Two Hot Dogs with Everything
by Paul Haven (Author)
Danny Gurkin believes in his heart that the Sluggers are the best team in baseball. There's just the small matter of breaking a century-old curse involving a pretzel, a bubble-gum tycoon, and a missing shortstop. Danny also believes that the outcome of Sluggers' games depends on him and hot dogs.
Because eating two hot dogs with everything before each game is the best kind of luck a fan can give his team. Danny Ghurkin has a date with baseball destiny; he just doesn't know it. Yet.
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Publishers Weekly
Danny Gurkin, 11, doesn't just root for the Sluggers, he believes his support will alter their cellar-dwelling status. On game day, he follows a precise set of rituals-eating two hot dogs, fully dressed, from the same vendor, being in front of the TV for the first pitch, closing the windows when there's a righty on the mound, etc. When he learns of plans to demolish the palatial home of the former Sluggers owner, a bubble-gum tycoon, he and two friends cycle 30 miles to see it, hoping to find a way to save the mansion. During a tour, Danny pockets some hidden and foul-smelling bubble gum, which he unwraps and pops into his mouth later that day-just as his team rallies to win a game in the ninth. A newspaper story outlining Danny's superstitions-and their apparent effectiveness as the Sluggers go on a winning streak-earns him a spot in the dugout as the team's lucky charm. The rather tedious pace (and length) of the narrative diminishes the appealing elements of this baseball tall tale (which includes outlandish subplots about the poisonous relations between the bubble-gum tycoon and his brother, a legendary missing shortstop and a mayoral election). Still, there's lots of baseball action for fans, and though first novelist Haven stops the story before the fate of the Sluggers is fully revealed, the outcome is never really in question. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 2006 Publisher’s Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
School Library Journal
Eleven-year-old Danny Gurkin is a devoted Sluggers fan, even though the team has won only one championship in its 108-year history (and that took place in their very first season). Hope and superstition are the hallmarks of their doggedly loyal fans. During the season, Danny's life is dictated by a complex web of superstitions that dictate how and where he'll watch the games (always avoiding the wrong side of the sofa), what he'll wear, and what he'll eat (two hot dogs, though the toppings vary by circumstance: a rookie pitcher calls for extra onions, for example). Haven's first novel will delight readers with its whimsically exaggerated detail as he simultaneously celebrates and winks a knowing eye at baseball's cherished folklore and superstitions. The intricate plot, which begins with "the curse of the poisoned pretzel," will keep readers on the edge of their seats right up to the glorious finale set during baseball's fall classic. Mysteriously odd characters disappear and reappear. Danny, his friends, and the Sluggers themselves are lovable underdogs, comically earnest, and recognizable to baseball fans everywhere. Haven's quirky style with an eye for oddball detail and comic hyperbole will remind readers of Roald Dahl and Eva Ibbotson.
Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Review quotes
Baseball
Superstition
Baseball stories
Chewing gum
