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Bat 6

Virginia Euwer Wolff

1998229 pagesabout 3–5 hours
1998
first published
  • 1998Scholastic Press · 229 pages · ENGISBN 9780590897990
  • 1999Scholastic · 230 pages · ENGISBN 9780590898003
  • 2000Barnes & NobleISBN 9781402843624
  • 2000Listening Library · ENGISBN 9780553526639
  • 2001Perfection Learning PreboundISBN 9780756904630
  • 2000Listening Library · ENGISBN 9780807282236

In small town, post-World War Oregon, twenty-one sixth-grade girls recount the story of an annual softball game, during which one girl's bigotry comes to the surface. Set in a small Oregon town just after World War II, this is the powerful tale of a community shattered by its reaction to two young newcomers, Aki and Shazam. Told from 21 different points of view, "Bat 6" explores the subject of Japanese-American racial prejudice after the war. Photographs and text present an up-close look at varied aspects of the lives of professional basketball players, from pre-game preparations, practice, game action, signing autographs, and more. A Japanese American girl who has just spent 6 years in an internment camp meets a bitter girl whose father was killed in Pearl Harbor, & the two become rivals in baseball in this story narrated by the members of the opposing teams.

How it feels

MoodSad
AtmosphereBleak

Worth knowing

ViolenceFrequent
Written forMiddle grade

When and where

ThemesWar

Content notes

  • Racismmoderateunreviewed
  • Warmoderateunreviewed
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