseball field.
144 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2004
12 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Matt Christopher
438 books141 followersMatt Christopher is the writer young readers turn to when they're looking for fast-paced, action-packed sports novels. He is the best-selling author of more than one hundred sports books for young readers.
Matt Christopher is America's bestselling sports writer for children, with more than 100 books and sales approaching six million copies. In 1992, Matt Christopher talked about being a children's book author.
"I became interested in writing when I was 14, a freshman in high school. I was selling magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, and Liberty, and I would read the stories, particularly the adventure and mystery stories, and think how wonderful it would be to be able to write stories and make a living at it. I also read detective, horror, aviation, and sports stories and decided I would try writing them myself.
Determined to sell, I wrote a detective story a week for 40 weeks, finding the time to marry, work, and play baseball and basketball before I sold my first story in 1941, "The Missing Finger Points," for $50 to Detective Story magazine.
After writing and selling children's sports stories to magazines, I decided to write a baseball book for children. I was living in Syracuse, New York at the time, working at General Electric. I spoke about my idea to the branch librarian. She was immediately interested and told me that they needed sports stories badly. So I came up with my first children's book, The Lucky Baseball Bat. I submitted it to Little, Brown, and the book was published in 1954.
I'm sure that playing sandlot baseball and then semiprofessional baseball with a Class C club in the Canadian-American League influenced my writing. I had my own personal experiences, and I saw how other players reacted to plays, to teammates' and fans' remarks and innuendoes, to managers' orders, etc. All these had a great influence on my writing. My love of the game helped a lot, too, of course.
Out of all the books I've written, my favorite is The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. It's a fantasy, but the main character in it could be real. There are a lot of boys who would love to play baseball but, for some reason, cannot. The only difference between a real-life boy and Sylvester Coddmyer III is the appearance of a character named George Baruth, whom only Sylvester can see and who helps Sylvester become a good ballplayer.
I've written many short stories and books for both children and adults, and find that writing for children is really my niche. Being the eldest of nine children (seven boys and two girls), I've lived through a lot of problems many children live through, and I find these problems excellent examples to include in my books.
Sports have made it possible for me to meet many people with all sorts of life stories, on and off the field, and these are grist for this writer's mill. I'm far beyond playing age now, but I manage to go to both kids' and adult games just to keep up with them, and keep them fresh in my mind.Very few things make me happier than receiving fan letters from boys and girls who write that they had never cared for reading until they started to read my books. That is just about the ultimate in writing for children. I would never trade it for another profession."
Matt Christopher died on September 27, 1997. His legacy is now being carried on by his sons, Duane and Dale Christopher.
Matt Christopher is America's bestselling sports writer for children, with more than 100 books and sales approaching six million copies. In 1992, Matt Christopher talked about being a children's book author.
"I became interested in writing when I was 14, a freshman in high school. I was selling magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, and Liberty, and I would read the stories, particularly the adventure and mystery stories, and think how wonderful it would be to be able to write stories and make a living at it. I also read detective, horror, aviation, and sports stories and decided I would try writing them myself.
Determined to sell, I wrote a detective story a week for 40 weeks, finding the time to marry, work, and play baseball and basketball before I sold my first story in 1941, "The Missing Finger Points," for $50 to Detective Story magazine.
After writing and selling children's sports stories to magazines, I decided to write a baseball book for children. I was living in Syracuse, New York at the time, working at General Electric. I spoke about my idea to the branch librarian. She was immediately interested and told me that they needed sports stories badly. So I came up with my first children's book, The Lucky Baseball Bat. I submitted it to Little, Brown, and the book was published in 1954.
I'm sure that playing sandlot baseball and then semiprofessional baseball with a Class C club in the Canadian-American League influenced my writing. I had my own personal experiences, and I saw how other players reacted to plays, to teammates' and fans' remarks and innuendoes, to managers' orders, etc. All these had a great influence on my writing. My love of the game helped a lot, too, of course.
Out of all the books I've written, my favorite is The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. It's a fantasy, but the main character in it could be real. There are a lot of boys who would love to play baseball but, for some reason, cannot. The only difference between a real-life boy and Sylvester Coddmyer III is the appearance of a character named George Baruth, whom only Sylvester can see and who helps Sylvester become a good ballplayer.
I've written many short stories and books for both children and adults, and find that writing for children is really my niche. Being the eldest of nine children (seven boys and two girls), I've lived through a lot of problems many children live through, and I find these problems excellent examples to include in my books.
Sports have made it possible for me to meet many people with all sorts of life stories, on and off the field, and these are grist for this writer's mill. I'm far beyond playing age now, but I manage to go to both kids' and adult games just to keep up with them, and keep them fresh in my mind.Very few things make me happier than receiving fan letters from boys and girls who write that they had never cared for reading until they started to read my books. That is just about the ultimate in writing for children. I would never trade it for another profession."
