Rick Norman's Baseball Book for Kids Celebrates 25-Year Anniversary

This spring, Rick Norman's nostalgic baseball book for kids, Fielder's Choice, will celebrate its 25th anniversary.

Fielder's Choice follows the young-adult coming of age story of Jackson "Jax" Fielder, whose unhittable "gooseball" earns him a spot as a pitcher on the St. Louis Browns straight out of high school. Jax's inability to make decisions, however, causes him to break under pressure, and the Browns lose to the Yankees in the 1941 championship game. Cripplingly embarrassed by his pitching mistakes and devastated by the death of his brother in the South Pacific, Jax joins the Air Force in hopes that the chaos of WWII will distract him from these traumatic events. Through a series of poor choices and life's curveballs, Jax finds himself tasked with teaching the "gooseball" to a Japanese Admiral's kamikaze pilot son in order to avoid further detainment and abuse within a Japanese prisoner of war camp. This dilemma places Jax in a potentially traitorous position, but it ultimately leads him to reconnect with his deep love of baseball.

When August House released Rick Norman's debut novel, Fielder's Choice, it received rave reviews. Amorak Huey wrote in Southern Living: "It has earned that spot on my bookshelf reserved for the most memorable baseball books, right next to the likes of Mark Harris' classic, Bang the Drum Slowly." Some critics commented that Norman's folksy humor reminded them of Mark Twain's wit. Fielders Choice is widely used in English courses at both colleges and high schools and has gained prestige as a classic baseball book for kids.

For years, Rick Norman was a regular contributor to National Public Radio's (NPR) weekly sports show "Only a Game." Currently, Norman works as an attorney practicing business law in Lake Charles, Louisiana. USA Today called Rick "a master storyteller," and Norman candidly concedes he became an attorney so that he could be paid for exaggerating the truth.

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Fielder's Choice, August House will be featuring this beloved baseball book for kids in its upcoming May newsletter and in a promotion with Teachingbooks.com. Fielder's Choice is currently discounted by 35% on Amazon at: http://amzn.to/22UfAuK (ISBN 978-087483-2044).

August House is a highly acclaimed and award-winning multimedia publisher of children's picture books, folktale anthologies, and resource books. Located in Atlanta, GA, August House has developed one of the most highly respected collections of folktales from the world's great oral traditions. You can find more information about August House at http://www.AugustHouse.com.

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