What do you think?
Rate this book
Weenies #8
Strikeout of the Bleacher Weenies: And Other Warped and Creepy Tales
Strikeout of the Bleacher Weenies is the eighth collection of spooky short stories for ages 8 to 12 by the beloved author of the Nathan Abercrombie series, David Lubar. This is the perfect pick for reluctant young readers who like a few chills and a lot of laughs.The appearance of a mysterious new girl in school stops her classmates cold. Black Friday shopping gets out of control for a mother and daughter. And stands full of screaming and shouting Bleacher Weenies are about to make the ultimate sacrifice. Welcome to the Weenie Zone! Here are thirty-one hilarious and harrowing stories that will scare you, make you laugh, or get you to see the world in a whole new way. Find out where the author got the idea for each story at the end of the book. Don't be a weenie. Read these stories. If you dare!“With its mix of humor and chills, this collection is a sure bet for fans of R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps series and reluctant readers.” —Booklist on Wipeout of the WirelessAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 13, 2016
21 people are currently reading
396 people want to read
About the author
David Lubar
107 books244 followersDavid Lubar created a sensation with his debut novel, Hidden Talents, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Thousands of kids and educators across the country have voted Hidden Talents onto over twenty state lists. David is also the author of True Talents, the sequel to Hidden Talents; Flip, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and a VOYA Best Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror selection; several short story collections: In the Land of the Lawn Weenies, Invasion of the Road Weenies, The Curse of the Campfire Weenies, The Battle of the Red Hot Pepper Weenies, and Attack of the Vampire Weenies; and the Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie series. Lubar grew up in Morristown, New Jersey, and he has also lived in New Brunswick, Edison and Piscataway, NJ, and Sacramento, CA. Besides writing, he has also worked as a video game programmer and designer. He now lives in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidl...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidl...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 21, 2017
This is just one of the many books author David Lubar has wrote. I absolutely loved it! This book is very mysterious and has a weird twist to all the stories that are written. I tried to figure out what the meaning was behind them. Is there a moral behind it? Is he trying to teach kids lessons? Or is the author putting his imagination in the positions of the students?
When I have my own future Elementary classroom, I want to have these as a choice for kids to read. Some of the stories are kind of frightening, especially for a student who is in first grade, so I would recommend it to students third to fifth.
When I have my own future Elementary classroom, I want to have these as a choice for kids to read. Some of the stories are kind of frightening, especially for a student who is in first grade, so I would recommend it to students third to fifth.
May 18, 2018
Lubar, David Strikeout Of The Bleacher Weenies, 205 pages. Tom Doherty Associates, 2016. Language: PG (16 swears, 0 ‘f’) Mature Content: PG (crude language) Violence: G.
This book is a collection of short stories. In Same Bird brother and sister, Isabel and Avi go on a hiking trip. They find body parts from the same bird, saying "Same bird," each time, however when put together, the bird cuts them down. In Haunting Your thoughts Ruthie and his family move into a new house. The house focuses on each of the family members' fears. Ruthie is afraid of monsters, which ultimately leads to his and his family's doom.
I liked the different stories, along with the various points of view. My favorite chapter is Parasites, however I enjoyed many of the stories. The sort of mysterious element in the book kept me very interested. However, I wish the chapters were longer.
EL, MS - ADVISABLE 7th Grade Student Reviewer NJ
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...
This book is a collection of short stories. In Same Bird brother and sister, Isabel and Avi go on a hiking trip. They find body parts from the same bird, saying "Same bird," each time, however when put together, the bird cuts them down. In Haunting Your thoughts Ruthie and his family move into a new house. The house focuses on each of the family members' fears. Ruthie is afraid of monsters, which ultimately leads to his and his family's doom.
I liked the different stories, along with the various points of view. My favorite chapter is Parasites, however I enjoyed many of the stories. The sort of mysterious element in the book kept me very interested. However, I wish the chapters were longer.
EL, MS - ADVISABLE 7th Grade Student Reviewer NJ
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...