Matt Christopher died on September 27, 1997. His legacy is now being carried on by his sons, Duane and Dale Christopher.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 20, 2015
I read the book "Stealing Home" by Matt Christopher. I thought this was a good book and was written well. Although sometimes it would get off subject of the "main topic" I still think it was a excellent book.
This book was about a kid named Joey who played baseball on his home team. The star pitcher gets injured, and Joey has to pitch, but did great and won them the game. His good feelings change though when he get news from his mom that a foreign exchange student is coming to live with them.
This boy likes baseball and and wants to try to play. He goes to one of Joey's practices and makes a great impression. He ends up starting in place of Joey at center field, and Joey gets mad at him. Joey gets very angry, and he lashes at Jesus and he gets upset and wants to move back to his home town. In the end, Joey and Jesus make up, and the go on to win the Championship.
I would recommend this book to Middle School boys that enjoy sports. It is a good book for children who want to understand the importance of friendship.
This book was about a kid named Joey who played baseball on his home team. The star pitcher gets injured, and Joey has to pitch, but did great and won them the game. His good feelings change though when he get news from his mom that a foreign exchange student is coming to live with them.
This boy likes baseball and and wants to try to play. He goes to one of Joey's practices and makes a great impression. He ends up starting in place of Joey at center field, and Joey gets mad at him. Joey gets very angry, and he lashes at Jesus and he gets upset and wants to move back to his home town. In the end, Joey and Jesus make up, and the go on to win the Championship.
I would recommend this book to Middle School boys that enjoy sports. It is a good book for children who want to understand the importance of friendship.
June 29, 2022
Another fabulous book from Matt Christopher! I enjoyed reading this one with my sons. It dealt with a lot more than baseball - jealousy, immigrant experience, competition, etc but wasn't too overbearing or preachy. We liked it overall.
January 17, 2023
As an adult, I re-read this childhood favorite. I think it still holds up as an entertaining book with a clear, positive message for young readers. Matt Christopher's books remain a great option for young readers who are into sports (specifically baseball!).
September 19, 2022
Good book about friendship and how easy it is to forget how fortunate we are.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 3, 2016
"They are going to call you whatever they want, man," Joey told him with a shrug. "But I promise you, I'll always call you by your name, Jesus. Because you are fine with me just the way you are." This quote from the book, Stealing Home by Matt Christopher, shows the character traits I admired most about the main character Joey. At the beginning of this emotional story, Joey Gallagher is put on the pitcher's mound during a critical game. He brings his team to victory, but his mood quickly changes when his parents bring home a foreign exchange student from Nicaragua named Jesus. Just because of his name, Joey knew he would not be accepted by others. However, throughout the story, Joey learns that Jesus has so much more to offer and he ends up learning lessons that can take others a lifetime to learn.
There were many positive things about this book. First, it is written in a way that I could feel how the characters felt. It made me emotional at times because I want all kids to be accepted for who they are. It was an easy read and I did not want to stop reading it. It also focuses on my favorite sport of baseball, but also includes lessons we all could learn from along the way.
Though the emotions I experienced were positive for the most part, there were also times the emotions were too much and I wanted to literally cry as I was reading. Another negative thing was that the main character, Joey, changed his opinion about Jesus and did not accept him when he joined the baseball team while all the other players did. Joey showed a trait I do not admire, jealousy. Joey felt like a shadow once Jesus joined the team and turned it into a negative situation. The situations in this book were a bit childish in my opinion.
This book left an impression on me like no other I have read so far. Of course I love baseball, but this book went beyond the awesome game. I would rate it as four stars. In my opinion, the emotions I felt through the authors words were mixed from great sadness to joy. The main character changed throughout the story and taught many lessons along the way. It was an easy, fast read and not very challenging. It is very educational in the way it relates to life of a teenager. Many lessons can be learned from the relationship between Jesus and Joey. It was also very easy to understand.
Though the story takes place during a baseball season, the type of person that would love this book most is someone that enjoys reading emotional stories. It is a story that kept me interested and on my toes. Any young person who strives to be a better person could benefit and would enjoy this book. I recommend it for all young people because we can all benefit from the lessons it teaches.
There were many positive things about this book. First, it is written in a way that I could feel how the characters felt. It made me emotional at times because I want all kids to be accepted for who they are. It was an easy read and I did not want to stop reading it. It also focuses on my favorite sport of baseball, but also includes lessons we all could learn from along the way.
