';Laugh-out-loud funA winner in every way.' Kirkus Reviews (starred review) ';Funny and good-hearted.' Publishers Weekly A boy who loves baseball must get past his hard-working immigrant parentsand the rhino in the outfieldto become a batboy in this laugh-out-loud middle grade novel in the tradition of The Sandlot.Nick wants to change his life. For twelve years, he's done what his hard-working, immigrant parents want him to do. Now he's looking for his own American dream and he thinks he's found it. The local baseball team is having a batboy contest, and Nick wants to win. But the contest is on a Saturdaythe day Nick has to work in his father's shop. There's one other tinywell, not so tinyproblem. A 2,000-pound rhinoceros named Tank. Nick and his friends play ball in the city zooand Tank lives just beyond the right field fence. Nick's experience getting the ball out of Tank's pen has left him frozen with fear whenever a fly ball comes his way. How's a lousy fielder going to win the contest? Nick practices every day with his best friend, Ace, and a new girl who has an impressive throwing arm! But that's not enoughto get to the contest, Nick has to lie to his parents and blackmail his uncle. All while dodging the school bully, who's determined to win even by playing dirty. Nick will need to keep his eye on the ball in this fast, funny story about a game that can throw you some curveballsjust like life!
