CANR
WORK TITLE: Glenn Burke, Game Changer
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.philbildner.com/
CITY: Newburgh
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: CANR 193
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in Jericho, NY.
EDUCATION:Johns Hopkins University, bachelor’s degree; New York University School of Law, J.D., 1990; Long Island University, master’s degree.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, educator, and attorney. Admitted to the bars of the State of New York and the State of New Jersey; New York City Public Schools, New York, NY, elementary and middle school teacher, 1994-2005; full-time writer, 2006—.
AVOCATIONS:Tennis, softball, snowboarding, video games.
AWARDS:Texas Bluebonnet Award, 2004, for Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy; Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ children’s books, 2025, for Glenn Burke, Game Changer.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Lawyer-turned-teacher-turned-author Phil Bildner has published both picture books and novels with sports-related themes. Born in Jericho, a Long Island suburb, Bildner graduated from Johns Hopkins University and attended the New York University School of Law before working briefly at a Manhattan law firm. He then returned to school, earning his master’s degree in elementary education, and landed his first teaching job at a public school in the South Bronx. A lack of resources forced Bildner to develop innovative teaching methods; he often incorporated music into his lesson plans, drawing the attention of recording artists such as the Dave Matthews Band and the Fugees, who visited his classroom.
Bildner made the leap to published author in 2002 with Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy, “an amusing picture-book tall tale,” according to Booklist contributor Bill Ott. The work concerns baseball great “Shoeless Joe” Jackson, who turns to batsmith Charlie Ferguson when he slumps at the plate. Charlie makes him a special bat, nicknamed Black Betsy, that carries Joe to the major leagues. “The repetition and wry humor of the exchanges between the two superstitious characters pull the legend out of the story,” noted School Library Journal critic Wendy Lukehart, and a reviewer in Publishers Weekly stated that the author “hits a home run here, zeroing in on the bat as just the right lens through which to view his picture book biography.” The book won the prestigious 2004 Texas Bluebonnet Award.
A young girl’s fascination with the Brooklyn Bridge is the focus of Bildner’s Twenty-one Elephants. Having watched the bridge’s construction since she was a tot, Hannah is determined to walk across it, though her skeptical father doesn’t trust the newly completed structure. After a visit to the circus, where Hannah spies a group of performing elephants, she approaches P.T. Barnum with an unusual request. Bildner and illustrator LeUyen Pham “deftly juggle fact and fiction in this charming tale, which celebrates a child’s imagination and faith,” wrote a Publishers Weekly critic.
In The Shot Heard ’round the World, Bildner chronicles the stirring 1951 pennant race between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Told from the perspective of a young Dodgers fan, the work takes readers through one of the most exciting seasons of the sport’s Golden Age, “with the text showing how baseball in the pre-television era was a community passion, shared on front stoops and around radios,” observed Booklist contributor Bill Ott. “Bildner captures the spirit of Brooklyn in 1951,” noted a critic in Kirkus Reviews, as he details the thrilling playoff series between the two teams that ended with Bobby Thomson’s famous home run, known as “the shot heard around the world,” that propelled the Giants into the World Series. Bildner looks at another landmark sporting event in The Greatest Game Ever Played: A Football Story. “Deftly blending surefire ingredients—nostalgia, father-son bonding, and on-field action,” according to a Publishers Weekly contributor, “Bildner’s story tells of the 1958 [National Football League] championship game” in which the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants in a sudden-death overtime thriller.
Bildner’s debut novel, Playing the Field, appeared in 2006. In the work, high schooler Darcy Miller, the star player of her dismal girls’ softball team, desperately seeks a way to join the boys’ baseball team. When Brandon Basset, the school principal’s son, convinces his father that Darcy is a lesbian, Darcy plays along until Mr. Bassett allows her on the squad. Playing the Field received decidedly mixed reviews. In School Library Journal, Michelle Roberts observed that “wholly unbelievable scenarios prevent this novel from being anything close to a home run,” but Booklist contributor John Peters called the work a “fearlessly irreverent first novel.”
On his home page, Bildner offered some advice for aspiring authors. “When you write, especially when you’re first starting out,” he stated, “write about what you know, and more importantly, write about what you love. If you’re passionate about something, your knowledge and fervor for that subject matter will come across in your written word.” In his 2007 novel, Busted, Bildner tells the related stories of students at Coldwater Creek High School who get “busted” for various reasons, such as drinking, bullying, and drug use. Throughout the story, the high school principal uses students as informants, which compromises his zero-tolerance policy by allowing some violators to get off with little or no punishment. “Teens who are tired of goody-goodies and morally uplifting endings will enjoy this exception to the rule,” noted Carol A. Edwards in School Library Journal. Writing for the BookLoons Web site, Hilary Williamson commented that the author “offers a raw read in Busted, but one that reflects … certain realities of the high school experience.”
Bildner is also author, with Loren Long, of books in the “Sluggers” series, which Long also illustrates. The series was originally called the “Barnstormers: Tales of the Travelin’ Nine,” series but was renamed by the publisher, which also retitled and republished the first three books in the series. The series features a traveling baseball team, or “barnstormers,” at the turn of the century. Accompanying the team are the young siblings Ruby, Griffith, and Graham. Game 1: Magic in the Outfield takes place in 1899 and the Travelin’ Nine are in Cincinnati to play a game and hopefully make some money. The story is filled with mysteries, from an old baseball with a strange hole in it to the appearance of fog and trains on the field that only the barnstormers and the children can see. “The level of historical detail is admirable, and Long’s dreamy, black-and-white illustrations are breathtaking,” commented Kim Dare in School Library Journal. GraceAnne A. DeCandido, writing in Booklist, noted that “the prose is atmospheric.”
Game 2: The River City (retitled Game 2: Horsin’ Around ) finds barnstormers Ruby and Griffith receiving a cryptic message from their uncle warning them that the Chancellor must not find out about baseball. This time, the team is playing in Louisville, Kentucky, and the mysterious baseball—a legacy from the children’s dead father—makes horses appear on the field. Once again, these apparitions can only be seen by the Travelin’ Nine and the children. The horses, it turns out, are past winners of the Kentucky Derby, and they play a part in helping the Travelin’ Nine win the game. Diana Pierce wrote in the School Library Journal: “Baseball fans will love the book.” The third book in the series, originally called Game 3: The Windy City, was renamed Game 3: Great Balls of Fire, and the fourth book is titled Game 4: Water, Water Everywhere.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 15, 2002, Bill Ott, review of Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy, p. 1014; October 1, 2004, Karin Snelson, review of Twenty-one Elephants, p. 332; March 1, 2005, Bill Ott, review of The Shot Heard ’round the World, p. 1199; April 1, 2006, John Peters, review of Playing the Field, p. 31; April 1, 2007, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of Game 1, p. 44.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, March, 2006, review of Playing the Field.
Children’s Literature, May, 2006, review of Playing the Field.
Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2001, review of Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy, p. 1754; October 1, 2004, review of Twenty-one Elephants, p. 956; February 15, 2005, review of The Shot Heard ’round the World, p. 226; February 15, 2006, review of Playing the Field, p. 177; July 15, 2007, review of Busted.
Kliatt, July 1, 2007, Myrna Marler, review of Busted, p. 8.
Publishers Weekly, January 7, 2002, review of Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy, p. 64; December 13, 2004, review of Twenty-one Elephants, p. 67; February 7, 2005, review of The Shot Heard ’round the World, p. 59; July 24, 2006, review of The Greatest Game Ever Played: A Football Story, pp. 57-58.
School Library Journal, April, 2002, Wendy Lukehart, review of Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy, p. 100; November, 2004, Susan Lissim, review of Twenty-one Elephants, pp. 90-91; May, 2005, Marilyn Taniguchi, review of The Shot Heard ’round the World, p. 77; March, 2006, Michelle Roberts, review of Playing the Field, p. 218; April, 2007, Kim Dare, review of Game 1, p. 110; August, 2007, Carol A. Edwards, review of Busted, p. 110; April, 2008, Diana Pierce, review of Game 2: The Windy City, p. 115.
ONLINE
BookLoons, http:// www.bookloons.com/ (August 8, 2008), Hilary Williamson, review of Busted.
Children’s Literature, http://www.childrenslit.com/ (August 8, 2008), “Q & A with Phil Bildner and Loren Long.”
Phil Bildner Home Page, http://www.philbildner.com (September 15, 2006).
Phil Bildner’s MySpace Page, http://www.myspace.com/philbildner (September 15, 2006).
Teens Read Too, http://www.teensreadtoo.com/ (August 8, 2008), “Interview with Phil Bildner.”
Phil Bildner is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books for young people including the NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Honor-winning middle grade novel, A High Five for Glenn Burke, the Margaret Wise Brown Prize-winning Marvelous Cornelius, and the critically acclaimed Rip and Red series. His latest release is the picture book biography, Glenn Burke, Game Changer.
Phil Bildner is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books for young people including the NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Honor-winning middle grade novel, A High Five for Glenn Burke, the Margaret Wise Brown Prize-winning picture book, Marvelous Cornelius, and the Texas Bluebonnet Award-winning picture book Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy. Phil is also the author of A Whole New Ballgame, Rookie of the Year, Tournament of Champions, and Most Valuable Players in the critically acclaimed middle grade Rip & Red series. His other picture books include Martina & Chrissie, Twenty-One Elephants, and The Soccer Fence. His latest is the biography, Glenn Burke, Game Changer.
Phil grew up on Long Island, studied political science at Johns Hopkins University, and then attended law school at New York University School of Law. After passing the bar in New York and New Jersey and working for a short time as an associate at a large Manhattan law firm, Phil went back to school and earned a master’s degree in early childhood and elementary education at Long Island University.
For eleven years, Phil taught in the New York City Public Schools. He taught fifth and sixth grade in the Tremont section of the Bronx in the 1990s and middle school Language Arts and American History in Manhattan in the 2000s.
After leaving the classroom to write full time, Phil began chaperoning student-volunteer trips to New Orleans to help in the post-Hurricane Katrina recovery effort. He founded The NOLA Tree, a non-profit youth service organization and served as the co-Executive Director for several years.
In 2017, Phil founded The Author Village, an author booking business and speakers bureau. He now represents over eighty book creators for young people, educators, and librarians.
Phil also serves on the Board of Directors of Baldwin for the Arts, the non-profit organization founded by Jacqueline Woodson and whose mission is to create a safe and nurturing space for Artists of The Global Majority.
