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Summary
Summary
Not even losing his hand can keep Norm from trying out for the baseball team What would life be like with only one hand? That's exactly what eleven-year-old Norm finds out when he loses his left hand in an accident at his family's store. It's July 4, 1946. World War II has ended, and life is getting back to normal. But for Norm, the pressing question now is whether he will ever be able to play baseball again, or be an artist. It's up to Norm to find the strength to get beyond this roadblock and move on with his life.
Set against the quickening pace of life after wartime constraints, this inspiring novel is about an optimist who overcomes his misfortune with discipline and humor--and fulfills his dreams in ways no one could have expected.
Author Notes
As a child, Mary Jane Auch loved books and read constantly. Her interest in drawing began as a child and continued through high school. She went on to become an art major at Skidmore College. After graduation, Auch went for New York City, but after a year of designing prints for men's pajamas, she decided she wanted to do something more meaningful with her life. She enrolled in the Occupational Therapy program at Columbia University, and worked for some years in a children's hospital near Hartford, Connecticut.
Eventually, Auch began illustrating for Pennywhistle Press, a national children's newspaper, which led to an interest in illustrating children's books. In the summer of 1984, Auch took a week-long children's writing conference on Cape Cod. Auch finally knew that she wanted to a writer when an instructor told her that sometimes artists find they can paint better pictures with words.
She began sending manuscripts to publishers, writing four novels before she sold the first one. She then sold a second book to another publisher the same week. She continued writing books for older kids, abandoning her dream of illustrating for a while. After writing nine books, she wrote and illustrated The Easter Egg Farm, and has done both ever since.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Set just after World War II, Auch's novel tells of 11-year-old Norm, whose family owns a meat market. On the Fourth of July, while helping his dad in the store, he gets his hand caught in the meat grinder and loses it. He then faces the challenges of one-handed shoe tying, band practice, and his dream of being a baseball player. The climax is, of course, the big game and Norm's chance to prove himself to his peers and community. The gruesome accident is the only jarring note in this otherwise light, humorous tale. Norm's inner voice is generally calm, and his jocular exchanges with his friend Leon provide comic relief. His mother's fierce attempts to keep her son independent and his father's silent guilt round out the family picture that feels immediate in many ways, even though the story is set in 1946. While the rosy worldview may be slightly exaggerated, there's a small-town interconnectedness between the episodic chapters that will keep the pages turning. One-Handed Catch is an enjoyable read on the popular theme of overcoming adversity. Pitch it alongside Joseph Bruchac's The Warriors (Darby Creek) and John H. Ritter's The Boy Who Saved Baseball (Philomel, both 2003) as a sports fiction title.-Caitlin Augusta, The Darien Library, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
The boyhood experiences of Auch's husband influenced this well-told story set in 1946. After Norm loses his hand in a meat-grinder accident, his mother insists he can still do everything he did with two hands, but his best friend acts as if Norm can't do anything. Readers will be inspired by Norm's story, as he finds ways to play baseball one-handed and achieve scholastically, musically, and artistically. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Norm's life is changed forever on July 4, 1946, by a freak accident in which he loses his left hand. How is he to tie a shoelace, cut his food and manage the myriad of other essential daily tasks, let alone ride a bike and play baseball? The people in his life fall into two categories: those that see only the things he can't do, and those who encourage him to see each problem as a puzzle to be solved. He is determined not only to meet the daily challenges, but to play baseball as well. Emulating the strategies of one-armed major-leaguer Pete Gray, Norm creates ingenious ways to practice fielding, throwing and batting, and becomes a valued member of his team. Norm, based on the life of the author's husband, is a hero, but not a saint. Auch handles his emotions and those of his family and friends believably and never patronizes her characters or her readers by becoming maudlin. Moving and thought-provoking. (author's note) (Fiction. 10-14) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
A strong sense of purpose, leavened by generous doses of humor and post-World War II period detail, drives this story of a resilient middle-grader who demonstrates that having one hand is an opportunity rather than a handicap. Having lost his left hand to a meat grinder, Norm finds his world has become a complicated place, where even common activities such as tying shoelaces or playing baseball seem impossible. However, with plenty of pushing from his tough-love mother, who challenges him to get things done and firmly checks his efforts to trade on his disability to get special treatment, Norm not only gets by but also blossoms. He finds ways to display both musical and artistic talent as he stubbornly and inventively teaches himself to play ball well enough to earn a spot on a summer league team. Loosely based on childhood experiences of the author's husband, this story offers both inspiration and useful information, deftly wrapped in an engaging narrative. --John Peters Copyright 2006 Booklist