April 6, 2018
The book Strikeout of the Bleacher Weenies by David Lubar is a fiction book that contains 30 short stories that are scary, funny, and hard to put down. There's no easy way to give an accurate summary, but most of the stories have a moral at the end. It usually involves a kid around 10-14 or so, and usually they die by the end with some supernatural ending. Overall, each of the stories have an uneasy ending that will leave you with many questions.
I thought this book was actually pretty interesting to read. I like each of the stories individually in their own way. Each of the stories was graphic and weird, and it was hard to put it down when i read it. I think anyone that reads this would enjoy it, but would be creeped out after finishing it.
I recommend this book to people who want to pick up an easy to read short story. I think anyone from 9-15 could handle this book. It's not too hard of a read for anyone trying to spend some free time.
I thought this book was actually pretty interesting to read. I like each of the stories individually in their own way. Each of the stories was graphic and weird, and it was hard to put it down when i read it. I think anyone that reads this would enjoy it, but would be creeped out after finishing it.
I recommend this book to people who want to pick up an easy to read short story. I think anyone from 9-15 could handle this book. It's not too hard of a read for anyone trying to spend some free time.
October 19, 2018
Did you ever want a book with some creepy or funny stories? This is a book that has many short stories and has many appearances of bullies or even parent bullies in certain chapters. It also has many unexpected twists. Many times a character is a boy or girl usually kid age, but the age is not specified. One of the quotes in the book is "He flew around the goalposts," (Lubar 104) I wanted to bring this quote up because it shows an again and again because earlier in the story the main character wishes that in his lucid dream that he can fly around the goalposts, but his friend ends up getting the lucid dream and flies around the goalposts. This doesn't signify anything, but it is a perfect twist for the end of the story. I think that this was a great story for many people because it gives some creepy stories that might give you shivers, but won't get you necessarily scared. I recommend it to anybody who would like a nice book of short stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2021
Like the rest of the Weenies books, this one was a home run (get it lol). Simultaneously happy and disappointed that I’ve finished the series, since it was so fun to read. Although now I’ve noticed they’re written for slightly younger readers. This one lost a star because some of the stories made absolutely no sense and had no resolution (which maybe is a point that I obviously didn’t get). Most were great though and still very fun to read!
November 28, 2017
O'Henry surprise ending short stories for the tween set--with Lubar's twisted humor. I'm a huge fan of Lubar's books but somehow had never read one of the Weenies collections. I should have known better. I'm adding these to my booktalk repertoire and will be able to better hand sell them to my reluctant readers now that I've read one.
May 13, 2020
This book was... special? Creative? I didn't understand what was happening. I was confused by how the stories kept changing, but then I realized it's supposed to be that way, which is confusing, I must say.
January 22, 2019
Another great collection of stories. Love them. Can’t wait for another.
November 2, 2020
I thought the stories were creepy and funny at the exact same time. I would like to read this book again.
August 29, 2024
This was another banger but the description is very mysterious. "Black Friday shopping gets out of control for a mother and daughter"? That story straight up does not appear in this collection...
October 11, 2017
Lubar, David. Strikeout of the Bleacher Weenies: And Other Warped and Creepy Tales. Tom Doherty Associates, LLC. 2016. 198 pages.
Lubar has written a young adult book that follows the format of a short story collection. Each chapter is its own independent story, and each story contains a sliver of a moral for children. Many of the stories, including the one named after the title of the book, are warped and supernatural, which adds to the value of entertainment.
Lubar has written a young adult book that follows the format of a short story collection. Each chapter is its own independent story, and each story contains a sliver of a moral for children. Many of the stories, including the one named after the title of the book, are warped and supernatural, which adds to the value of entertainment.
September 10, 2018
Although it’s the eighth book of short stories in this series, this book was my introduction to the franchise, so I decided to put in the genesis story of how I came to be a fan of these books under this particular book.
I work as a tutor. At the beginning of this summer, I was looking for short stories specifically for a rising 4th grader who is a reluctant reader. We had been working through the poetry of Shel Silverstein and picture books that were funny and bite-sized like Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich. I wanted something a little more ambitious, but nothing I knew of would work for a boy who found any poem more than half a page too long. I was looking to challenge him, not cause an aneurysm.
