I forgot that Ron Koertge is a genius and I would want to read almost everything two or three times. Loved this one even more than Shakespeare Bats Cleanup. Funny and charming and a delight to read. ( )

Poetry, baseball, and romance. The same original blend as the prequel "Shakespeare bats cleanup" is back for middle-schooler Kevin Boland. Should he stick with cute girlfriend Mira or admit his attraction to poetry blast buddy Amy? Will his love life distract him from playing first base in the playoffs? Will he and Amy get their poetry published online? This book in verse answers these questions in some well-written poems. ( )

A thoroughly enjoyable read. I never knew about some of these forms of poetry. ( )

sequel to Shakespeare bats cleanup, nice continution of a young boy trying to deal with the death of his mother through writting poetry. ( )

For those of you who are skeptics, who don’t believe that poetry about baseball exists, here’s a poem about Charm Colors, sponsor of a town baseball team:

Charm Colors
It’s just the name of a team we play,
But I can’t take them seriously. Charm.
What’s that got to do with baseball?

What a charming double play. What
a charming bat. I love your cleats, they’re
charming.

Poetry can be about anything and Kevin Boland, fourteen writes about everything…monsters, love, girlfriends, his mom, his dad, everything. Kevin started writing poetry in Shakespeare Bats Cleanup when he was sidelined with mono. In this long awaited sequel (it was long awaited by me, anyway) by Ron Koertge, Kev continues. He navigates the treacherous waters of girlfriends, finding his current, Mira, a little too confining. He’s now got a crush on Amy, fellow poet and a pianist. He and Mira are so different. She’s into the environment. He’s into baseball and poetry.

The Actual Call
…We listen to each other listen
to each other breathe. I can’t
tell her I wrote blank verse
about batting practice.
She thinks blank verse
means a poem about nothing.

Kevin deals with his father’s dating. He deals with the championship game. He deals with going to the movies with Amy and not telling Mira. You can imagine how that went over when she found out about it.

As I said in my review about Shakespeare Bats Cleanup, Ron Koertge makes poetry fun. Have you ever heard of a villanelle? Neither did I until I read Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs and, as I said about a sestina, it’s way too complicated to explain. But it’s not way too complicated to read. As a matter of fact, it’s fun. If you think poetry is for fuddy duddies, think again. If it’s good enough for a first baseman, it’s good enough for you. It may throw you a curve or two, but take a swing at it. ( )