Catcher with a Glass Arm (Matt Christopher Sports Classics)

By Matt Christopher

Book Overview

A young baseball player struggles to overcome his fear of a pitched ball, improve his throwing, and somehow redeem himself in the eyes of his teammates.

Jody just can't bring himself to throw hard, so the ball usually falls short of its mark. Taunts of "catcher's got a glass arm" echo in his ears. Then injury is added to insult when he's beaned by a wild pitch--and suddenly he's having trouble hitting as well as throwing. What good is a ballplayer who's afraid of the ball?

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316139858
• ISBN13: 9780316139854
• Release Date: May 1985
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Length: 138 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 7.9"
• Age Range: 3 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Young boys participating in sports can relate to Jody and his problems

Jody is the primary catcher on his baseball team and he has a mental problem. Although his arm is strong enough, his mind gets in the way when he attempts to throw out runners trying to steal bases. He is so fearful of overthrowing the base that he regularly bounces the ball in. Consequently, runners take advantage of him at every opportunity. His problems are further compounded when he gets hit in the head by a pitch. Although his helmet keeps him from being injured, the incident further clouds his thinking and now he has trouble hitting. Jody's courage is tested when he is forced to rescue his cat Midnight from a cave and with the help of some knowledgeable adults; he is able to work through his baseball fears. Good adolescent sports fiction is about people facing challenges, working through adversity and not giving up until the task is completed. This book satisfies all of those criteria and since it features boys in realistic situations, there is the additional advantage that young boys participating in sports can relate to the problems Jody faces. For these reasons I recommend this book.

Jody's Super Arm

My favorite book, Catcher with a Glass Arm, is written by Matt Christopher. I gave this story five stars. It is very enjoyable. I had a lot of fun reading it. My favorite part of the book is when Jody and his parents were riding in there car and it starts to rain. An electrical pole fell and they have to wait for the electrical workers to fix it. They have to stay in the car because it is raining outside and they don't want to get wet. If you like sports I really think you should read this book. Matt Christopher writes more books like The Lucky Baseball Bat, Baseball Pals, Two Strikes on Johnny, Little Lefty, Baseball Fly hawk, Hard Drive to Short, Too Hot to Handle, Challenge at Second Base and a lot more. Emerson, NJ; fifth grade student

A good dude book

The book I'm reviewing is Catcher With A Glass Arm by Matt Christopher. I think it deserves five stars. The problem in the story is Jody the main character has a glass arm. Jody thinks he could play, but his teamates don't think he can. Although his teammates don't believe in him, Jody plays. Jody starts catching badly and he is starting to think he can't play. Jody solved this problem by talking to Mr. Baruth. Mr. Baruth tells him not to care about what his teammates think. Then he says "As long as your happy playing baseball, then play." Jody gets his confidence back and plays very well. I recommend this book to a friend.

Review of Catcher With a Glass Arm

I think Matt Christopher's "Catcher With a Glass Arm" was a great book. It just amazes me that he knows so much about sports. When it came down to the part where the book said the Dolphins came in second place over all, I thought the book was over, but no sirree bob, Matt kept on going. Great book!

The Catcher with the Glass Arm

The Catcher with the Glass Arm was a very exciting book.It was exciting for me because it was a sports book, and I like sports. This book was one of the best books I've ever read. Catcher with a glass arm is about a boy who has a glass arm and when ever he has to throw the baseball he either over throws it or throws it too short. Then a guy comes along and helps him with throwing and how to throw it better and to relax and to always practice, because practice makes perfect. So the boy gets better and better and can throw the ball with no problem.