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There's No Base Like Home

By Jessica Mendoza, Alana Mendoza Dusan
Illustrated by Ruth McNally Barshaw

Hardcover: $18.95

Ebook

Icon_t View the Teacher's Guide

This will be twelve-year-old Sophia Maria Garcia’s best year ever: she’s trying out for the same championship softball team her sister played on at her age, and she’s starting middle school. New school, new team, new Sophia!

But all does not go according to plan. Sophia does not make the Waves softball team and her best friend is suddenly more interested in boys than Sophia. As the middle school blues set in, and her family is pulled in different directions, Sophia must reach deep down and find a little UMPH—the difference between being good and great—to figure out her own place, on and off the field.

ESPN Major League Baseball analyst and two-time Olympic medalist Jessica Mendoza teams up with her sister Alana Mendoza Dusan for their first highly-illustrated novel for young readers, based on their own childhood softball adventures.

Reviews & Comments

Booklist
 Publishers Weekly
 Billie Jean King, Founder of the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative and the Women’s Sports Foundation
 Lisa Fernandez, three-time Olympic gold medalist in softball
 Kerri Walsh Jennings, three-time Olympic gold medalist and professional beach volleyball player
 Jennie Finch, two-time Olympic softball pitcher
 Pablo Cartaya, Pura Belpré Honor-winning author of THE EPIC FAIL OF ARTURO ZAMORA
 Julie Foudy, two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist

About the Creators

Thumb_jessica_author_photo_credit_mibelle_photography2 Jessica Mendoza - Author

is a Major League Baseball analyst for Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. She is the first female analyst in MLB postseason history and ESPN’s first-ever female MLB analyst. Jessica also serves as a contributor on ABC’s Good Morning America. She won gold & silver Olympic medals in 2004 and 2008, respectively, as a member of the US Women’s Softball Team.

Photo: Mibelle Photography

Thumb_alana_author_photo_credit_alisa_hayes_photography Alana Mendoza Dusan - Author

was a Division 1 softball player at Oregon State University. She currently teaches high school English and lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband and two children.

Photo: Alisa Hayes

Thumb_ruth_mcnally_barshaw Ruth McNally Barshaw

is the award-winning author and illustrator of the Ellie McDoodle series. She played softball for a summer league when she was twelve, but learned much more about strategy from this manuscript. She resides with her author-husband Charlie in Lansing, Michigan. See her work at ruthexpress.com.

About This Title

ISBN

Hardcover: 9781620145883

E-Book: 9781620145890

Guided Reading:

V

Interest Level:

Grades 3 - 8

Reading Level:

Grades 3 - 7

Themes

Families, Friendship, Latino/Hispanic/Mexican Interest, Middle Grade, Sports

Part of These Collections

Diverse Background English Collection Middle School, English Fiction Grades 3-6, Friends & Friendship, Family Diversity , Athletes and Sports, Books About Joy Collection High-Low Books for Teens: Middle and High School,