Rooting for Rafael Rosales
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
STARRED REVIEW! "Scaletta deftly weaves worry, optimism, and determination together…The tight focus on the emotional lives of his protagonists in these connecting narratives inspires genuine feeling for each. Full of heart and hope."—Kirkus Reviews starred review
Maya is worried about the fate of the world—especially the bee population—but she finds new hope when she starts to follow the career of a baseball player from the Dominican Republic named Rafael Rosales, who years before struggled to pursue his own dreams.
Rafael has dreams to someday play Major League Baseball. Maya has worries, especially about the bees that are dying all over the world. Follow Rafael and Maya in a story that shifts back and forth in time and place, from Minnesota to the Dominican Republic. In their own ways, Maya and Rafael search for hope, face difficult choices, and learn a secret—the same secret—that forever changes how they see the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rafael Rosales is an 11-year-old aspiring baseball player from the Dominican Republic, whose dedication to the sport and dream of playing for an American team occupy his every moment. Nine years later, 12-year-old Maya, a passionate environmentalist, sees Rafael playing (badly) as a prospect for the Minnesota Twins and quickly declares him her favorite player. She's drawn to the tenacious underdog, believing that, if he can succeed, anyone can. Bijou, a Dominican girl with connections to both Rafael and Maya, provides a thread that ties their stories together, through correspondence, allowing Maya to see her own privilege and better understand Rafael's roots. Moving between Rafael's childhood and Maya's present, Scaletta (The Winter of the Robots) weaves a powerful story of two children whose realities seem entirely dissimilar but, in truth, converge in significant ways, namely in their desire to excel and make a difference. The character of Rafael feels somewhat underdeveloped compared to that of Maya, but his persistence and work ethic make it easy to understand why she rallies behind him. Readers will, too. Ages 9 12.
