PAINTING THE GAME, by Patricia MacLachlan, Margaret K. McElderry Books, April 16, 2024, Hardcover, $16.99 (ages 8-12)
A girl tries to untangle her love of baseball from her complicated relationship with her professional pitcher father Painting the Game, by Patricia MacLachlan
Lucy’s father is a minor league baseball player, a professional pitcher hoping to get called up to the majors, and Lucy inherited his passion for the game. But she’s never played pitcher. She worries her skills would be compared to her dad’s and she’d never measure up. And his pitching may mean big things for his career and their family, but it’s also what keeps him away from home so much of the year. Sometimes, Lucy isn’t sure what would be worse: being bad at pitching or being great.
Still, this summer, Lucy wants to learn to throw the perfect knuckleball. She wakes up at the crack of dawn to practice in secret, without her friends Tex and Robin—or even the goats who watch them play. Even as she trains relentlessly, Lucy wonders if she’ll ever feel brave enough to share her progress with her mom or dad. Can she prove to them, and herself, that she has what it takes? —Synopsis provided by Margaret K. McElderry Books
I love Patricia MacLachlan’s writing. It’s warm. It’s deceptively simple. And you leave her books feeling better than when you started.
That’s certainly true for Painting the Game. I’m not a fan of baseball. I don’t really care for it at all. But through Lucy’s eyes, I could understand the love and passion associated with it. And oh, what a wonderful character Lucy is. Her love for her family is undeniable, and her persistence rings true.
Painting the Game is a story about relationships, and it’s lovely to see strong grownup relationships — through marriage, and with friends and children — modeled. Those relationships, plus those with Lucy’s friends, make the book seem bigger than it first appears.
At just 144 pages, Painting the Game is an accessible read, and it offers broad appeal. It would make a great classroom read or a nice contemplative one at home.
Painting in the Game is final middle-grade novel by Newbery Award–winning author Patricia MacLachlan. MacLachlan (1938–2022) was the author of many novels and picture books, including Sarah, Plain and Tall, winner of the Newbery Medal; its sequels, Skylark and Caleb’s Story; Edward’s Eyes; The True Gift; Waiting for the Magic; White Fur Flying; Fly Away; and Snow Horses.
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