Prejudice & Racism, Boys & Men, Baseball 

This dramatic and moving story set in the days of the Negro Leagues illustrates the true meanings of friendship, prejudice, and heroism. Charlie Nebraska wants two things he can't get: to make the local Wildcats baseball team and to have life to return to the way it was before his father died two years earlier in the Korean War. Then Charlie meets Luther Peale, a former Negro Baseball League player who agrees to coach Charlie's fledgling neighborhood baseball team for a game against the Wildcats. But many of Charlie's white neighbors are suspicious of Luther, and when Charlie inadvertently reveals a secret of Luther's, violence erupts in the town and both Luther and Charlie are drawn into serious danger. Praise for STUMPTOWN KID: "Readers will enjoy this winning mix of sports, suspense, and heroism, and delight in the baseball wit and wisdom." --School Library Journal - Honorable mention, 2005 Gustavus Myers Award - 2006 Paterson Prize for Books for Young People - 2005-6 Pennsylvania Young Adult Top Forty List - Kansas State Reading Circle 2005 Recommended Reading List - from Amzon