These days, Phil lives in Newburgh, New York with his husband in a two-hundred-year-old farmhouse. Most of the time, you’ll find him out in the yard playing with his dog named Kat, hanging with his cats named Primrose and Rue, or working on the back porch (aka, his office) overlooking the Hudson River.
Phil Bildner
USA flag
Phil Bildner grew up in the New York City suburb of Jericho, Long Island. He attended the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he received his undergraduate degree in political science. Phil then attended the New York University School of Law (J.D. ’90) and was admitted to the bar in both New York and New Jersey.
Series
Barnstormers (with Loren Long)
1. Game 1 (2007)
2. Game 2 (2007)
3. Game 3 (2008)
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Sluggers (with Loren Long)
1. Magic in the Outfield (2009)
2. Horsin' Around (2009)
3. Great Balls of Fire (2009)
4. Water, Water Everywhere (2009)
5. Blastin' the Blues (2010)
6. Home of the Brave (2010)
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Rip and Red
1. A Whole New Ballgame (2015)
2. Rookie of the Year (2016)
3. Tournament of Champions (2017)
4. Most Valuable Players (2018)
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Novels
Twenty-One Elephants (2004)
The Shot Heard 'Round the World (2005)
Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy (2006)
Playing the Field (2006)
The Greatest Game Ever Played (2006)
Busted (2007)
A High Five for Glenn Burke (2019)
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Picture Books hide
Turkey Bowl (2008)
The Hallelujah Flight (2010)
The Unforgettable Season (2011)
The Soccer Fence (2014)
Marvelous Cornelius (2015)
Derek Jeter Presents Night at the Stadium (2016)
Phil Bildner
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Phil Bildner
Phil Bildner is an American author of children's books.
Personal life
Bildner grew up in Jericho, New York and currently lives in Newburgh, New York with his husband and his dog, Kat.[1]
Education
Bildner attended Johns Hopkins University and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in political science in 1990, after which he attended New York University School of Law and received a Juris Doctor degree in 1993.[1] He passed the bar exam in New York and New Jersey before beginning his career in law.[1][2]
After a working as a lawyer for a short time, Bildner returned to school and received a master's degree in early childhood education and elementary education from Long Island University in 1995.[2][1]
Career
After receiving his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1993 and passing his bar exam, Bildner worked for a law firm in Manhattan short term.[1] However, he quickly returned to school to receive a master's degree in education.[1]
After receiving his master's degree in education, Bildner taught in the New York Public Schools for eleven years, where he taught primarily fifth- and sixth-grade students.[1] In the 1990s, while teaching in the Tremont section of the Bronx, he developed an English-Language Arts (ELA) curriculum around song and music, through which he invited Dave Matthews, Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveler, Lauryn Hill, and Wyclef Jean into his classroom.[1][2] While in that school district, Bildner also created a curriculum around HIV/AIDS.[2]
In the 2000s, Bilder started work at P.S. 333, the Manhattan School for Children in Upper Manhattan.[2] Teaching middle school English and American History, Bildner continued to incorporate music into the curriculum and worked with the Lincoln Center Institute, Broadway shows (e.g., Wicked and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), and Off-Broadway shows (e.g., Def Poetry Jam, De la Guarda).[1][2]
In 2005, Bildner left the classroom to write full-time.[2]
However, he began chaperoning student volunteer trips to New Orleans to help victims in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.[2] Through these efforts, he founded NOLA Tree, "a non-profit youth service organization and served as the co-Executive Director."[2][1]
In 2017, Bildner founded The Author Village to help connect students to authors, artists, and other creative individuals.[1][2] Through this organization, he visits 50–60 schools annually.[2]
Selected works
Rip and Red series (2015–2018)
Main article: Rip and Red (book series)
The Rip and Red series, illustrated by Tim Probert and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, consists of four books: A Whole New Ball Game (2015), Rookie of the Year (2016), Tournament of Champions (2017), and Most Valuable Players (2018). All four books are Junior Library Guild selections.[3][4][5][6]
Marvelous Cornelius (2015)
Main article: Marvelous Cornelius
Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans
Alongside being a Junior Library Guild selection,[7] the book received various accolades, including the following:
Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration (2016)[7]
Bank Street College of Education Best Books of 2016[7]
Cybils Award for Fiction Picture Books nominee (2015)[7]
Martina and Chrissie (2017)
Martina and Chrissie: The Greatest Rivalry in the History of Sports, illustrated by Brett Helquist and published May 14, 2019 by Candlewick Press, provides a dual biography of tennis players Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.
The book received a starred review from Booklist, who said the "spirited, engrossing story, containing an inspiring message and enough information for the fact hungry, is a fantastic addition to all sports collections."[8] Publishers Weekly[9] and Sports Illustrated Kids[10] also provided positive reviews. School Library Journal[11][12] and Kirkus, however, offered a mediocre review, the latter stating it was "a fine sports story," noting that "the hyperbolic tone" of referring to this relationship as "the greatest rivalry in the history of sports" "mars an otherwise superb sports volume."[13]
Alongside being selected by the Junior Library Guild,[14] Martina and Chrissie received the following accolades:
Booklist Top 10 Books for Youth, Sports (2017)[14]
Chicago Public Library Best Informational Books for Younger Readers (2017)[14]
Evanston Public Library's 101 Great Children's Books Published in 2017[15]
A High Five for Glenn Burke (2020)
Main article: A High Five for Glenn Burke
A High Five for Glenn Burke, published February 25, 2020 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, is a middle-grade novel about Silas Wade, who learns about Glenn Burke, a gay, Major League baseball player in the 1970s and begins to accept his own sexual identity.[16]
The book received a starred review from Booklist,[17] as well as positive reviews from Kirkus,[18] The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books,[19] and School Library Journal.[20]
Alongside being selected by the Junior Library Guild,[21] A High Five for Glenn Burke received the following accolades:
Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Children's Literature nominee (2021)[22]
NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Honor Book (2021)[23][24]
Bank Street College of Education Best Book of 2021[25]
Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Older Readers (2020)[26]
Publications
Sluggers series
Barnstormers Game 1, with Loren Long (2007)
Barnstormers Game 2, with Loren Long (2007)
Barnstormers Game 3, with Loren Long (2008)
Magic in the Outfield (February 2009)
Horsin’ Around (February 2009)
Great Balls of Fire (April 2009)
Water, Water Everywhere (April 2009)
Blastin’ the Blues (February 2010)
Home of the Brave (May 2010)
Rip and Red series
A Whole New Ballgame, illustrated by Tim Probert (2015)
Rookie of the Year, illustrated by Tim Probert (2016)
Tournament of Champions, illustrated by Tim Probert (2017)
Most Valuable Players, illustrated by Tim Probert (2018)
Standalone books
Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy, illustrated by C. F. Payne (2002)
Twenty One Elephants, illustrated by LeUyen Pham (2004)
The Shot Heard ‘Round the World (2005)
The Greatest Game Ever Played, illustrated by Zachary Pullen (2006)
Playing the Field (2006)
Busted (2007)
Turkey Bowl, illustrated by C. F. Payne (2008)
The Hallelujah Flight, illustrated by John Holyfield (2010)
The Unforgettable Season: Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and the Record-Setting Summer of 1941, illustrated by S.D. Schindler (2011)
The Soccer Fence: A Story of Friendship, Hope, and Apartheid in South Africa, illustrated by Jesse Joshua Watson (2014)
Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans (2015)
Derek Jeter Presents: Night at the Stadium, illustrated by Tom Booth (2016)
Martina and Chrissie: The Greatest Rivalry in the History of Sports, illustrated by Brett Helquist (2017)
A High Five for Glenn Burke (2020)
Phil Bildner (he/him)
“When I get up in front of a library or auditorium full of kids, I’m of the mind this could be the first and only time they ever get to meet and interact with a real life author. I feel it’s my duty – my moral responsibility – to rock their world. It’s my duty to motivate and inspire.”
Biography
Phil Bildner is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books for young people including the NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Honor-winning middle grade novel, A High Five for Glenn Burke, the inaugural Margaret Wise Brown Prize-winning Marvelous Cornelius, and the Lambda Literary Award-winning, Glenn Burke, Game Changer. Phil is also the author of A Whole New Ballgame, Rookie of the Year, Tournament of Champions, and Most Valuable Players in the critically acclaimed middle grade Rip & Red series. His other picture books include Twenty-One Elephants, The Soccer Fence, and Martina & Chrissie.
Phil grew up on Long Island, studied political science at Johns Hopkins University, and then attended law school at New York University School of Law. After passing the bar in New York and New Jersey and working for a short time as an associate at a large Manhattan law firm, Phil went back to school and earned a master’s degree in early childhood and elementary education at Long Island University.
For eleven years, Phil taught in the New York City Public Schools. He taught fifth and sixth grade in the Tremont section of the Bronx in the 1990s and middle school Language Arts and American History in Manhattan in the 2000s.
After leaving the classroom to write full time, Phil began chaperoning student-volunteer trips to New Orleans to help in the post-Hurricane Katrina recovery effort. He founded The NOLA Tree, a non-profit youth service organization and served as the co-Executive Director for several years.
In 2017, Phil founded The Author Village, an author booking business that now represents over eighty book creators for young people, educators, and librarians.
These days, Phil lives in Newburgh, New York with his husband in a two-hundred-year-old farmhouse. Most of the time, you’ll find him out playing in the yard, hanging with his cats, Primrose and Rue, or working on the back porch (aka, his office) overlooking the Hudson River.
Labels
Author Spotlight
Phil Bildner
Author Spotlight: Phil Bildner
July 10, 2020
We are pleased to feature author Phil Bildner and his new middle grade novel, HIGH FIVE FOR GLENN BURKE (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, Feb. 2020). Enter to win a copy!
cover © Cassie Gonzales
Tell us about your background and how you came to write for children.
The abbreviated version of the story goes something like this: I taught middle school in the New York City Public Schools. When I first started teaching, many of the kids had never been in settings where grown-ups actively engaged in reading and writing. So when we did writing in class, I’d be writing, too. Modeling the behavior. Then when we shared what we created, I would share as well. So more than anyone, it was those kids in my class who jump-started my writing.
When I was a kid, it was my fifth grade teacher, Mr. Kramer, who got my creative writing juices flowing. He was the one who kept on saying to read whatever I wanted and to write whatever I wanted.
