Julianna Baggott throws a curve-ball at the readers in The Prince of Fenway Park. This book is full of historical fiction and surprisingly full of fantasy. When a reader picks up this book, he/she will think "just another" baseball book, but what lies inside is very different from a normal baseball book. Julianna tries her own her theory on how the curse of Fenway Park really happened. In her book she talks about how there is a whole different world of people who worked at Fenway Park and how they were cursed when Babe Ruth left the Red Sox. Oscar is a Red Sox fan who doesn't know it at first but he will save Fenway Park. His father is one of the cursed people who lives under Fenway Park. He brings Oscar to meet all of the cursed people and to unknowingly, break the curse. This stroy includes a climax with many good people who want to help Oscar break the curse. Since there is good guys, there is one antagonist who wants Oscar to fail. In the end good is superior to bad. This book isn't for !2 and up. It may be too "kiddish" for 12 and up readers. Im not saying the book is bad. But young readers will have more of an adventure traveling deep underground, underneath Fenway Park. Meeting mysterious creatures and famous baseball heros as they were young. So overall, The Prince of Fenway Park is good, but more for young readers who like, baseball, history, and fantasy. ( )

Excellent! ( )

A book intended for ten to fifteen year old readers brings to life the underworld of the Curse of the Bambino; fairies, two headed annoncers, the smoker, weasel man and the pooka among others. They are the fans if you will of the curse. They have always only known it existed so they come to trust in it.
Enter 12 year old Oscar, a mixed race boy who is dropped off on his secretive Dad, without notice to Dad or even Oscar. Oscar learns who his Dad really is, the part he plays in the curse and that he too lives in Fwnway Park.
Full of many true to life details, including the Red Sox' notoriously anti integration stance, that bordered on outright racism. The 'N' word is even used several times but within believable historical context. History isn't always sanitized and pretty.
Oscar takes a ride with the mysterious pooka and finds out what he needs to do to break the curse. Get the magic baseball that has been stitched together with red string by Babe Ruth himself!
Oscar learns to be proud of his heratige, his family especially his Dad, and his place in the history of the curse and it's demise.
Throw in a winner take all game of the good vs evil teams of Red Sox past and present, but as twelve year olds! It takes place in Fenway Park during the Red Sox ployoff series win over arch rival New York Yankees, in which the Sox overcame a 0-3 games deficit and went on to win their first World Sweeries in 86 years, or since 1918.
Part fact, part fiction, liberally dosed with fantasy to help keep young readers glued to a sometimes difficult history of the Boston Red Sox.Reccomended for Red Sox fans of all ages, and baseball fans in general, it will prompt honest discussion of some of the more negative history of the Red Sox, while celebrating the end of the Curse of the Bambino. ( )

Jody Little (Children's Literature)
Twelve-year-old Oscar Egg knows all about the curse of the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox have not won a World Series since Babe Ruth was traded in 1919. What he does not know is that his adoptive father is a part of that curse. He is one of the cursed creatures that live below Fenway Park. When Oscar is left to stay with his father for a few weeks, he meets the other creatures who are part of his Dad’s world: the three aunties--Auntie Fedelma, Auntie Gormley, and Auntie Oonagh--the Weasel-Man, the Smoker, and the dangerous Pooka. Oscar and the creatures soon realize that Oscar has a gift for reading codes; they believe he is the boy who can break the curse. But in order to break the curse, Oscar must find a special baseball hidden in Fenway Park. As Oscar searches for the ball, he discovers that not all the creatures of Fenway Park want the curse to be broken, especially Auntie Fedelma. Oscar learns more about the curse as he travels back in time to meet the great Babe Ruth. He also learns about the history of racism within the Boston Red Sox’ past. The final chapters of the book showcase a baseball game with Oscar’s team of cursed creatures and past Red Sox greats such as Jackie Robinson and Ted Williams pitted against Auntie Fedelma’s team. This game, played in the past, coincides with the actual Red Sox vs. Yankees game in 2004--the game that officially broke the curse of the Boston Red Sox. This book is part fantasy and part history. Baseball fans will enjoy seeing the heroes of the past woven into the story. The author carefully but accurately discusses the overt racism in Major League Baseball. 2009, Harper Collins Publishers, $16.99. Ages 10 to 14.

Oscar Egg goes to live with his father in Boston. Oscar never really knew where his father lived, he gets a huge surprise. His father lives under the famous Fenway Park!
Oscar soon finds out that his father and his aunts are all fairies and the Cursed Creatures of Fenway Park. Now Oscar has his heart set on breaking the curse. There’s no turning back now. At the same time Oscar wishes that his parents would get back together. Will Oscar save the Cursed Creatures?

I loved this book so much! I learned a whole bunch about baseball. I loved the characters. The story was so clear and great. I loved how Julianna Baggott had a whole bunch of HUGE baseball greats (Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and more.) help Oscar.

I definitely will recommend this book to everyone I know! ( )