Pop Flies, Robo-Pets, and Other Disasters
Update: Congratulations to Suzanne Kamata and Red Chair Press for winning the American Book Fest 2020 American Fiction Award for Children’s Fiction! Honoring excellence in American fiction across several categories and from mainstream, indie and self-publishers, the award is now heading into its fourth year. Read on to learn more the prize-winning book, Pop Flies, Robo-Pets, and Other Disasters.
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Baseball may be as American as apple pie, but its popularity isn’t limited to the United States. One other place where the love of the game runs deep is Japan. Perhaps it’s the discipline, hard work and team effort demanded by the sport that profoundly resonates there.
Baseball is Satoshi Matsumoto’s passion. He’s loved the game for as long as he can remember. As the thirteen-year-old protagonist in Suzanne Kamata’s middle-grade novel, Pop Flies, Robo-Pets, and Other Disasters (Red Chair Press), Satoshi returns to Japan after spending the last three years in Atlanta where he was the ace slugger on his middle school’s baseball team. Now back in his native country, he feels like an outsider: “I’m suddenly homesick, even though this is supposed to be my home.”
Baseball serves as Satoshi’s lifeline. It’s the vital link connecting life in America to life at Tokushima Whirlpool Junior High School in rural Japan where baseball, as in Atlanta, is central to the lives of students. It’s also the bond between Satoshi and his grandfather, Oji-chan, who suffers from early dementia but still recalls pitching for his own high school baseball team. It was Oji-chan’s dream to play in the National High School Baseball Tournament held at Koshien Stadium. He taught Satoshi everything he knows about the game, making him an important asset to the Tokushima Whirlpool Junior High baseball team. In turn, Satoshi is committed to Oji-chan’s care and well-being.
TROUBLE WITH BULLIES AND “FITTING IN”
Lunch looms large in middle school. Instability rules. Friendships hold real power. Satoshi feels alienated and eats by himself until Shintaro, the school bully, invites him to join the team’s table. Satoshi succumbs to peer pressure when his friends exclude Misa, a classmate, because she’s hafu, half Caucasion and half Japanese. “We don’t talk to her,” Shintaro says. “She’s not one of us.” While the “us” gives Satoshi a surge of joy, he knows it’s wrong to leave others out. Ironically, Satoshi hides his own disabled sister from his public life because he fears being teased.
Satoshi not only wants to singlehandedly win the tournament, but he also hopes to save baseball from being eliminated at his school after multiple losing seasons. Satoshi’s arrogance ultimately becomes his demise. He goes rogue by ignoring the coach’s orders, acting disrespectfully in a country where respect rules. “If you’re not going to respect me, then don’t bother coming to practice. Go find another team.” Satoshi is kicked off the team but, in the end, learns that even off-the-field heroes can reveal themselves in surprising ways.
Kamata’s narrative is universal. Satoshi’s efforts to fit in, stand up to bullies and handle family issues are relateable. The writing is accessible and, though set in junior high school, the story appeals to both elementary and middle school readers. The illustrator, Tracy Nishimura Bishop, has expertly incorporated Japanese manga, comic-like sketches, throughout the novel.
The book incorporates some of the history and traditions of baseball in Japan. The players on Shintaro’s team are required to get a “bozu” cut — the haircut of Buddhist priests and soldiers. In Japan, crying after a loss is the norm. If you don’t show some emotion, everyone thinks you don’t care. During the tournaments held at Koshien Field, considered Japan’s “field of dreams,” players scoop up handfuls of dirt to carry back as souvenirs. The dirt is akin to sacred ground.
Pop Flies, Robo-Pets, and Other Disasters is a winning, baseball-inspired story about the trials and tribulations of growing up along with fascinating tidbits of Japanese culture.
For more about the author, please visit her BookTrib author page.
