Guys Read: The Sports Pages audiobook

It was a pretty good book i would suggest it to people if you are looking for a quicker read.

I have become a big fan of the Guys Read Short Story Series edited by Jon Scieszka. With ten authors writing ten different short stories, it's easy to find one that will appeal to any reader.Guys Read: The Sports Pages hits a home run for it's mix of stories from great children's authors like Gordon Korman and Chris Rylander to real athletes like Dustin Brown and James Brown. It's not just a football book, The Sports Pages artfully weaves in stories from a full gamut of sports, like track and martial arts, to complement the basketball and football one would expect to find in a sports book.Sometimes it's not always about the game. In The Choice, by James Brown, a real athlete recounts what happens when life gets in the way of the sport and how it can lead to a different course than what you expected. On the humorous side, Maximillan Funk convinces himself that his participation in tennis is too nerdy to be cool. In Max Swings for the Fence, by Anne Ursu, Max concocts a story he thinks will garner respect. The consequences play out in a whopper of a strike that will have the reader snickering at Max's stupidity.Dan Gutman, Tim Green, Jacqueline Woodsen, Chris Crutcher, and Joseph Bruchac add to the talented list of all stars. However, I couldn't help but choose a favorite. I Will Destroy You, Derek Jeter, by Chris Rylander hits it out of the stands for funny. When Wes becomes obsessed with humiliating a New York Yankee, he winds showing why a rookie doesn't always stack up against an all star. Just how far he will go to prove a point, ends up in the kind of witty and humorous tale Chris Rylander is so good at creating. Highly Recommended for not only the boy who loves to play sports, but for those who sit on the sidelines as well.This review appears on my blog {Boys To Books}(http://www.boystobooks.com)

So, I don't really read about sports. I don't watch sports. I do have a favorite team, my college team, but I don't watch them, I am superstitious as they always seem to start losing when I watch. And I really only care if they beat the Georgia Bulldogs and FSU. Yep, I'm a Florida Gator in case you haven't read my profile. And as much as I try to understand my husband's stories about playing football in high school and college, the intensity of it, I just didn't get it. But I have never been disappointed by these short stories in Guys Read and I still haven't. Yeah, it's sports, but I discovered some things as I read.First, the stories are really varied, as much as sports are. MAX SWINGS FOR THE FENCES is written by Anne Ursu, author of BREADCRUMBS. and though it isn't fairy tale like in any way, there is a definite and funny lesson to be learned when you claim your dad is a famous baseball player for the Minnesota Twins and he comes to town. I really felt sorry for Max, the new kid in school, who just wanted to fit in so he told a tiny white lie. But Max, and guys, don't ever underestimate girls. I'm sure Max won't ever again. My husband played football, in his free time, in a men's league when I met him, in junior high, high school and on a scholarship in college. Yeah, he is INTO football. It's rare that the t.v. isn't tuned in to some game, usually college, during the fall. But I found out he's been holding out on me. Read the story FIND YOUR FIRE by Tim Green and like me you might find out there is a lot of emotion in sports. Who would have guessed. I found myself tearing up at the conclusion of that one. So you want your son to open up about his feelings? Talk in sports metaphors if nothing else works. It's not that they don't want to talk about their feelings, it's that they are saving it for the game!Dustin Brown, Captain of the Los Angeles Kings,(NHL hockey for the sports impaired) wrote a really informative and thoughtful recounting of his journey to where he is today in AGAINST ALL ODDS. I rarely watch hockey, been to a few minor league games here in Charlotte, but now I appreciate what it takes for these players to get where they are, the dedication and the sacrifice. I think they are some of the youngest players on professional teams and Dustin Brown's decision between going to college and trying to be one of two hundred out of 30,000 players in Junior Hockey to be asked to the NHL Draft was a life altering decision at such a young age. At 18, the time we will be sending our kids to college, or most of the kids reading this will be going to college, Dustin was playing for the NHL. That's HUGE! It was a definite dream come true, but you need to read his story to see how it wasn't just handed to him. He worked for it. Hard! It's a great story.What about the rest of the stories? They are all great! I loved the story Chris Rylander wrote I WILL DESTROY YOU, DEREK JETER! And wonder of all wonders, my reluctant reader caught me reading it to my husband (another reluctant reader at 50) and they both want to read it! I'm still not quite recovered but will be handing this off shortly to the younger of the two as soon as my review is done! THE TROPHY by Gordon Korman is a great competitive story about finding friendship through sports in the most unlikely of circumstances. CHOKE by James Brown was a great story about taking the fight from outside the ring into it and the joy of knowing, win or lose, you've done what you set out to do.I think beginning the book with Dan Gutman's HOW I WON THE WORLD SERIES and his lucky grapefruit (he's superstitious, too, though he can watch his team play) and ending it with I WILL DESTROY YOU, DEREK JETER was perfect! I don't care how much you don't like sports, you will find something in each of these stories to take away and remember. And if you're lucky enough like me, you'll find two reluctant readers in your house that want to read it even if one of them is older than you!This is definitely for your middle grade and above readers. Reluctant readers especially will enjoy the short stories. Again, I enjoy and appreciate short stories for the fact that I can put them down and pick them up again without having to remember where the story was when I left off. This is something I think reluctant readers also appreciate. But make no mistake, anyone will enjoy these stories. I did, and I am no fan of sports! These stories will stick with me. I may even discuss them with my son....!Thanks to Kellie at Walden Pond Press for always sending me ARCS of the best books, this one included.I was not compensated for my review of this novel.

I really enjoy this series and #3 is probably the strongest and most diverse collection so far. It is more mature than "Funny Business," and holds together as a unified collection better than "Thriller." Like both collections, it also has some surprising highs; but unlike editions 1 and 2, there are no real lows. In all three collections there is one standout story. In "Thriller," it was Walter Dean Myers' tonally different, and very affecting, realistic portrait of a Somali boy pirate. "The Sports Pages" follows suit in Chris Crutcher's serious, mature, and realistic portrait of a teenage boy struggling with sports and familial abuse in "The Meat Grinder." The friendship that develops in the story between the main character and the football star is touching and honest, and feels realistic in a way that the other stories approach, but don't quite attain. The closest competition is Tim Green's "Find Your Fire" in which two star athletes and best friends are competing for a football scholarship. The story has too much going on, and too much dead space, but the title theme and ambiguous ending make up for the areas that are lacking. Also oddly-paced is Jacqueline Woodson's "The Distance," that unfortunately never answers the question of why the narrator didn't try harder in his relay leg (because it was too difficult, really?). Again, however, the ending theme and the interesting familial and friend relationships give the story weight. Better than Green's and Woodson's story is Joseph Bruchac's "Choke" about a boy who takes up mixed-martial arts to take on a bully. It has a similar generic set-up but the narrator's sarcastic sense of humor mixes well with the realism, and makes the story more engaging overall.On the other hand, "Max Swings for the Fences" by Anne Ursu, "The Trophy" by Gordon Korman, "How I Won the World Series" by Dan Gutman, and "I Will Destroy You, Derek Jeter" by Chris Rylander, all go for laughs...and are completely unrealistic. They are all genuinely funny, though, with Ursu's being the real surprise. Her story about a lie that quickly spirals out of control has the best twist ending of the bunch. All four are frothy and light-hearted, and could give the stories in "Funny Business" a run for their money.Perhaps the best surprise, however, are the two nonfiction pieces--hockey player Dustin Brown's "Against All Odds," and James Brown's "The Choice." Like Crutcher's fictional story, they feel honest, and they each carry important, powerful, and different messages to young readers. The nonfiction stories also help to both broaden the diversity of the collection, while, interestingly, thematically tying the all the stories together. Both stories made me wonder what "Thriller" and "Funny Business" might have been like with some interesting nonfiction mixed in.Sports stories can so often go horribly wrong, descending into treacly, platitude-spewing, sentimental disasters (think of almost every popular sports movie out there). That this collection sidesteps that trap in so many interesting ways is phenomenal, and shows that these collections are only getting better as the series continues.

Edited by Jon Scieszka (Guys Read, The Time Warp Trio) and illustrated by Dan Santat (Time Out Kids, The Replacements), Guys Read: The Sports Pages is the third volume in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading (preceded by Guys Read: Funny Business and Guys Read: Thriller). Like the previous installments, GR:TSP is a collection of works by a number of popular writers for young readers, including Chris Crutcher, Tim Green, Gordan Korman, and Anne Ursu. The pieces are united by a common theme—in this case, sports—but written in a variety of styles.Anne Ursu’s “Max Swings for the Fences” is an amusing short story about a tennis player who moves to a baseball town and tells a little lie that rapidly spins out of control. Gordan Korman’s “The Trophy” is a fun tale about an elementary basketball team that sets out on a quest to find its stolen championship trophy. Dan Gutman’s “How I Won the World Series” is a clever creative non-fiction piece about favorite teams and sports superstitions. And both Dustin Brown’s “Against All Odds” and Jame’s Brown’s “The Choice” are autobiographical, but Dustin recounts his journey to the NHL in a sort of snap-shot essay (I’m defining that as an essay with various topic headings), while James tells his life in basketball as a narrative.And for a volume with just ten entries, Scieszka has “covered his bases” well, representing baseball, basketball, football, track, mixed martial arts, and (at least a mention of) tennis. I guess it could have been more inclusive, but the stories told are more important than the sports that serve as their settings. And at any rate, baseball, basketball, football, track, and MMA are probably the most popular sports among boys 8-12, anyway.What I’ve liked most about this series (thus far) is that the writers selected manage to craft intelligent, character-centered stories that demonstrate a meaningful change in their protagonists (while still being fun and interesting and page-turnery). The stories in this collection are no exception. Sure, at times, some characters actions are certainly more in service to plot than to character development, but there are also shining examples of interesting protagonists with complex problems. In Tim Green’s “Find Your Fire,” Jake is confronted with a life-changing situation that actually pits him (and his new selfish, angry motivation) against his best friend. The title character in Anne Ursu’s “Max Swings for the Fences” is 100 percent responsible for the mess he gets himself in, and we squirm uncomfortably along with him as he struggles to clean it up. And in Chris Crutcher’s “Meat Grinder,” we see the impact a single peer in his corner has on young, suffering Mack.It’s not without its (minor) faults, but the clear language, swift pace, and solid variety in Guys Read: The Sports Pages makes it a perfect pick for boy readers—especially reluctant ones.Recommended for ages 9+.

Sport fans are not to be messed with. We know what we want scholarships, girls and boys, championships, athletic people, liars,and "Trophies". In New York "Sports" is just a normal day. "Championships" means Trophies. "Scholarships" is to be happy and to be proud of. Jon Scieszka delivers all that good stuff in THE SPORTS PAGES which opens with an exciting climax: he takes a deep breath, swings the bat and there the ball goes up in the sky, thinking if he will make a home run or not. He stops and there look at him go running to get to 1st base but instead he makes it to HOME BASe!!!!! Enter Max a shy quiet boy who moved to this new city. He wants to make new friends without anyone trying to judge him. He plays tennis but his mom says "TENNIS IS NOT A SPORT!" Max lies to Molly that Beau Fletcher is his dad. Beau Fletcher the best baseball player ever!!!He lies to Molly so that she can like him and hang out with him more often. The whole school likes him because he has a baseball player is his dad. Will they ever find out that Beau Fletcher is not his dad?? Jake and Bobby best friends since kindergarten he has no other friend than him. Bobby is getting a scholarship from IH where all the best FOOTBALL PLAYERS go to. Jake is going to IH too because he got the money. He finds out he his dad loses his job his not going to IH no more. Jake is very angry, bad, and sad... Jake wants that scholarship and he will do anything to get that scholarship.These 10 novels are interesting and breath taking to read on your spare time!! Sports are not just for boys but for girls also... Just because this says Guys Read girls can read this as well. This will get you into the book like if your watching a game in real life...

A Home Run! The GUYS READ library takes an inevitable and successful turn with their latest collection of short stories, THE SPORTS PAGES. Once again pulling from the greatest talent in the middle grade arena, such as Gordon Korman, Chris Rylander, Dan Gutman, Mike Lupica, and Anne Ursu, middle grade readers are in for a treat! One of the many things we love about the GUYS READ series is the format. The 9 year old in my house is a huge fan. He will pick up one of the books, read a short story and put it down for a few days before picking it up again to read another story. He usually reads the stories in order, but you don't have to. No pressure and lots of fun! The stories in THE SPORTS PAGES are among my favorite so far. Unlike my son, I skipped around. I read the first and last stories before making my way into the middle. This should not shock any of my readers when I tell you they were about baseball and written by two of my favorite MG authors - Dan Gutman and Chris Rylander. How I Won The World Series by Dan Gutman kicks off the book in the perfect way; and I Will Destroy You, Derek Jeter by Chris Rylander made me smile that even a Red Sox fan has to appreciate the character of Yankee Captain, Derek Jeter. Awesome!! I am a sports fan, and a big believer that kids learn a lot of life-skills on the playing field: guts, determination, teamwork, integrity, respect. Sure, some of these stories are awesome in their silliness, but some of the others embrace the spirit of sports and hopefully inspires some fire in their readers. By far, my favorite of the series! GUYS READ: THE SPORTS PAGES is a winner!!

This book has ten unique stories about ten miscellaneous sports including lacrosse, cross country, baseball, basketball, hockey, track and tennis. To begin, each story takes about a half hour to read. If you don’t have much time on your hands, you can read a quick, short story. If you have a short attention span like most teenagers and want to check your social media, this is an outstanding book because the stories are brief and well written. In addition, if you like all sorts of sports, this book had non-fiction and fiction stories written by well-known authors. Some of the well-known authors were Gordon Korman, Dan Gutman and Tim Green. My favorite is Gordon Korman. I have read several of his books and they are fantastic. Finally, if there is a story that you don’t like, you can just skip it and subtract the pages from your reading log.There was a story about tennis that I read 6 pages of and realized I didn’t like it. I stopped on that page and went on to the next story. Like I said earlier, a reader would probably recognize the authors and enjoy their short stories. Since each story is approximately 20 pages long, you could skip a story you don’t like. I feel that this book is outstanding and I would recommend it to people who don’t have much time on their hands and have a mutual like of sports.

Audience-Grades 4 and upOpening-Prompt predictions based on the title -Read some of the text to engage attentionGuys Read: The Sports Pages, does anyone want to share what they might this book is going to be about? Wait for student response. Boys you might think this book is just for you. Let me just read a little and see if this might change some of your predictions. "Max could not move-"now you'll never ever say you throw like a girl again." Her eyes narrowed. She leaned in and hissed, " You wish you threw like a girl." Does anyone want to find out about Max? Does anyone want to find about the person yelling at Max? Lets read!(2012) Guys Read:The Sports Pages. (pg 79)(2012, November 1). School Library Journal. http://www.booksinprint2.com.leo.lib....#

Often, I find sports books to be a bit cheesy.I really like the format of this book since it is a compilation of short stories surrounding a variety of athletics. Many of the authors are well-known YAL authors, like Chris Crutcher, so you are guaranteed to read a few stories with great characters and plots that reach beyond a detailed account of a sporting event. My only negative about this book is that the name of the compilation series is called "Guys Read." I like that the publishers are promoting reading that targets boys and their interests, but I think girls will also really like these stories! Definitely give it a read as the stories are short but exciting.

If you love sports, you would surely entertain this book.This book included 10 short stories about sports. Those sports included Basketball, Cricket, American Football etc.This stories are really interesting for me as I loved playing sports and it really infers my senses during a game. The stories emphasize different issues and difficulties as to approach success in a sport. the short stories released me inspiration in which I just couldn't stop reading them... There was one story I really loved and I hoped that the author could of made it longer.If you like sports and fiction, this would be one of the best books you will ever find.

guys read sports pages is the third book in the guys read series. it has all kinds of small stories most of them are realistic fiction. all of the stories relate to sports and some characters are real life sports players. the conflict is normally about teams losing but others are about a hate for players on the yankees. i liked this book because i really enjoy sports books but i also like humor and that is what is in this boo. i recommend this to sports fans but also enjoy humor. i gave this book 4 stars because there are some stories that are slow and hard to understand but others are humerous and sports packed.

I had seen the Guys Read books reviewed and not given them much thought until one arrived in my Junior Library Guild subscription. I read Guys Read: The Sports Pages and loved it. Jon Scieszka, what a great concept: get short stories centered on a topic all written by GREAT authors like Chris Crutcher,Joseph Bruchac,Dan Gutman, Gordan Korman and more!These stories are all centered around one sport or another and the main characters are boys. The stories are clever, hold my intrest, and some stay with me. My favorite was Find Your Fire by Tim Green. Great series and I will read the others. I think both male and female students will enjoy this series.

Guys Read the Sports Pages are actually written by multiple people. These amazing authors include, Dan Gutman, Tim Green, and Chris Rylander. There are ten short stories about baseball, basketball, NHL Los Angeles Kings hockey team captain Dustin Brown, and more. I really liked the story, HOW I WON THE WORLD SERIES, by Dan Gutman, and how he won the world series for the Red Socks with a grape fruit! That story definitely made me laugh out loud.

This is a great collection of stories by a great collection of authors for both avid sports fans and also those who don't think the like sports much either. Many of the stories are about bigger ideas like friendship, winning in life and competition. Also the really cool thing about this book is if you find that you like a story in particular, you can go on to look up that author for his or her other works.

This book is very exciting and good. It is about 10 sports stories that are unbelievable. There are baseball, football, and more. These short stories are a collection of fiction, and non fiction, if you are a sports fan you will love this book, but if you not interested in sports you wouldn't like this book but i'm in love with sports so this book was everything to me. All in all I strongly recommend this book if you like short stories and or sports