So I did. Grateful I listened. Appreciate you, Mr. Kramer.
Congrats on your middle grade novel, HIGH FIVE FOR GLENN BURKE. Tell us about the book and what inspired you.
Ain’t gonna lie -- it’s been super exciting to see how folks have responded to A HIGH FIVE FOR GLENN BURKE. You always hope what you create resonates with people, but you never know, and when it does…
So the book is the story of a twelve-year-old boy named Silas. He plays centerfield for his middle school baseball team, loves singing karaoke with his best friend, Zoey, and can recite every line and re-enact every scene from his favorite movie, The Sandlot. When he does a presentation in ELA class on Glenn Burke, the former Major League baseball player, it's not just a report on the inventor of the high five. For Silas, it’s his first baby step toward coming out as gay.
Like Silas, I grew up playing ball -- basketball, baseball, soccer, and tennis. But unlike Silas, I didn't have the internet. I didn't have his access to information, language, words, and ideas. All I knew is that as much as I loved playing ball, kids like me didn't. I didn’t know queer kids played sports. I didn’t know queer kids could play sports. A HIGH FIVE FOR GLENN BURKE is the book I wish I had when I was twelve. It would’ve given middle school me hope.
But the book isn't only for queer kids who play ball. Nor is it simply for LGBTQ kids in general. It's for all kids, for everyone. My hope is the book will help kids grasp the importance of acceptance, to help them open their hearts and minds to the realities and struggles some of their own classmates and teammates may be living.
Was your road to publication long and winding, short and sweet, or something in between?
The origin story for A HIGH FIVE FOR GLENN BURKE is pretty cool. The first seeds were planted way back in 2014 when I watched “High Five,” a short film that was part of the ESPN documentary series “30 for 30.” I remember watching and thinking there’s a picture book in here somewhere. But at the time, I was finishing up A WHOLE NEW BALLGAME and starting on ROOKIE OF THE YEAR, the first books in my Rip & Red series, so I didn’t have the bandwidth for a deep dive.
Flash forward to 2016. I returned to the idea of a picture book biography of Glenn Burke. Did the research, wrote some drafts, wrote some more drafts, and then finally, in January of 2018, my agent submitted it to my editor, Wes Adams.
But Wes didn’t see it as a picture book. He felt the age level was wrong and the heart of the story would’ve been relegated to the afterword. Wes saw it as something else, as middle grade fiction…
“that’s upbeat and humorous but also impactful and filled with heart about a present day baseball loving kid…”
That’s what he wrote in his email. And a book was born.
What projects are you working on these days (and can you concentrate)?
Real talk: I’m not doing much writing these days. My mind hasn’t been in a creative space during The Pause. I’ve spoken to quite a few authors about this, and I know I’m not the only one feeling this.
I do know this isn’t a forever headspace. I had been working on a new middle grade, a realistic fiction story set at a basketball camp. But now it reads like a time-stamped, period piece incompatible with our new world. I will dive back in at some point and figure out how to make it work and fit. No doubt. The real writing takes place during the rewriting.
Favorite classic MGs? Recent ones?
My favorite middle grades from back-in-the-day are the ones I shared as read alouds with my middle school students: FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MELANIN SUN by Jackie Woodson, SCORPIONS by Walter Dean Myers, WHEN ZACHARY BEAVER CAME TO TOWN by Kimberly Willis Holt, HEAVEN by Angela Johnson. I still have vivid flashbulb memories of reading those books and the subsequent classroom discussions.
Some of the instant classics I’ve read recently include OTHER WORDS FOR HOME by Jasmine Warga, THE BRIDGE HOME by Padma Venkatraman, CHIRP by Kate Messner, RICK by Alex Gino, and WHICH LANE? by Torrey Maldonado.
A few of the middle grades on my to-be-read mountain include THE LIST OF THINGS THAT WILL NOT CHANGE by Rebecca Stead, WE DREAM OF SPACE by Erin Entrada Kelly, and DRAGON HOOPS by Gene Luen Yang.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
In this age of pandemic learning, I keep hearing how some teachers and parents are telling kids they need to be writing and journaling about this moment, that they’re the real-time recorders of history.
No.
Young authors, if you don’t want to be writing about what’s happening to our world and in our world, then don’t. Now more than ever, you should be writing about what matters to you and what you care about, not what someone else says you need to be writing about.
That doesn’t just go for young authors. That goes for everyone.
What is one thing most people don't know about you?
Let me contort the question and say the thing people tend to forget they know about me. I was an attorney way back when. I went to law school at the New York University School of Law and earned my J.D in 1993. I then passed the bar in two states, New York and New Jersey. I worked as an entry level associate at one of those big, cookie-cutter Manhattan law firms, but after less than a year, I was out. That life wasn’t for me. Three months later, I was teaching 5th grade in class 5-405 at C.S. 6 in the Tremont section of the Bronx.
Where can people find you online?
My name is my website, www.philbildner.com. It’s also my Twitter and Insta, @philbildner
Phil Bildner is a former New York City public school teacher and lives in Newburgh, New York. The author of many books, among them the Rip & Red series, he speaks at numerous schools and libraries every year.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Interview with Phil Bildner, author of A Whole New Ballgame
A Whole New Ballgame by Phil Bildner comes out today. I cannot tell you how excited I am for this book. Last spring I was lucky enough to receive an ARC. After book talking it to my three fifth grade classes, I had a waiting list seven kids deep...in each class.
This book follows the story of Rip and Red as they begin fifth grade together. Red is on the autism spectrum and Rip, his best friend, knows how to calm him down when needed. Boy is it needed at the start of their school year. Many curve balls are thrown their way. They have a new teacher, Mr. Acevedo instead of Mrs. Hamburger like was planned. Mr. Acevedo has earrings, tattoos, believes in something called reading and writing workshop, and is just a bit goofy. I love him.
This book speaks to my students. You can tell Phil knows kids, knows what makes them tick, and knows what good teaching looks like. There is so much to love about this book.
I was super excited to interview Phil and find out a little more about this amazing book. Check out the interview below.
What inspired A Whole New Ballgame?
One thing I always tell kids – or anyone – is that you write about what you know and you write about what you love. If you write about what you know and write about what you love, and you’re passionate about it, it’s going to come through in your writing.
A Whole New Ballgame is all about school and sports and friendships and community and inclusion. When it comes to kids, those are my passions.
On a more micro level, basketball has always been my favorite sport. But up until now, I’ve only written books about other sports – baseball, football, and soccer. Finally writing a basketball story – a basketball series -- has been super exciting.
One area my students struggle in writing fiction is in regard to characters.
In reading your book, I could clearly see my students in the characters, they seemed real. What advice would you give my students on developing characters that don’t seem to be flat?
Developing characters can be challenging, but every student is capable of creating multi-layered characters that seem real…if you’re willing to put in a little work. Here are two things to try: First, people watch. Observe people and make up stories about them. You can be silly or serious or bizarre, but no matter what you decide, try to be as specific as possible. Come up with rich details to describe the person you’re observing.
The second thing I suggest – and this is something I’ve been doing recently -- is create thought bubbles. Look at a photograph of a person or study a person while people watching and come up with their thought bubbles. Let your imagination run wild. What is that person thinking? Create his or her internal dialogue.
My students are always curious about the writing process. Can you tell us about yours?
I was trying to think of the one word that best describes my writing process, and the word I keep coming back to is scattered. My process is all over the place!
More often than not, my process begins in my journal, my writer’s notebook. I take it with me wherever I go because I never know when I’m going to have an idea or be inspired. At home, I have stacks and stacks of writer’s notebooks. I keep them all, and I love thumbing through them from time to time. Every so often, I’ll read something I wrote from years ago and be like, “wow, that’s pretty good.” Or I’ll read something else and think, “dag, Phil, what were you thinking?”
After I write in my journal, I move the ideas to my computer. Then it’s all about revising, revising, and more revising.
For instance, right now, I’m working on this middle grade novel. Over the weekend, I printed out the first seventy pages to read out loud and mark up. Let me tell you, the next time I print out the first seventy pages, it’s going to look nothing like what I printed out previously.
That goes right along with something I always tell kids: The real writing takes place during the rewriting.
What advice would you have for budding writers?
The one piece of advice I would give to budding writers: Read! Read whatever you want. The things that interest you most – gymnastics, Minecraft, cooking, basketball, whatever – read about them as much as you possibly can. The more you read, the more comfortable you become with words. The more comfortable you become with words, the better your writing.
And what’s next for Rip, Red, and Mr. Acevedo?
I’m so glad you asked! Right now, we’re planning on four books in the Rip and Red series. The second one is called “Rookie of the Year.” It comes out next fall. I don’t want to give too much away, but I will tease one of the storylines: A new kid joins the Clifton United basketball team, and she is as good a ballplayer as Rip and… well, stay tuned!
Authors in Conversation: Andrew Maraniss and Phil Bildner
April 9, 2021 Dahlia Adler Leave a comment
Last week, we had an excerpt of Singled Out, and I promised its author, Andrew Maraniss, would return. Now he’s back, and he’s joined by Phil Bildner, author of the Lambda finalist Middle Grade novel, A High Five for Glenn Burke! Since they’ve written an intro in addition to their conversation, I’m just gonna let them take it away!
Authors Phil Bildner and Andrew Maraniss have both written books for young readers involving Glenn Burke, the first openly gay Major League Baseball player and the inventor of the high five. Burke played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland A’s in the late 1970s but was driven from the game due to the homophobia of officials with both organizations. Bildner’s middle grade novel, A HIGH FIVE FOR GLENN BURKE, tells the story of a gay sixth grade boy who prepares a school presentation on Burke. Maraniss has written a biography of Burke for teens and adults, SINGLED OUT. Bildner and Maraniss spoke with each other for LGBTQ Reads about their shared interests in baseball, books, and Burke.
Andrew Maraniss: You’re a Mets fan. Why the Mets over the Yankees, and how do Mets fans perceive themselves and their team in contrast to the Yankees and their fans?
Phil Bildner: Well, my dad grew up in Flatbush and was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. He used to tell me stories about Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, and Jackie Robinson and how he would go to Elsie Day Games at old Ebbets Field. So there was no way I was going to be a Yankees fan. The team from the Bronx was the evil empire. I grew up on Long Island and could drive to Shea Stadium or take the Long Island Railroad to Woodside and change to the 7 Train to Flushing. I still remember my very first Mets game, Saturday afternoon April 20, 1974. We sat in the mezzanine, and the Mets won 5-2. Jerry Koosman tossed a complete game five-hitter.
