“If you like Matt Christopher, you’ll love David Aretha.” – Million-selling children’s book author Dan Gutman From “Bugs Bunny change-ups” to “going full gorilla,” David Aretha instills excitement, humor, and inspiration into The Mad Dash . Jacob’s Little League team, Morey’s Funeral Home, is a perennial loser. But this ragtag squad of 10-year-olds has a new coach and a “ya gotta believe” attitude for opening day. Standing in the way of a championship is the best team in the league, the “invincible” Bankees. To beat their nemesis, Jacob’s team will need help from everybody, including the emotionally troubled Rupa, the club’s worst player. Can the underdog Morey’s Funeral Home team storm to victory? David Aretha, a two-time Moonbeam Children’s Book Award winner, has written and edited dozens of baseball books and documentaries, including movies screened at the Baseball Hall of Fame Film Festival in Cooperstown. He also has written player bios for thousands of Topps baseball cards. Has been shelved under: sports books for teens - sports books for boys - baseball books boys - short stories for kids - baseball books kids - sports books for teen boys - baseball books for kids - kids baseball books - sports books for boys 9-12 - baseball books for boys 9-12 - kids baseball books ages 9-12 - books baseball for kids The Mad Dash is ideal for fans of: Dog Man: Fetch-22 by Dav Pilkey - The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall - I Can Read Level 2 - A Big Day for Baseball (Magic Tree House) by Mary Pope Osborne - The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen - Ballpark Mysteries by David A. Kelly - Little League by Matt Christopher - The Home Team by Mike Lupica - The Contract Series by Derek Jeter - The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John Ritter - Baseball Great by Tim Green - Baseball Card Adventures by Dan Gutman "If you like Matt Christopher, you'll love David Aretha." - Million-selling children's book author Dan Gutman The Mad Dash is a great and exciting baseball book to read. If kids want to hear about a little league team winning the championship game on a motto named ya gotta believe you should definitely read this book. - Jaxson A great sports book for boys and girls who love baseball. Characters are well developed and the tension in the book is exciting even to an adult reader. I would highly recommend this book for homes and classrooms based on the language used and the good moral content and it is a good enjoyable story. - Chelsea I really enjoyed reading this story with my boys. They love baseball and a good underdog story. With a team named after a funeral home, you know the team will have a lot to overcome in their season. It was a lot of fun reading this story. - Jaime Absolutely amazing! I love the story. The characters are well developed. The team learns a lot about respect, team work, and to always believe in themselves and to encourage others to do their best. - Bobbie Definitely a cute book for tweens to read. Especially for boys. - Amy David Aretha is a multi-award-winning publishing industry veteran who has worked with global giants like HarperCollins and Random House. The Detroit native who graduated in Journalism from the University of Michigan has successfully accumulated several decades of experience in his chosen specialist genres of Children's Stories, Biographies, History, Sports, and Fiction. In 2000, he was honored by the Vice-President of the United States with a letter of commendation for his exceptional editing work on "The Holocaust Chronicle: A History on Words and Pictures."