Characters: Emma, Jamal, Nikki
Setting: In the spring
Plot: Emma loves baseball. She has a fair competition with her friend Jamal about who is the shortstop. Emma is unhappy. At last, they both aren't the shortstop. They feel the fun of baseball again.
Genre: Realistic fiction
Perspective: 1st person viewpoint
There's Nothing Like Baseball is written by Angela Johnson and illustrated by Eric Velasquez. A little girl named Emma was born into a family of baseball. She is a baseball-loving girl too. At first of the story, Emma, Her friend Jamal and Jamal's cousin Nikki play on the same team. They enjoy baseball. In the middle of the story, Emma wants to be a shortstop like her Mom. But her friend Jamal wants it too. Emma doesn't feel happy and doesn't enjoy baseball. At last, Emma and Jamal aren't the shortstops. Nikki is better than everyone, and she gets the shortstop. At the end of the story, Emma, Jamal and Nikki enjoy baseball again.
Firstly, I learn that friends are more important than baseball. Most sports, like basketball, soccer or baseball, these sports require players to cooperate. If you have friends in the same team, the team can win easier. And you can get more joy. In the story, Emma and her friends Jamal want to be shortstop; even though Emma doesn't feel happy, Emma hopes Jamal can be happy. So she still encourages Jamal can be the shortstop. All these things happen because Emma thinks friends are more important than baseball. Friends are more important than everything, even baseball because nothing can stay with you for a long time except friends.
Secondly, I learn that getting enjoyment in sports is more valuable than getting a specific role in the team. Whether playing a specific position on the team or not, the ultimate goal should always be to relish every moment of the sport. In the story, Emma wants to be a shortstop like her Mom and her friend Jamal wants it too. But there is only one shortstop in the team. Emma doesn't feel happy because Jamal will be unhappy if she is a shortstop. At the end of the story, Nikki gets the shortstop because she jumped the highest and made the best plays. When the competition disappears, Emma is happy again. She enjoys baseball with her friend Jamal again. The true essence of sports lies in the joy it brings to you and your friends, not the role in the team.
Last but not least, I learn that the author uses so many writing skills that the story is interesting. The author uses long sentences, Five-Senses Method, and the corresponding etc. Making the story more vivid and lively. For example, "Baseball was coming when the ice dripped drops from the roof." She doesn't directly tell us the season's name; she uses lengthy sentences to describe the season's characteristics so that we can feel the beauty of the words and infer the information the author wants. The author uses Five-Senses Method to express the character's feelings. When Emma is happy, the author says, "smell the freshly cut grass, eat breakfast smiling, think about the sound the bats make rattling together……." This writing skill lets us feel we can see the picture that the author described. When Emma is unhappy, the author says, "The grass doesn't smell good. The sound the bats make doesn't make me smile…." The corresponding writing skill shows Emma's love for baseball and brightens the character. The story will be monotonous if the author doesn't use these writing skills.
From this book, we can know how much Americans love baseball. I learn that friends are more important than baseball or other sports, and getting enjoyment in sports is more valuable than getting a specific role in the team. Most importantly, I learn many writing skills, and I plan to use these writing skills in my articles. I hope you can one day read this book with your friends and parents.
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