PB: So you’re a Brewers fan from way, way back in the day. I’m old enough to remember the Harvey’s Wallbangers teams from the early 80s. I used to love Cecil Cooper because having 1980 Cecil Cooper on your Strat-O-Matic baseball team was like having a cheat code in your line-up. Who were your favorite players from those teams?
AM: I was born in Madison, Wisconsin, but we moved to the East Coast when I was four. My grandparents were still in Madison and Milwaukee, however, and they made sure I grew up a Brewers fan. We lived in Washington, D.C. when I was in first grade through ninth grade, and every time the Brewers came to Baltimore to play the Orioles, my Dad and I would go see the Brew Crew. I think it shaped my character being a fan of the road team, going against the grain and being happy when everyone else was sad, sad when 30,000 people were cheering. In 1981, we took the train up to New York to see the Brewers play the Yankees in the playoffs. I was 11 and it was my first trip to New York. Yankee fans were burning Brewers caps in the row behind us. It was an eye-opening experience. My favorite players back then were Paul Molitor and Robin Yount, but I loved all those guys — Cooper, Gorman Thomas, Ben Oglivie, Pete Vuckovich. My Twitter handle @trublu24 is a nod to the True Blue Brew Crew and Oglivie, who wore #24.
AM: When did you first learn of Glenn Burke’s story?
PB: Baseball cards! I started collecting Topps baseball cards in kindergarten, and of course, I had to have the complete sets. Each season, I knew every player on every team and even memorized many of their year-to-year statistics. That’s when I first learned about Glenn Burke. But I didn’t know about Glenn Burke. That didn’t happen until I was a teenager — when Inside Sports, a magazine I subscribed to published, The Double Life Of a Gay Dodger.
My origin story for A High Five for Glenn Burke is pretty cool. The first seeds were planted back in 2014 when I watched “High Five,” a short film that was part of ESPN’s “30 for 30” documentary series. I remember watching and thinking there’s a picture book in here somewhere, but I was working on a middle grade series at the time and didn’t have the bandwidth for a deep dive.
A few years later I did and wrote that picture book biography, but my editor, Wes Adams didn’t see it as a picture book. That’s exactly what he told me, “I don’t see it.” He didn’t think it was the right way to explore Glenn’s story. Wes was the one who suggested we try to weave Glenn Burke’s story into a contemporary realistic fiction middle grade novel. As soon as he said it, I was all in!
PB: And you? When did you first learn about Glenn Burke? What prompted you to write a biography for teens about him?
AM: Very similar stories involving conversations and baseball cards. My first book, Strong Inside, is a biography of Perry Wallace, the first Black basketball player in the SEC. My second, Games of Deception, is the story of the first U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. As soon as I submitted Games of Deception to my editor, I started thinking about another narrative nonfiction story combining sports and social justice. I was speaking with my agent, Alec Shane, about various ideas and he mentioned that there had never been a biography of Glenn Burke. As soon as he said that, my mind flashed to Glenn’s 1978 Topps baseball card, where he’s swinging a bat in the Dodger road gray uniform. I’m grateful to Alec for suggesting Glenn as the subject of a biography. It was a no-brainer — a chance to write about my favorite sport, a tremendously interesting person and the gay rights movement of the 70s.
PB: What’s your connection to sports? Did you play ball as a kid? Were you a fan of teams other than the Brew Crew? Did you read sports books?
AM: Baseball was my favorite sport growing up. I played through high school in Austin, Texas, and if I hadn’t received a full-tuition sportswriting scholarship to Vanderbilt, I would have gone to school and played ball at Macalester College in Minnesota. They didn’t offer any scholarships but they did play once a year at the Metrodome, which was a ridiculous reason to be interested in a college. But what can I say?! As far as other teams, I’ve always been a big Green Bay Packers fan. My favorite college basketball team as a kid was Georgetown. We had season tickets in the Patrick Ewing era. I loved collecting baseball cards, and those same grandparents who brainwashed me into being a Brewers fan subscribed me to newsletters such as What’s Brewing and Packer Report. I ended up working in sports after college, first as the Sports Information Director for the Vanderbilt men’s basketball team and then as media relations manager for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during their inaugural season of 1998. I was with a public relations firm in Nashville for nearly 20 years after that. Writing sports-related books has been a bit of a return to what I loved as a younger person. I also now manage the Sports & Society Initiative at Vanderbilt.
AM: How about you?
PB: As a kid, I played baseball, basketball, soccer, and tennis. I started playing little league baseball in second grade, basketball in third, and soccer in fourth.
I was a huge sports fan, too. Of course, I loved the Mets. I was also a Knicks fan — had season tickets in Section 324 of Madison Square Garden and went to all the Reggie Miller and Michael Jordan games and was even there for the OJ game against the Rockets during the NBA Finals in 1994. And I was an Islanders fan – they used to practice at a rink that was biking distance from my house. But I didn’t read many sports books. I read the newspaper, the sports section. That’s how I was able to keep track of my teams.
AM: When it comes to openly gay athletes in sports, we’ve seen many more high-profile women than men here in the U.S. Glenn Burke said on his deathbed that he hoped his experience would make it easier for gay ballplayers in the future. Obviously, there are many reasons why anyone, athlete or not, may or may not choose to come out at any particular time, but are you surprised there aren’t more out gay men in American sports? What would it mean to gay kids to see a pro baseball, basketball or football star in the prime of their career come out today?
PB: It would literally and figuratively be a game changer and have immeasurable value to queer kids.
But am I surprised there aren’t more out gay men in American sports? Unfortunately, no. While we’ve made tremendous strides towards acceptance in recent years, we now live in an era where a disturbingly large segment of our society proudly flaunts their hate and inhumanity. It’s become their brand like the alligator on their shirt or the Swoosh on their sneakers. So it’s understandable, sadly, why a gay male athlete in the prime of his career wouldn’t want to add fighting off fascists to his plate.
PB: What about you? Are you surprised there aren’t any openly gay professional baseball, basketball, or football players?
AM: When I interviewed Billy Bean, the gay vice president at Major League Baseball, he talked about how short the typical pro sports career is, how brief a window to make a life-changing amount of money. A closeted athlete has to make a calculation of whether it’s worth it to risk all that by coming out, not knowing what the reaction will be from teammates, coaches, team management and ownership, fans and the media. As you said, this is one of so many areas of American life where we see polarization between truth and lies. One thing I tried to do in Singled Out is to show the absurdity of the standard arguments against the viability of an out player. They’ll say it would be a “distraction,” as if teams don’t welcome distractions all the time. When Glenn Burke was with the Dodgers, manager Tommy Lasorda was literally inviting actors, comedians, and singers into the team’s clubhouse minutes before games. When Burke was with the A’s, the owner, Charlie Finley, was calling his manager in the middle of games to suggest changes in strategy and had a teenaged MC Hammer serving as his vice president. People say a gay player would be unpopular with teammates. Glenn Burke was the most popular player on the Dodgers. His teammates cried when was traded to the A’s. It was the straight player with the All-American image, Steve Garvey, who was disliked by many of his teammates. I think that while an out male player would be unpopular with many fans, he’d be wildly popular with others, and probably would have the best-selling jersey in the game pretty quickly.
PB: One of the things I loved most about Singled Out was that it was so much more than a biography. It captured a moment in time. As an example, I love how you wove Disco Demolition Night into the narrative. Can you explain what that was and why you decided to include it in the book?
AM: That was a fun chapter to write! On July 12, 1979, the Chicago White Sox encouraged fans to bring disco records to the stadium so they could be placed in a big pile on the field and blown up between games of a doubleheader against the Tigers. Fifty thousand people showed up, twice as many as the team expected, and the night turned chaotic, with fans throwing records on the field like frisbees during the first game, running onto the field and ripping up handfuls of grass. Glenn Burke had nothing to do with this game in a literal sense, but I felt like this event, which has been characterized as representing the symbolic end of the disco era, illustrated a cultural backlash to some of the gains made by gay, Black and Latino people in the 1970s — all of whom had played such a big part in the rise of disco. So, when thousands of mostly white fans showed up chanting “disco sucks,” it was all part of the same backlash that fueled the anti-gay rights rhetoric of Anita Bryant and inspired the fans who taunted Glenn Burke. When the 1979 season began, Glenn was a starting center fielder in the major leagues. By June, he was driven from the game. In July ‘79, the top six albums on the pop charts were all disco. By late September, there were none in the top 10.
PB: Another thing I loved about your book was how you created context for the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. Obviously, when you first sat down to write Singled Out, you didn’t know it would be published while we were living through another global pandemic Do you think the fact that we are helps young readers to better understand what it was like during that time?
AM: In some ways, yes, I think the experience of having lived through COVID will help young people better understand what it might have felt like in the early days of the AIDS epidemic, particularly the initial uncertainty and confusion about what causes the virus and how to prevent its spread. There is also the parallel of a Republican administration not taking the virus seriously — even mocking it — and treating the lost lives as unimportant because of who was most at risk — gay men with AIDS and Black and brown Americans with COVID.
PB: My book came out last winter at the start of the pandemic, and there’s a cruel irony in publishing a book celebrating the high five at the very moment in which we were being urged to physically distance ourselves from one another.
AM: What have been some of the most meaningful reactions to the book from middle schoolers, teachers and librarians?
PB: There have been so many, but by far the most meaningful ones have been from elementary and middle school readers who’ve taken the time to let me know they saw themselves or their experiences in Silas, the main character in the book. In a lot of ways, I wrote A High Five for Glenn Burke for middle school me. It’s the book I wish I had when I was twelve. Unlike Silas, I didn’t have the internet. I didn’t have his access to information, language, words, and ideas. All I knew is that as much as I loved playing ball, kids like me didn’t. I didn’t know queer kids played sports. I didn’t know queer kids could play sports. A book like this would’ve given middle school me hope. Visibility matters. Representation matters. Our truths matter.
For more information on Phil Bildner and his books, visit philbildner.com and follow him on Twitter @philbildner.
For more information on Andrew Maraniss and his books, visit andrewmaraniss.com and follow him on Twitter @trublu24.
