Anyone who likes my Ballpark Mysteries series of baseball chapter books will definitely appreciate The Basketball Blowout, the latest book in my MVP series. While it doesn’t have any baseball, it does have plenty of action, and even some inventive popcorn flavors!
Join the MVP Club as they try to raise money for their basketball tournament. At first, they think selling popcorn will be easy . . . but then Luke eats more popcorn than he sells! Plus there’s a new kid at school who might need the money even more than the team does. Can the MVP kids raise enough money, win the tournament, and help their friend?
Attention all Washington DC-area Ballpark Mysteries fans! I’ll be signing books at Hooray for Books in Alexandria, Virginia on Wednesday, November 2nd, at 6pm! Please stop by to say hello or pick up a signed Ballpark Mysteries or MVP book. And although I can’t share it with you yet, this is a bit of a warm up for February, when the Washington Nationals’ Ballpark Mystery, THE CAPITAL CATCH, comes out!
If you haven’t started reading my baseball mystery series yet, now’s the time! Random House Children’s Books just issued the first four Ballpark Mysteries books (Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros) in a box set. Think of it as a “double double-header”!
My 4th book this year (and there’s still one more to go!) goes on sale today. The FOOTBALL FUMBLE is the third book in my new MVP sports series of chapter books, great for boys and girls in grades 2, 3, and 4 who love sports and action.
MVP series book #3
The MVP chapter book series is about a group of kids at an elementary school who play different sports and have mysteries and adventures. If you like the BALLPARK MYSTERIES, you’ll like my MVP series! THE FOOTBALL FUMBLE is a perfect book for fall, with lots of football and even an ice cream cone to the face for one of the characters! Don’t worry–there are plenty more BALLPARK MYSTERIES books on the way, but it’s been a real change and lots of fun writing about other sports (track and field, soccer, football, and basketball) for the MVP series. If you know a reader in grades 2, 3, or 4 that likes sports, action, mystery, or adventure, consider THE FOOTBALL FUMBLE or one of the other MVP books!
The cover, which is great, features Max, the book’s main character, who has to also confront a bully before his team has a chance to win the big football game. Another amazing cover by Scott Brundage, who did a great job capturing Max’s dilemma and showing all the exciting on-field football action. I’m thrilled that Random House Children’s Books is behind the MVP sports series and can’t wait for next year’s basketball-themed release! More sports chapter books on the way. Pick one up at your local bookstore or online – http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780553513257
Do you have a reader who loves sports or baseball? Here’s a great list of baseball books for summer, thanks to the Front Porch Librarian. (Of course, the list includes at least one Ballpark Mysteries book!)
My childhood dreams have been achieved! I loved the Scholastic Book Club when I was in elementary school, and now a Scholastic kid reporter has interviewed me. Scholastic Kid Reporter Maxwell Surprenant interviewed me at a signing for my MVP sports series. Maxwell asked some great questions, and got lots of good details on how I write the Ballpark Mysteries and MVP series. Click the link to read the full Scholastic David A. Kelly interview.
The Soccer Surprise, the second book in my MVP sports chapter book series was just released today! This book continues the adventures of the MVP Club (Nico, Max, Alice, Kate, and Luke) as the kids play different sports and solve mysteries.
The Soccer Surprise, the second book in the MVP Series.
In The Soccer Surprise, the MVP club wants to save an old field house close to their school. They could turn it into their very own sports center! Luckily, a famous soccer star is coming to town and wants to help. Can the kids and their all-star friend raise enough money for the field house? And will practice with a pro help them score big at their next soccer game? (And don’t miss bonus back matter filled with cool sports soccer facts.)
Booklist Online, a website for librarians and other book lovers, reviewed the THE GOLD MEDAL MESS (the first book in my MVP sports chapter book series), stating:
“The combination of athletics and mysteries is always a winner, and the friends are a diverse group in terms of race and talent, who swiftly recognize their potential when working as a team. After saving the Olympics they create the MVP club.[…] Illustrations break up the text, and the book ends with several pages of “MVP Stats” about the Olympics. An energetic series opener.” – Booklist
The Gold Medal Mess – The first book in the Most Valuable Players series.
The Gold Medal Mess – The first book in the Most Valuable Players series.
THE GOLD MEDAL MESS features five kids who are trying to save their school Olympics from someone who’s trying to sabotage them. Publisher’s Weekly cited:
“Kelly branches out from his Ballpark Mysteries books with this opening title in the MVP series, in which a multiethnic group of elementary school students try to figure out who is threatening their school’s Olympics-style sports competition.”
“Lively dialogue, athletic action, and smart thinking among the kids should keep interest levels high, and Brundage’s black-and-white cartoons mix playfulness and suspense as they depict various acts of sabotage, such as an oil-soaked relay race course”
