The Wagner Whacker

Brenda Baltensperger is a playwright, a director of children’s
theatre, an editor of children’s fiction, and the author of Fractured
Fairy-tales.

Just when Matt Killburn believes he has his friend Sanji ready to pitch
for the PeeWee Bantam League, his mother announces that they are moving
to a farm near Fergus, Ontario. While exploring a barn on the farm, Matt
is knocked unconscious and drifts into a strange dream that carries him
back to 1928. He meets Butts Wagner, who is building a weird machine
that will revolutionize the game of baseball. Matt wakes up to discover
he was hit on the head by an arm of the very machine he has been
dreaming about. When it looks as though Matt’s Uncle Costa is about to
lose his business, the ghost of Butts Wagner comes to the rescue. With
Butts’s help and a rare baseball card, the future of Costa’s Trading
Post and of Matt and Sanji’s baseball careers are assured.

Anyone who likes baseball will love this book, which shows what can be
achieved when neighbors work together for the benefit of the community.
The baseball terminology is explained clearly, and there are a few tips
thrown in for the avid Little Leaguer. Highly recommended.