My failproof way of finding just the right books has always been to wander around in the stacks at the library and wait for the literary gods to smile on me. This is how I found this book. Initially, I didn’t have high hopes. The cover is a cartoon of a group of hot dogs playing baseball and the title has the word “Weenies” in it. It seemed like it would be a cutesy bunch of stories about anthropomorphized food and might feature bathroom humor. But since there weren’t a lot of choices for short story collections, I gamely checked it out anyway.
I am so glad that I did. I found a series of books that not only have short-short stories but are also surprisingly skilled introductions to concepts like foreshadowing and characterization. These stories are well-paced and often hinge on the small details that are woven in. This last can be used to encourage kids to pay closer attention to what is happening in the story without nagging at them. Beyond their educational appeal, these stories are inventive and fun. Have you ever imagined what it would be like to drown in dinosaur blood? Or to find a clever way to subvert a death sentence as a vampire? I was looking for something that might appeal to a kid, but I found something that I could enjoy as well. This series is an absolute gold mine for tutors!
I work as a tutor. At the beginning of this summer, I was looking for short stories specifically for a rising 4th grader who is a reluctant reader. We had been working through the poetry of Shel Silverstein and picture books that were funny and bite-sized like Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich. I wanted something a little more ambitious, but nothing I knew of would work for a boy who found any poem more than half a page too long. I was looking to challenge him, not cause an aneurysm.
My failproof way of finding just the right books has always been to wander around in the stacks at the library and wait for the literary gods to smile on me. This is how I found this book. Initially, I didn’t have high hopes. The cover is a cartoon of a group of hot dogs playing baseball and the title has the word “Weenies” in it. It seemed like it would be a cutesy bunch of stories about anthropomorphized food and might feature bathroom humor. But since there weren’t a lot of choices for short story collections, I gamely checked it out anyway.
I am so glad that I did. I found a series of books that not only have short-short stories but are also surprisingly skilled introductions to concepts like foreshadowing and characterization. These stories are well-paced and often hinge on the small details that are woven in. This last can be used to encourage kids to pay closer attention to what is happening in the story without nagging at them. Beyond their educational appeal, these stories are inventive and fun. Have you ever imagined what it would be like to drown in dinosaur blood? Or to find a clever way to subvert a death sentence as a vampire? I was looking for something that might appeal to a kid, but I found something that I could enjoy as well. This series is an absolute gold mine for tutors!
October 11, 2016
I'm so grateful to have David Lubar out there writing short stories for intermediate grade readers. In the 30 stories in this, his eighth collection, he returns to some of his favorite themes and elements--bullies, vampires, and magic--as well as exploring others in chilling fashion. Much work goes into fashioning a short story, and here Lubar provides example after example of well-crafted short stories, some of which are very, very short. As a teacher of English and writing, I found it enlightening to unpack the stories, making note of how each one began and ended as well as the plot and glue that held everything together. Although some of what's here is exactly what readers might expect, there are some surprises as well and endings that might make readers gasp or shake their heads. My favorites include "Easy Targets," a school intended to have no bullies; "In Warm Blood," which features a young protagonist who gets exactly what's coming to him, and "Same Bird," in which a family finds that a trip to the great outdoors doesn't have the happy result that they hoped it would. In several of the short stories there are interesting little twists or one or two concluding sentences that make a clever observation or tweak that make readers do a double take. And lest you think that these stories are all creepy, there is humor threaded throughout some of them. But yes, "warped and creepy" would be good ways to describe them all. Keep doing what you do so well, Mr. Lubar. We need more short stories after you soak up some more life experiences. I liked having notes from the author that explain the inspiration for these tales.
December 15, 2016
A quick read, full of unexpected and endings that readers will not expect.
October 6, 2016
This was the first book I have read by David Lubar. This is not my typical reading choice, but I found each story inventive and full of plot twists. I like that each story was short which made it feel like a quick read, and was wanting more when I finished the book. My students that enjoy the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series will really enjoy this book too.
I won my book from Goodreads First Reads.
I won my book from Goodreads First Reads.
Want to read
August 10, 2016I won this book via Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.
September 15, 2017
I love this book so much.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews