Official Review: Mom Makes the Team by Mary Don Beachy

[Tamorie Hargro]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Mom Makes the Team" by Mary Don Beachy.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The talented protagonist in this children’s story has a little problem: His mother, super coordinated and sporty, is more involved than anyone’s average soccer mom. In fact, she’s more involved than he is! Mom Makes the Team by Mary Don Beachy features a young, sport-loving boy who only wants to try out for the best baseball team in the state, the Bears. However, he fears his mom may be more eager than he could ever be.

I found myself really enjoying the unique plot of this short, 25-page book. It’s a pity that the story’s protagonist is unnamed, but he, nevertheless, turned out to be a very likeable character whom I continuously rooted for.

Mom Makes the Team puts a unique spin on unconditional emotional support and unwavering determination. While “Mom” is very wild and (admittedly) overbearing regarding her son’s sporting trials, so much that her son feels it may be “a nightmare” to have her around for his very special baseball tryouts, he never becomes frustrated and gives up on his goals nor on his mother. I think this is a special aspect of the story, creating an admirable young character. Also, I was extremely entertained by his mother who, hilariously—no matter what sport her son was taking part in—was always in it to win it.

I also liked the book’s style. The illustrations are colorful and well-drawn, each new chapter features a new sport which keeps the story entertaining and moving along quickly, and the chapter titles are fun and creatively pertain to each sport.

I found only one definite mistake, in which there was a need for a clause-separating comma, and a couple other instances where I found the sentences awkward. However, the main drawback of this story is that the division between past and present timelines is unclear. The protagonist recalls embarrassing sporting events from his past before his newest (present) baseball tryouts, and yet, the author uses present tense throughout the book with no time cues (such as “last fall,” etc.). This made the plot’s time and place sort of confusing.

For this, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. It’s entertaining and unique, and I think it will please sporty young readers and their adult companions to read in their spare time.

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Mom Makes the Team
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[Miraphery]

Having a mom this interested and involved in sports can be hectic . I am sure this book would be fun and interesting. Good job

[Ria710]

I love the cover of this book, it grabs your attention. The story sounds very fun and interesting. Thank you for your honest review.

[Tamorie Hargro]

Having a mom this interested and involved in sports can be hectic . I am sure this book would be fun and interesting. Good job

I agree. I've always loved sports since I was young, thanks to my family, and I was blessed with a generally supportive mom. This main character is pretty unfortunate Thank you!

[Tamorie Hargro]

I love the cover of this book, it grabs your attention. The story sounds very fun and interesting. Thank you for your honest review.

Yes, the cover is actually what made me stop and look into the book's description. Should have put that in my review haha Thank you for commenting!

[Caribqueen16]

This seems to be a lovely book. I can totally identify with the story, as every Mom likes to make the team. Once your child is involved in a sporting activity, the Mom always seems to be the eager beaver. The Mom in the story loves to support her son and wants him to be an achiever. I believe all children would like their Moms to stand down. Moms never take the cue. The child in the story appears to show a lot of restraint and respect. Lovely story. Good review.

[fadjei]

This sounds like a fun short story. It is unfortunate that the protagonist doesn't have a name. I feel like you become disconnected from a story with nameless characters. Overall, really great review!

[Nabell]

Having a mom who love sports is the best mom ever this book teaches both children an parent to participate in there children she know everything about sport an she is involve in his child life an sporting activity even the title of th story shows that the mother is so much in sports an that is a good thing when having ur parents or your mother who is always at your game an is fully involve in those activities

[Tamorie Hargro]

This seems to be a lovely book. I can totally identify with the story, as every Mom likes to make the team. Once your child is involved in a sporting activity, the Mom always seems to be the eager beaver. The Mom in the story loves to support her son and wants him to be an achiever. I believe all children would like their Moms to stand down. Moms never take the cue. The child in the story appears to show a lot of restraint and respect. Lovely story. Good review.

I agree that all kids probably would prefer their 'eager beaver' mothers to stand down. It can be embarrassing if she's more into the game than her own child! Thanks for your comment

[Tamorie Hargro]

This sounds like a fun short story. It is unfortunate that the protagonist doesn't have a name. I feel like you become disconnected from a story with nameless characters. Overall, really great review!

Yes, it's kind of hard to stay fully immersed in a story with a no-name protagonist. Good thing the story had a very dynamic character in the protag's mother. Thanks!

[Tamorie Hargro]

Having a mom who love sports is the best mom ever this book teaches both children an parent to participate in there children she know everything about sport an she is involve in his child life an sporting activity even the title of th story shows that the mother is so much in sports an that is a good thing when having ur parents or your mother who is always at your game an is fully involve in those activities

I totally agree with you, Nabell! Having an involved mother to support you at your games/events can be really uplifting. Children who don't have this privilege may feel sad compared to other children. Thanks for your thoughtful comment!