Phil Bildner is the New York Times–bestselling author of numerous books for kids. His latest is the 2021 Charlotte Huck Award Honor-winning A High Five for Glenn Burke. His many picture books include the Margaret Wise Brown Prize winning Marvelous Cornelius, the Texas Bluebonnet Award winning Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy, Martina & Chrissie, Twenty-One Elephants, and The Soccer Fence. He is also the author of A Whole New Ballgame, Rookie of the Year, Tournament of Champions, and Most Valuable Players in the critically acclaimed middle grade Rip & Red series. In 2017, Phil established The Author Village, a children’s book author booking business.
Andrew Maraniss is a New York Times-bestselling author of narrative nonfiction. His latest book, SINGLED OUT, is a biography of Glenn Burke, the first openly gay Major League Baseball player.
His first book, STRONG INSIDE, was the recipient of the 2015 Lillian Smith Book Award and the lone Special Recognition honor at the 2015 RFK Book Awards. The Young Reader edition was named one of the Top 10 Biographies and Top 10 Sports Books of 2017 by the American Library Association and was selected as a Notable Social Studies Book for 2019 by the National Council for the Social Studies.
His second book, GAMES OF DECEPTION, is the story of the first U.S. Olympic basketball team, which competed at the 1936 Summer Games in Nazi Germany. It received the 2020 Sydney Taylor Honor Award and was named one of Amazon’s Best Books of 2019. Both the National Council for the Social Studies and the American Library Association honored it as a Notable Book of 2019.
Andrew is a Visiting Author at Vanderbilt University Athletics and a contributor to ESPN’s TheUndefeated.com.
Andrew was born in Madison, Wis., grew up in Washington, D.C. and Austin, Texas and now lives in Brentwood, Tenn., with his wife Alison, and their two young children. Follow Andrew on Twitter @trublu24 and visit his website at andrewmaraniss.com.
Turkey Bowl.
By Phil Bildner. Illus. by C. F. Payne.
Sept. 2008. 32p. Simon & Schuster, $15.99 (9780689878961). Gr. 1-3.
For his first eight years, Ethan hasn't been old enough to play in his family's annual Thanksgiving football game. But he's got memories aplenty, like when it was so cold they called it the Ice Bowl, and when it was so rainy it became the Mud Bowl. Finally old enough to play, Ethan bounds downstairs only to be dismayed by the news that a huge snowstorm has made the roads too dangerous for the family to get through. He and the neighborhood kids glumly watch an empty, snowed-out field, until Ethan decides they can have their own game no matter the conditions. The story bounces from exuberance to despondency and right back, much like the best football games. Payne's paintings have a suitable old-timey, Norman Rockwell-esque quality to them, with plucky kids bedecked in ancient leather helmets and too-big pads. A nostalgiac tribute to one of the great sports traditions of all time: the marriage of turkey and tackling shared by families on Thanksgiving.--Ian Chipman
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2008 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Chipman, Ian. "Turkey Bowl." Booklist, vol. 105, no. 2, 15 Sept. 2008, p. 58. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A185610531/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a494c9ef. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
BILDNER, Phil. Turkey Bowl. illus, by C. F. Payne. unpaged. CIP. S & S. 2008. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-689-87896-1. LC 2005020139.
PreS-Gr 2--The duo who created Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy (2002) and The Shot Heard 'Round the World (S & S, 2005) offer another sports story. Every Thanksgiving, Ethan's relatives arrive and, through mud, cold, or fog, they play a wild game of football. Ethan and the neighborhood kids watch the action and long for the day when they can join in. The year that they are finally old enough to play, nine-year-old Ethan leaps out of bed and into his uniform, only to discover that a blizzard has closed roads and the family won't be coming. The disappointed boy gathers his friends and they trudge to the school football field, now covered in snow. In the "ah-ha" moment of the tale, they realize that they have enough kids to play themselves, and the wild and joyous snow-filled game that ensues carries on the tradition of the Turkey Bowl. As Ethan catches a final touchdown pass, he realizes that his relatives have indeed made the trip and are cheering him on from the sidelines. Payne's muted, full-color illustrations capture the disappointment and joy the characters experience and feature plenty of gridiron action. Perfect for reading aloud at holiday time, this lively story will resonate year-round with sports fans.--Marge LochWouters, Menasha Public Library, WI
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2008 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Loch-Wouters, Marge. "Bildner, Phil. Turkey Bowl." School Library Journal, vol. 54, no. 10, Oct. 2008, pp. 101+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A187686915/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=de47ab13. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
Bildner, Phil THE HALLELUJAH FLIGHT Putnam (Children's) $$16.99 Jan. 1, 2010 ISBN: 978-0-399-24789-7
Pioneering aviator James Banning dreamed of becoming the first African-American to fly across the country, though his biplane was old and worn. Co-pilot Thomas Allen relates how that dream came true in 1932 thanks to the help of people across the country, who contributed encouragement and practical support and wrote their names on the airplane's wings to be part of the adventure. Based on both fictional and nonfiction sources, the story is briskly told in Allen's voice, with plenty of imagined dialogue. Holyfield's gorgeous oil paintings are done on textured backgrounds in a palette of blues and browns. Occasional double-page spreads emphasize the breadth of Banning's vision, while the majority of scenes show events along the way: their tiny biplane above the Grand Canyon; angry white townspeople refusing to serve them food; a ferocious storm in Pennsylvania. Naysayers called them the "Flying Hoboes" but they called it "The Hallelujah Flight." Hallelujah, indeed, to Bildner for finding and telling this story. Pair with Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride, by Pam Mu~oz Ryan and illustrated by Brian Selznick (1999), to illustrate the excitement of early flight. (Picture book. 5-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Bildner, Phil: THE HALLELUJAH FLIGHT." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2009. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A214552062/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=68a593bf. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
The Hallelujah Flight
Phil Bildner, illus, by John Holyfield. Putnam,
$16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-24789-7
This high-spirited collaboration re-creates the historic flight of James Banning, the first African-American pilot to fly across the continental United States. Bildner (co-creator of the Sluggers series) chronicles this feat in the voice of Thomas Allen, Banning's mechanic and copilot on the 1932 flight from Los Angeles to New York City. Propelled by breezy dialogue, including repeated cries of "Hallelujah!", the story Opens as Banning announces how they'll fund the trip: those who donate food, fuel, and supplies along the way can write their names on the wings of the open-cockpit plane ("They'll fly into the history books right along with us!"). Dubbed the Flying Hoboes by skeptical colleagues, the duo completes their mission despite such hurdles as a leaky engine pump, a fierce storm, and racial prejudice. Rendered in acrylic paint, Holyfield's (Bessie Smith and the Night Riders) stylized paintings help this saga get off the ground effortlessly (night scenes, often lit in blue, take on the feel of movie posters). Especially uplifting is the image of the copilots saluting the sunlit Statue of Liberty from their plane, its wings crowded with signatures. Ages 5-8. (Jan.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"The Hallelujah Flight." Publishers Weekly, vol. 256, no. 51, 21 Dec. 2009, p. 60. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A215249448/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=25548f16. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
BILDNER, Phil. The Hallelujah Flight. illus, by John Holyfield. unpaged. CIP. Puhaam. 2010. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-399-24789-7. LC 2009010362.
K-Gr 3--An engaging account based on true events. James Banning and his copilot, Thomas Mien, the "Flying Hoboes" as the story has it, became the first African-American men to fly across the country. Traveling 3300 miles in 21 days, they flew from Los Angeles to Long Island, NY, in their old, rickety OXX6 Eagle Rock plane on October 9, 1932. Landing, they were met with a hero's welcome. The story is filled with the difficulties faced by the two men throughout their journey. Two black men trying to accomplish what few other people could even hope to do during the Depression was daunting. And they faced incidents of racism along the way. But, by and large, they were met with more help and encouragement than disdain. The story is exciting and fast paced, and the writing is upbeat and inviting. Large, colorful illustrations were painted in acrylics on canvas and truly enhance the text. Unfortunately, there is very little factual information about Banning or Allen. Great as a read-alone as well as for telling aloud, this story serves to rescue two worthy men from historical obscurity. Students would benefit from knowing about them and their "Hallelujah Flight."--Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Chapman, Anne. "Bildner, Phil. The Hallelujah Flight." School Library Journal, vol. 56, no. 2, Feb. 2010, pp. 75+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A218657253/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6febd424. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
* BILDNER, Phil. The Unforgettable Season: The Story of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and the Record-Setting Summer of '41. illus. by S. D. Schindler. unpaged, bibliog. CIP. Putnam. Mar. 2011. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-39925501-4. LC 2010007382.
Gr 3-6--This warm tribute recounts the achievements of baseball greats DiMaggio and Williams in the 1941 season. Bildner emphasizes their sportsmanship and hails their work ethic and grace under pressure. DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak inspired songs and was followed by fans everywhere; when it came to an end, the Yankee Clipper noted that he was not happy, but relieved. And Williams chose to play on the final day of the season, even though it jeopardized his chance to keep his average above the .400 mark. Fans will relish the number of facts sprinkled throughout. Joe's younger brother, Dominic, makes an appearance: a baseball great in his own right, he was a Red Sox teammate and friend of Williams. Schindler's pen, ink, and gouache illustrations ably complement the text, and the book sports a handsome, retro look with lots of white space around the text and oversize illustrations. In an author's note, Bildner describes records set by Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Hank Aaron, and observes: "you never know when a player just might start a quest to bat .400 or begin a record-breaking hitting streak." This winning picture book should be welcomed by baseball enthusiasts everywhere. Even non-sports fans will appreciate how Bildner and Schindler weave period details into this engaging account of one remarkable season.--Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Taniguchi, Marilyn. "Bildner, Phil. The Unforgettable Season: The Story of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and the Record-Setting Summer of '41." School Library Journal, vol. 57, no. 3, Mar. 2011, p. 140. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A250322378/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a61b18b3. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
The Unforgettable Season: The Story of Joe DiMaggio,
Ted Williams and the Record-Setting Summer of '41
by Phil Bildner; illus. by S. D. Schindler Primary, Intermediate Putnam 32 pp. 3/11 978-0-399-25501-4 $16.99
Baseball fans know numbers, and they know these numbers: Babe Ruth's record-setting sixty-home-run season in 1927; Lou Gehrig's 2,130 consecutive games played for the New York Yankees; Babe Ruth's homerun total of 714 for his career. No one thought these records would ever be broken, but they were. Bildner decorously steps around the steroid controversies behind some of the current baseball records and notes only that Roger Maris hit sixty-one home runs in 1961, Cal Ripkin Jr. broke Gehrig's endurance record, and Hank Aaron set a new lifetime homerun record with 755. Two records, though, both set in the 1941 season, have never been broken: Joe DiMaggio hit safely in fifty-six consecutive games, and Ted Williams hit for a .406 average, considered by some to be the greatest of all achievements in baseball. Bildner, in a prose style as easy and matter-of-fact as fielding a slow bouncer to short, tells the stories of DiMaggio and Williams in alternating sections, successfully heightening the tension as each player approaches the record. Schindler's ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations are perfect for this light and affectionate glimpse of baseball history. Bildner doesn't assume these records will never be broken. In fact, he tells readers, "there will be another season as unforgettable as 1941," so young readers can look forward to their lives as sports fans rooting for the next baseball hero. DEAN SCHNEIDER
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Sources, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/default.asp
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Dean, S. (2011) 'The Unforgettable Season: The Story of Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams and the Record-Setting Summer of '41', The Horn Book Magazine, 87(3), 115+, available: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A255839813/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=dea4df17 [accessed 19 Dec 2025].
The Soccer Fence: A Story of Friendship, Hope and Apartheid in South Africa
Phil Bildner, illus. by Jesse Joshua Watson.
Putnam, $16.99 (40p) ISSN 978-0-399-24790-3
This gentle yet penetrating story underscores the power of sports to unite, while providing an overview of the seismic changes the 1990s brought to South Africa. Bildner (The Unforgettable Season) uses soccer as a metaphor for apartheid; the narrator is a black boy who kicks around an "egg-shaped" ball with his sister and friends in his ramshackle Johannesburg township. During trips to a wealthier neighborhood, the boy sees a white boy playing soccer with his friends in a lush park; though he is eager to join the game, the other players ignore him. Bildner moves quickly through recent South African history, touching on Nelson Mandela's release from prison, the end of apartheid, Mandela's election as president, and the country's 1996 victory in the African Cup of Nations, which brings the two boys together. Watson (Hope for Haiti) sets the scenes with gestural pencil drawings, while painting the main characters and the soccer action in rich, vivid acrylics. Concise historical notes follow the story, giving readers helpful context. Ages 6-8. Author's agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Illustrator's agent: Rubin Pfeffer, East West Literary Agency. (Mar.)
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"The Soccer Fence: A Story of Friendship, Hope and Apartheid in South Africa." Publishers Weekly, vol. 260, no. 52, 23 Dec. 2013, p. 51. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A354858229/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=90d241bd. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
The Soccer Fence: A Story of Friendship, Hope, and Apartheid in South Africa. By Phil Bildner. Illus. by Jesse Joshua Watson. Mar. 2014. 40p. Putnam, $16.99 (9780399247903). Gr. 1-3.
Hector tells of apartheid's gradual breakdown, which happened while he was growing up in South Africa. As a young black boy, he watches white boys playing soccer, but they ignore his request to join their game. Years pass and changes come. After the first open election, Nelson Mandela becomes president. Later, South Africa hosts a soccer tournament and wins with an integrated team. And, at long last, a white boy invites Hector to play soccer with him. Bildner overcomes some of the problems inherent in a picture book with a time frame extending over several years. Roughly four years old in the opening scenes, Hector is in his early teens by the end, but the illustrations convincingly portray the boys as they grow up, while the narrative thread connecting the story's events is strong. Combining pencil drawings and acrylics, the illustrations are colorful and expressive. An appended apartheid time line, aimed at a much older audience, briefly discusses significant events. This unusual picture book shows social change as it affects one boy.
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Phelan, Carolyn. "The Soccer Fence: A Story of Friendship, Hope, and Apartheid in South Africa." Booklist, vol. 110, no. 11, 1 Feb. 2014, p. 62. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A358698967/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=582875f5. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
Bildner, Phil THE SOCCER FENCE Putnam (Children's Picture Books) $16.99 3, 13 ISBN: 978-0-399-24790-3
A tale of sports bridging cultural and racial chasms. This story begins during apartheid with a young South African boy who accompanies his mother from their shanty in a Johannesburg township to her job in the home of a wealthy white family. Adept at soccer, the boy longs to play on the fenced green lawn with the white boys, but he can only watch from outside the fence until one day, he gets to bicycle kick the ball back over the fence. The stark color contrasts throughout the book alternate between the rich greens and blues of the white boys' lush lawn and purple and orange scenes, in which democracy begins and Mandela is released from prison and then becomes president. When the boys and the country unite to cheer on their mixed-race soccer team, Bafana Bafana (meaning "The Boys, The Boys"), and celebrate their victory over Tunisia in the African Cup of Nations, Watson creates a jubilant scene awash in yellow. The wordless final page hints at a brighter future for a South Africa positively influenced by the people's passion for sports. Bildner and Watson offer young readers an informative snapshot of a divided land through the lens of boys who just want to play. (Picture book. 5-9)
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"Bildner, Phil: THE SOCCER FENCE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2014. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A358424934/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=529e9478. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
BILDNER, Phil. The Soccer Fence: A Story of Friendship, Hope and Apartheid in South Africa. illus. by Jesse Joshua Watson. 40p. Putnam. 2014. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780399247903; ebk. $16.99. ISBN 9780698149724. LC 2013014675.
Gr 1-3--Apartheid has ended in South Africa, but a young boy learns that change takes time in this story of friendship and of a nation healing. Hector plays soccer with his sister in the barren field in his township in Johannesburg. What he really wants is to play with the white boys on the lush green field he sees when his mother takes him to the other part of the city where she works, but they never acknowledge the black boy. Newspaper headlines give a history of South Africa from the announcement that apartheid is over to President Mandela being elected (with Hector's family allowed to vote) to South Africa's hosting the 1996 African Cup of Nations. Each historic step is paralleled by the boys' soccer games in their individual neighborhoods as they root for their South African team, Bafana Bafana, throughout the tournament. When their team makes the finals, both boys attend the game and recognize each other from years of watching from the other side of the fence and raise fists in acknowledgement as they lead the procession of cheering fans in a symbolic uniting of a divided country. Bright acrylic paints and broad pencil strokes bring the characters to life while Bildner's first-person narrative personalizes Hector's childhood during these momentous events. Historical notes provide more detail in this effective introduction to apartheid and Nelson Mandela in a tender tribute to which young readers will be able to relate--Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY
Casper, Kristine M.
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Casper, Kristine M. "Bildner, Phil. The Soccer Fence: A Story of Friendship, Hope and Apartheid in South Africa." School Library Journal, vol. 60, no. 6, June 2014, pp. 73+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A370319393/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e76fa023. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
BILDNER, Phil. A Whole New Ballgame. illus. by Tim Probert. 224p. Farrar. Aug. 2015. Tr $15.99. ISBN 9780374301309.
Gr 4-6--Red and Rip are best friends just beginning fifth grade. It's the first day of school and everyone appears to know who the teacher will be and how the year will progress--but not so fast ... there is a new teacher, a young man with piercings, tattoos, and a whole new way of teaching. Mr. Acevedo loves reading, will not abide test prep or standardized test-taking, and has a love of basketball. Readers will realize early on that Red is on the autism spectrum. Like their new teacher, Red and Rip share a passion for basketball. Narrated by Rip (better known as Mason Irving to Red, who insists on calling his friend by his full name and never his nickname), the book depicts the evolution of a group of fifth graders who learn a lot, grow a lot, and help one another. The relationship between Rip and Avery Goodman (a girl in a wheelchair with anger issues) centers on a class project about gross things and highlights what nasty stuff gets caught on Avery's wheelchair wheels. Though the plot and its conclusion may be somewhat predictable, the charming and diverse characters as well as the engaging voice of Rip more than make up for it. VERDICT Pure fun with a lot of heart.--Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York City
Lissim, Susan
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Lissim, Susan. "Bildner, Phil. A Whole New Ballgame." School Library Journal, vol. 61, no. 3, Mar. 2015, pp. 131+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A404035414/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=86db6270. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
A Whole New Ballgame
Phil Bildner, illus. by Tim Probert. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $15.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-374-30130-9
Rip and his best friend Red, who is on the autism spectrum, can't wait to be on their school's fifth-grade basketball team. But budget cuts, a focus on test prep, and a new teacher/basketball coach with tattoos, ear piercings, and a wealth of unconventional ideas are shaking things up. Rip isn't sure that Mr. Avecedo's methods will work (on or off the court), especially when he has to work on a group project paired with a hostile classmate, Avery, who uses a wheelchair. But through Mr. Avecedo's guidance, Rip, who some see only as "the black kid who plays basketball," and his classmates learn to see beyond the labels society places on them. The book's messages about teamwork, test-prep dependency, and stepping outside one's comfort zone can be overpowering, but this warm slice-of-life novel from Bildner (the Sluggers series) engages and entertains even so. Probert's energetic illustrations match the positive exuberance of the story as both test day and the big game approach. Ages 8 - 12. Author's agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Aug.)