Though the emotions I experienced were positive for the most part, there were also times the emotions were too much and I wanted to literally cry as I was reading. Another negative thing was that the main character, Joey, changed his opinion about Jesus and did not accept him when he joined the baseball team while all the other players did. Joey showed a trait I do not admire, jealousy. Joey felt like a shadow once Jesus joined the team and turned it into a negative situation. The situations in this book were a bit childish in my opinion.
This book left an impression on me like no other I have read so far. Of course I love baseball, but this book went beyond the awesome game. I would rate it as four stars. In my opinion, the emotions I felt through the authors words were mixed from great sadness to joy. The main character changed throughout the story and taught many lessons along the way. It was an easy, fast read and not very challenging. It is very educational in the way it relates to life of a teenager. Many lessons can be learned from the relationship between Jesus and Joey. It was also very easy to understand.
Though the story takes place during a baseball season, the type of person that would love this book most is someone that enjoys reading emotional stories. It is a story that kept me interested and on my toes. Any young person who strives to be a better person could benefit and would enjoy this book. I recommend it for all young people because we can all benefit from the lessons it teaches.
Currently reading
February 1, 2012If you love reading about baseball Then Stealing Home is a good book to read because it has a lot of action and getting off your chair plays. The thing I like about reading books that have to do with baseball is that I can understand it and I can relate to how they feel. This book is about how a kid named Joey Gallagher was feeling like he could do anything because his little league baseball team was undefeated after three games. He was excited for a game that was coming up. It was his team the Marlins vs. the Orioles. They were both tied for first place with a 3-0 record but after this game one team was going to be 3-1and the other 4-0 being in first place of the league. While in the 4th inning their best pitcher Nicky Canelo came in to pitch. After getting two fast outs the Orioles best hitter comes up to bat. Nicky throws a fast and the hitter hits a line drive straight to Nicky’s throwing shoulder. Even though in pain he hurries to ball and tosses it to the first baseman for the third out. When they all meet in the dugout the coach asks who was able to pitch and Joey said that he used to pitch a year ago. You’ll have to read it to know what happens. I like books like this because this book got to the action. This book was fun to read because it had to do with my favorite sport and it had kids that where around my age and grade. For someone that like to read about baseball and a life of a baseball player, this is a good book to read.
February 2, 2013
For this good reads project I read Stealing Home, by Matt Christopher. I really enjoyed this book. It was a baseball book and I am a very big baseball player. I especially enjoyed this book because I could understand how the characters in the book felt about winning and losing because of different aspects of the game. This book was mostly to show values though and friendship. When Joey bought his foreign exchange student a glove, although he was a lefty and it was a righty glove he used it because he didn’t want to hurt Joey feelings. But Joey found out that he was a lefty because he knew so much about the game and he wanted Jesus to do well. It showed the true value of friendship and trust when it comes to sports. When Jesus does really well in multiple games, Joey gets a little jealous because Jesus stole his thunder. Jesus was pitching and playing centerfield great, and that was Joey’s 2 main positions. Matt Christopher did a great job of showing that everybody has their strengths and weaknesses in the sport of baseball. Jesus was a great player all around, but Joey morally kept the team in the game and when Jesus hit a kid with a pitch that he had already hit once, Joey stepped in and got him self ejected, but he saved Jesus from getting beat up and they won the championship game.
June 11, 2014
This was a great book it shows true friendship between two characters named Joey and Jesus. Jesus is a foreign exchange student from Nicaragua. Joey isn't sure they will quite get along but they both have similarities. Joey and Jesus both like baseball and they both play on the same team. Jesus is left handed but Joey gave him a right handed glove Jesus doesn't want to be mean so he doesn't say anything. Matt Christopher wrote a great book and I suggest this book to anyone because I dont even like baseball but, it really shows some good life lessons.
March 17, 2011
cute kids book. read it in an hour (for son's school book club)
Read
December 24, 2013AR Quiz No. 76592 EN Fiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: MG - BL: 4.1 - AR Pts: 3.0
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: MG - BL: 4.1 - AR Pts: 3.0
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP
May 17, 2017
A boy from another country comes to live with Joey Gallagher's family for a whole year! Joey and Jesus go through tough times but end up having fun together.
October 19, 2009
it is ok if you like baseball.
December 31, 2015
Cute book for Tyler. Let's see if I can get him to read it.
Read
March 4, 2019This book really shows you that not everything is about yourself and you have to be happy for other people. Joey is a little worried abou have a foreign exchanged student coming to live with him. He is afraid that some ignorant people will make fun of him, espically becuase his name is Jesus. Joey is in for a big suprise by seeing that he is a phenominal baseball player. Stealing Home gives you a great understanding that selfishness is not the answer.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews