Week 4: Graphic Novels

Before this assignment, I had never read a graphic novel. Truthfully, I have always found them confusing due to the speech bubbles. 

In the book Home Plate Heist, Fernando is a baseball player and the fastest boy on his team. He notices a guy who looks like bad news. It turns out, the guy, Nester, is the pitcher from the team they play next week. The Coach asks Fernando to steal a base to give Nester something to worry about before their upcoming game. He has never done this before, so he is scared and starts to psych himself out. He thinks about it so much that he misses the next player at bat and doesn't run to second like he is supposed to. In the end, Fernando's team wins 9 to 2. 

Later that night he has dinner with his family. His family talks to him about his game in a supportive way by asking him what is bothering him. They mention how everyone gets stuck in their head at some point and that making mistakes is part of the game. His whole family goes outside after dinner to help him practice. His abuelo coaches him through the steps to stealing a base. On his first try, he doesn't make it. His family mentions that you have to keep practicing to get better. They go back out every night after dinner to practice until the day of the big game. 

His Coach talks to him before the big game and tells Fernando not to worry about stealing a base. He tells him to just have fun. During his first at-bat, he realizes that he spent all week practicing stealing bases and didn't practice batting at all. He strikes out. His whole family is there again and they shout words of encouragement. 

On his fourth at-bat, he hits the ball. He makes it to first. He starts to toy with the idea of stealing second. The Yellow Jackets are up 2-0. Fernando goes back and forth. On the one hand, he doesn't want to let his team down if he messes up. On the other hand, if he doesn't try, then his team still loses. In the end, he decides to go for it! He flies toward second; he throws out his arms and leaps. SAFE! Fernando's team goes on to win the game. After the game, Nester calls out to Fernando and tells him that their game was "the funnest of the season".

"The real game happens between the pitches." - This is a great theme for life! It reminds me of the quote from John Lennon, "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans."

This isn't a book I would read aloud in class because the reader needs to have background knowledge of baseball to visualize the story. I would read it in a small group of boys who are reluctant readers to try to get them interested in reading.