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"A Whole New Ballgame." Publishers Weekly, vol. 262, no. 20, 18 May 2015, p. 86. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A415324460/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6b1f9433. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
Bildner, Phil A WHOLE NEW BALLGAME Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Children's Fiction) $15.99 8, 18 ISBN: 978-0-374-30130-9
Fifth grade is, as the title indicates, a whole new ballgame for best friends Rip and Red. Mason Irving is called Rip by everyone but his best friend, Blake Daniels, nicknamed Red. Rip is "the black kid with the hair who lives and breathes basketball." Red is the kid on the autistic spectrum who can't really play basketball, except that he's a phenomenal free-throw shooter. The duo is part of a class at Reese Jones Elementary, where students are known by simplistic tags--the kid in the wheelchair, the kid who gets to wear a hat, "the kid who still drools." Rip knows that's how people see them, but he also knows "that's not who we are," and after a year with Mr. Acevedo, "the man with the piercings and tattoos," the class transcends differences and labels and becomes a community of friends. Unlike many school stories for this age, Bildner's is gentle, inspiring, and full of affection for children, born of his own years as a teacher. If the students are inspiring, so is Mr. Acevedo, who risks his job to do such radical things as reading aloud and encouraging free reading. (He's supposed to be preparing the kids to take tests!) Probert's cartoony illustrations lend energy and personality to the likable cast of characters. A school story with heart. (Fiction. 8-12)
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"Bildner, Phil: A WHOLE NEW BALLGAME." Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2015. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A417619258/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d9fe5f6d. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
Bildner, Phil MARVELOUS CORNELIUS Chronicle (Children's Picture Books) $16.99 8, 4 ISBN: 978-1-4521-2578-7
An almost-true story of a man who loved his job and did it well.In this colorful mélange of fact and fiction, Bildner tells the tale of Cornelius Washington, a sanitation worker who cleans the streets of the French Quarter of New Orleans and performs his job with flair. Cornelius does flips, lobs bags of trash into his garbage truck as if shooting hoops in the gym, makes trash-can lids into cymbals, and entertains locals while making the streets sparkle. Hurricane Katrina changes all of that, leaving trash, death, and decay in its wake, "a gumbo of mush and mud." After weeping for his city, Cornelius joins forces with his neighbors and the waves of people who come to New Orleans post-Katrina from all over to help make New Orleans sparkle once again. Parra's lively, rustic illustrations look textured, as if they were painted on wooden boards--appropriate for a book that depicts only outdoor scenes. Notably, the images of the French Quarter post-Katrina suggest a much more diverse population than those of pre-Katrina New Orleans; perhaps some who came to help stayed. The illustrator fills every page with activity, while the text comments on individual people readers can find if they look.A fine tribute to an unsung African-American hero. (Picture book. 3-7)
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"Bildner, Phil: MARVELOUS CORNELIUS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2015. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A419698618/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4a4846f4. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
BILDNER, Phil. Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans. illus. by John Parra. 44p. Chronicle. 2015. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781452125787. LC 2013043742.
K-Gr 2--A modern-day folktale about Cornelius Washington, a real-life figure who was a dynamic street sweeper in New Orleans. The working man, aka Marvelous Cornelius, can be seen doing fun tricks and flips while sweeping the streets of the Quarter. When Hurricane Katrina hits the city, Cornelius is overwhelmed by the cleanup, but volunteers come from everywhere to help. I le soon finds his NOLA spirit and begins cleaning again in the aftermath of the great storm. Parra's paintings are modern and fresh, with bright colors paired with repetition of phrases and sounds. Children will enjoy both listening to the story read aloud as well as poring over the beautiful pages to learn about a slice of New Orleans history. VERDICT A stirring story of resilience in the face of adversity.--April Sanders, Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL
Sanders, April
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Sanders, April. "Bildner, Phil. Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans." School Library Journal, vol. 61, no. 10, Oct. 2015, p. 72. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A431724770/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5f2cba94. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
Bildner, Phil DEREK JETER PRESENTS NIGHT AT THE STADIUM Aladdin (Children's Picture Books) $17.99 4, 26 ISBN: 978-1-4814-2655-8
A young New York Yankees fan gets some unexpected help in his quest for an autograph from his favorite (ex) player. Separated from his biracial (black/white) family in the hubbub following "the awesomest game ever!" Gideon finds himself deep in the bowels of Yankee Stadium--where, to his amazement, bats, balls, bases, rakes, buckets, and food items from cotton candy to sushi ("Sushi? At a baseball game?" "We always get a raw deal," the smiling maki rolls explain) have all come to boisterous, chattery life. Ultimately Gideon finds his lost autograph book in the stadium's Monument Park--in the hands of his (likewise biracial) hero Derek Jeter, who signs the cover and vanishes just as Gideon's misplaced parents catch up. Bildner supplies an appropriately frisky narrative: " 'Of course we talk!' the balls said bouncily. 'We all talk!' the bats added woodenly." Booth lends the stadium's shadowy back halls a convincing sense of dissociation from reality by cutting them into M.C. Escher-style zigzags. Otherwise he goes for a less subtle look in the illustrations by putting faces and, often, stick limbs on the baseball gear, giving Gideon histrionically excited postures and expressions throughout, and rendering Jeter (and Babe Ruth, who rears up from his plaque for a cameo) with numinous presence. A direct riff on Night at the Museum. Also, by now younger readers will barely remember Jeter as a player, so the lionization may need some explanation. (Picture book. 6-8)
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"Bildner, Phil: DEREK JETER PRESENTS NIGHT AT THE STADIUM." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2016. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A447747940/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f3860ca5. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
Bildner, Phil ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Children's Fiction) $15.99 7, 12 ISBN: 978-0-374-30134-7
Following series opener A Whole New Ballgame (2015), this second installment of the Rip and Red series finds the eponymous fifth-graders feeling pretty good about the year...until a new girl turns their world upside down.A diverse cast of characters highlights this good-natured, high-spirited slice of life at Reese Jones Elementary School. Narrator Mason Irving, nicknamed Rip, is an African-American student whose mother is a principal at another school. Blake Daniels, nicknamed Red for his hair, is on the autism spectrum, Avery is in a wheelchair, and their new teacher, Mr. Acevedo, has family in the Dominican Republic. Mr. Acevedo's class is a student's dream--lots of breaks in the school day, few tests, and not much in the way of worksheets. Enter Takara Eid, called Tiki by her friends, with an Egyptian father and a forceful presence. Tiki turns out to be quite the basketball player, and she leads a protest against the terrible food in the cafeteria. Her aggressive personality forces everyone to rethink their places in the elementary school universe, and everyone is changed. Even Red makes satisfying emotional progress and becomes something of a hero in the end. Bildner, a former teacher, casts an affectionate eye on school life and creates likable characters in realistic school situations, managing to make characters unique within their school group.An engaging, feel-good novel about elementary school life. (Fiction. 8-12)
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"Bildner, Phil: ROOKIE OF THE YEAR." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2016. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A449240953/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5d045914. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
BILDNER, Phil. Rookie of the Year. illus. by Tim Probert. 224p. (Rip and Red: Bk. 2). Farrar. Jul. 2016. Tr $15.99. ISBN 9780374301347. POP
Gr 4-6--In this sequel, readers return to fifth grade with Red (a red-haired boy on the autism spectrum) and his best friend Rip (an African American boy with dreadlocks) and their friends and classmates. Red and Rip continue to love and play basketball and are on the team coached by their teacher Mr. Acevedo. Those new to the series will get enough details and will be completely engaged in the shot-by-shot descriptions of basketball games. Added to the class is a new student, Takara (Tiki). Tiki is that student who loves to be involved in everything. One of her best quirks is inventing new words. Tiki is also an excellent basketball player. Rip has a run-in with Coach Acevedo when he puts Tiki into the first team out each game and leaves Rip for the second. Rip is hurt and angry, but only time and experience on the basketball court will bring Rip to an understanding. The secondary part of the plot is the plan, by the class, to get rid of the new lunch ladies and bring back the Lunch Bunch and their better meals. It includes mounting a GoPro camera on the back of classmate Avery's wheelchair. As in the first title, there are no surprises, but that doesn't prevent this from being a great read. VERDICT This fast, fun read featuring characters who love books as much as basketball will appeal to sports fans and nonathletes alike.--Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York City
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Lissim, Susan. "Bildner, Phil. Rookie of the Year." School Library Journal, vol. 62, no. 5, May 2016, pp. 90+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A451409866/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2c05fbbf. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
Bildner, Phil MARTINA & CHRISSIE Candlewick (Children's Picture Books) $16.99 3, 14 ISBN: 978-0-7636-7308-6
A picture-book introduction to tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. "Hey, guys-- / yeah, I'm talking to you," begins Bildner's case to prove that the tennis rivalry between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova was "the greatest rivalry in the history of sports." With the tone of a used-car salesman, he exhorts readers, "You NEED to know about Martina and Chrissie," and proceeds to show how each player grew up with the game and how their separate paths led to facing each other on the court. They met 80 times, and Navratilova won 43 times. Was this rivalry the greatest in the history of sports? Greater than the Red Sox and Yankees, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, Duke and North Carolina? Debatable. Like a failed drop shot, the hyperbolic tone mars an otherwise superb sports volume. Simply describing the rivalry would have been enough to show how great it was, without trying to convince readers when there are no points of comparison to others. But the lively prose and Helquist's action-packed, in-your-face acrylic-and-oil illustrations yield a work as engaging as an actual Evert-Navratilova match. The dramatic cover and well-designed pages will draw readers in and make them feel they have courtside seats. A fine sports story. (Informational picture book. 6-10)
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"Bildner, Phil: MARTINA & CHRISSIE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Dec. 2016. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A473652275/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=138bb88e. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
BILDNER, Phil. Martina & Chrissie: The Greatest Rivalry in the History of Sports. illus. by Brett Helquist. 40p. bibliog. chron. websites. Candlewick. Mar. 2017. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780763673086.
Gr 2-5--Nonfiction tennis books for kids are in general in short supply, and so are retellings of powerful true rivalries between star players of any sport. Bildner offers kids both in this picture book biography of Martina Navratilova and Chris "Chrissie" Evert. Each woman's story begins in childhood, gently and with minimal text. The book becomes more interesting when the author notes that these two intense rivals were good friends from their first meeting and that each still fought hard to beat the other on the court. They both pushed to be the very best, and then they relaxed together--except for a few years when Navratilova had a coach who wouldn't allow her to be friends with a rival. They met in the finals of the French Open twice, intense duels that Evert won; Navratilova decided then that friendship was more important--and to this day they remain close friends who support each other's off-court charity work. Though Evert and Navratilova are long retired and largely unknown to most kids, their tale imparts a timely moral: friendship and kindness are what matter most. That said, this is likely a shelf-sitter despite a good narrative, strong illustrations, and great factual support that includes a bibliography for students doing reports. VERDICT Though a quality selection for students who need role models and for tennis players seeking idols to emulate, this title will require some handselling on the part of librarians.--Dorcas Hand, formerly at Annunciation Orthodox School, Houston, TX
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Hand, Dorcas. "Bildner, Phil. Martina & Chrissie: The Greatest Rivalry in the History of Sports." School Library Journal, vol. 63, no. 1, Jan. 2017, p. 108. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A476559680/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=f9628024. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
Martina and Chrissie: The Greatest Rivalry in the History of Sports. By Phil Bildner. Illus. by Brett Helquist. Mar. 2017.40p. Candlewick, $16.99 (9780763673086). 796.342. Gr. 2-5.
