Twelve year old Isaac has a great fastball and a dream. He wants to throw a perfect game... no hits, no runs and no errors because he's pretty sure that if he can do that, then he'll be selected to play for the Thunderbolts. Maybe he can live up to his father's motto,"Perfect Practice Makes Perfect."
When Isaac pitches he's pretty darn good but get a runner on base and his control falls apart. Turns out there's more to being a perfect pitcher than just sneaking the ball past the batter.
One day his coach invites Isaac to come out on a Sunday to help him with a Special Olympics basketball team he coaches. Isaac meets and gets to know Maya, the coach's daughter and she helps him see past the physical challenges of the players and beyond to the really important things like determination and risk and doing your best.
As always with a Fred Bowen book there is a great background information section at the end that lists all the players who have ever pitched a perfect game in Major League Baseball. Interesting to see what their careers looked like overall.
143 pages Ages 7-10 978-1561457014
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com