Sports rivalries are compelling both on and off the court, and Bildner and Helquist bring a particularly notable one to the pages of this picture book about tennis stars Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. In an energetic, conversational tone somewhere between sports commentary and classroom lesson, Bildner tells the very different stories of the two womens starts, beginning with Everts tennis-focused youth in Florida and Navratilova's childhood in Communist Czechoslovakia. Though their playing styles were vastly different, they were both determined players who each drove the other to train even harder. The circumstances of the Cold War made many expect the rivals to hate each other, but they defied the odds and became great friends. Helquist's spirited acrylic-and-oil illustrations highlight pivotal matches between Evert and Navratilova, and his expert renditions of their facial expressions bring home the intensity they each brought to their game. While this rivalry existed in a quantifiable world of winners and losers, Bildner emphasizes a different side of competition: "No rivalry is ever just about the numbers. Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert made each other better players, and better people, too." This spirited, engrossing story, containing an inspiring message and enough information for the fact hungry, is a fantastic addition to all sports collections, particularly ones needing more titles featuring women in sports.--Anita Lock
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Lock, Anita. "Martina and Chrissie: The Greatest Rivalry in the History of Sports." Booklist, vol. 113, no. 12, 15 Feb. 2017, p. 73. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A485442569/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b7fe0551. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
Bildner, Phil TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Children's Fiction) $16.99 6, 6 ISBN: 978-0-374-30507-9
The latest installment of the Rip and Red series features more basketball action and slices of middle school life. Mason "Rip" Irving and Blake "Red" Daniels are finishing their fifth-grade year at Reese Jones Elementary school. When their coach, Mr. Acevedo, announces an invitation for their travel-league basketball team to play in the upcoming tournament of champions, the boys are excited. But when Rip's father comes back into his life as a chaperone for the trip, Rip feels "the best basketball weekend of my life was turning into a disaster." Rip's father (who is white) hasn't been in his life for a long time, and now he may be a distraction at the worst possible time. More than the abundant basketball action, Bildner's diverse cast of characters is what energizes this tremendously engaging story. Rip is mixed-race (his mom is black), Red is white and on the autism spectrum, and Diego Vasquez, Latino and a cancer survivor, is back playing ball. "You learn a lot about how you deal with things when you have cancer," Diego tells Rip. But every character has issues to face, and each student, including Rip, comes to realize that "Life is about playing the cards you're dealt." Another solid volume in a fun and lively series. (Fiction. 8-12)
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"Bildner, Phil: TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2017. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A489268495/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=affd751e. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
Bildner, Phil A HIGH FIVE FOR GLENN BURKE Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Children's Fiction) $16.99 2, 25 ISBN: 978-0-374-31273-2
A gay black baseball player posthumously inspires a sixth grade white boy who is ready-ish to come out.
Baseball enthusiast Silas Wade opens the book by giving a colorful class presentation about Glenn Burke. Burke was a once-well-known major league player who invented the high-five and eventually left the sport after enduring isolation and harassment for being gay. Silas leaves that last part out, but heralding his hero in front of a crowd is the silent start of his own coming out. Further testing the waters, he tells his best friend, Zoey (a champion robot builder), he's gay and finds that there's a bouncy kind of freedom that comes from saying who he really is. Inspirational YouTube videos encourage Silas to come out to Coach Webb, an adult who embodies the understanding, guidance, protection, and encouragement that all queer kids should have. But when Silas gets nervous about everything changing and wants to backpedal into the closet, circumstances put him at a crossroads: continue to lie for self-preservation or live out loud like Glenn Burke wasn't able to. Silas is white, but Zoey has a Spanish surname, and his baseball teammates and one coach are black and brown. (One notable moment includes an explanation from the coaches about why monkey insults are racist.) As the narrative foundation is established, there are overt explanations of settings and characters that aren't additive, but these superfluous tendencies dissolve about 50 pages in. Insights into Silas' home life feel bittersweet and real with parents fumbling to do the best they can, but Silas' struggle is the central story.
Beleaguered tolerance strikes out; loud, proud love wins the game. (Fiction. 10-12)
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"Bildner, Phil: A HIGH FIVE FOR GLENN BURKE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A606964446/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e2923332. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
* A High Five for Glenn Burke. By Phil Bildner. Feb. 2020. 288p. Farrar, $16.99 (9780374312732). Gr. 5-8.
When Silas has to do a presentation on a famous inventor for his sixth-grade class, he chooses Glenn Burke, the baseball center fielder credited with inventing the high five. "When Glenn Burke arrived in the big leagues in 1976, the Los Angeles Dodgers thought he was going to be the next Willie Mays," Silas explains, but there's one thing he doesn't share with his class, friends, --wwrj or teammates: Burke was pushed out of baseball because, like Silas, he was gay. Even as he considers coming out, Silas worries about his secret being revealed. As he becomes increasingly nervous, he distances himself from baseball and, worse, tells a lie about his best friend Zoey, which causes her to stop speaking to him. Bildner's (Martina & Chrissie, 2017) latest is a middle-grade book that will have broad appeal. Young readers will relate to Silas and cheer him on as he navigates longstanding relationships that suddenly seem new and awkward. Muted problems at home, seen through Silas' eyes, encourage communication with and trust in parents. The story also speaks to the importance of creating a welcoming community--whether on a baseball field or in a classroom--that embraces differences with not only tolerance but also complete and unrelenting support. An essential book for all readers, not just baseball fans, about friendship, acceptance, and self-confidence. --Grace Rosean
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 American Library Association
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Rosean, Grace. "A High Five for Glenn Burke." Booklist, vol. 116, no. 11, 1 Feb. 2020, p. 45. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A614529498/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fc56c019. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
Glenn Burke, Game Changer: The Man Who Invented the High Five. By Phil Bildner. Illus. by Daniel J. O'Brien. Feb. 2024. 40p. Farrar, $18.99 (9780374391225). Gr. 2-4. 796.3.
Burke, as Bildner pithily puts it in his afterword, "was a gay Black man who was run out of Major League Baseball and died from AIDS." To be sure, when he and Dodgers teammate Dusty Baker exchanged high fives for each other's home runs in 1977, tbe talented rookie seems to have been the first person on record to use what became a "universal greeting of joy and jubilation"--but it's the rest of his story that the author is at more pains to tell and that will make the deepest impression. The author doesn't mince words in this picture book profiles main narrative, either about the homophobia Burke faced, particularly from legendary Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, or his later troubles with drugs and the law. From sinuous young star of North Oakland's sandlots to chiseled adulthood, he cuts a generally heroic figure in O'Brien's stiffly posed scenes, but readers might be better off regarding him as less a role model than an iconic early victim of our society's still-evolving attitude toward gay athletes and public figures.--John Peters
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 American Library Association
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Peters, John. "Glenn Burke, Game Changer: The Man Who Invented the High Five." Booklist, vol. 120, no. 9-10, 1 Jan. 2024, p. 52. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A780973467/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8ca72601. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
Bildner, Phil GLENN BURKE, GAME CHANGER Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Children's None) $18.99 2, 20 ISBN: 9780374391225
Following up his middle-grade novel A High Five for Glenn Burke (2020), Bildner pens a picture-book biography about a remarkable gay Black baseball player.
A rare "five-tool talent" (he could run, catch, throw, and hit for both average and power), young Glenn Burke was snatched up by the Dodgers, and teammates and fans alike soon delighted in his high-spirited humor and enthusiasm for the team and game they loved. Burke enjoyed a strong rookie season and is credited with inventing the high-five with teammate Dusty Baker. Burke was also a closeted gay athlete, vulnerable to the homophobia of people such as his manager, Tommy Lasorda, who traded Burke mere months after he'd helped get the Dodgers to the World Series. Burke's story has plenty of sadness--ongoing homophobia, a debilitating car accident, and an HIV diagnosis, which led to his far-too-early death in 1995 at age 42. But it also has joy: He found his community after leaving baseball, won gold in the Gay Olympics, and lived to see his special handshake become a widespread symbol of celebration. O'Brien's illustrations, opaque and with highly defined detail, are both imposing and intimate, and they move readers through Burke's trials and triumphs. Bildner's honest and weighty text is balanced by spreads full of motion, whether figures round bases or connect with high-fives.
A bittersweet legacy now accessible to younger readers and sports fans. (author's note, bibliography, timeline) (Picture-book biography. 5-8)
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"Bildner, Phil: GLENN BURKE, GAME CHANGER." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A777736781/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=7a8b0926. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.
BILDNER, Phil. Glenn Burke, Game Changer: The Man Who Invented the High Five. illus. by Daniel J. O'Brien. 40p. Farrar. Feb. 2024. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780374391225.
Gr 1-5--The opening pages will draw in just about everybody: Glenn Burke on the field was a "five-tool" talent. He could run faster, connect bat to ball, hit with power, catch anything that came his way, and his throwing arm was a cannon! This Black man should have been one of the greatest names in baseball history, but his story takes a melancholy turn. Burke is gay. The rampant homophobia of the 1970s manifests itself, Bildner notes, in the person of Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda: "Tommy's son was gay, too, and Tommy couldn't stand that he was. When he found out his son was friends with Glenn, he made his son stay away." (No source notes back this up.) Illustrations and narrative that had complemented one another suddenly diverge. Three scenes--Burke dashing out of the darkness with a man, sharing an intimate look in a car with a second man (with the reflection of a third man in the rearview mirror), and then alone under a lamp post--are all but divorced from the text. At last the story returns to the origins of the high five and the jubilation of the early scenes before another descent into Burke's decline and early death. Despite Bildner's brilliant, crackling writing, O'Brien's marvelous, dynamic illustrations, full of energy and keyed into historic moments, and the immutable fact that this story needs telling, this book rights the record with sensationalized whiplash and an unbearably stark emotional throughline to the main character. Picture book readers, especially any child also struggling with identity, will either appreciate this authentic but despair-filled glimpse in the "mirror" or simply may be too young for this very bittersweet journey. VERDICT For all sports/Black history/LGBTQIA+ shelves, this book is a must, but supplement it with historical resources.--Kimberly Olson Fakih
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Fakih, Kimberly Olson. "BILDNER, Phil. Glenn Burke, Game Changer: The Man Who Invented the High Five." School Library Journal, vol. 70, no. 4, Apr. 2024, p. 142. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A790645165/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b3f2696b. Accessed 19 Dec. 2025.