Sayonara, Sharks

Deborah Dowson is a Canadian children’s librarian living in Powell,
Ohio.

Many of Matt’s teammates on the Sharks’ baseball team are eager to
go on a student exchange trip to Japan, but Matt is not sure he wants to
go. He worries about not being able to eat the food there or use the
Japanese-style toilets. However, when he is told how much the Japanese
love baseball, he decides to go along. Matt has a wonderful time
learning about Japanese culture and customs, and he admires the Japanese
student’s professional approach to baseball. The only thing wrong is
that Matt is angry that his best friend Ben wants to quit the Sharks to
join a hardball team, and since Ben has started dating Katie, he has no
time for his old friends. Eventually Matt finds that it really isn’t
that difficult to try new food or even a different style of toilet, and
he also comes to accept the changes that are happening with Ben.

This is a very pleasant and straightforward account of a student’s
exchange trip to Japan. The story is informative of several aspects of
Japanese tradition and culture, and it exemplifies the meaning of
respecting differences. It is a wonderfully educational travel story,
but with all the emphasis on the trip, the plot has limited sports
action. The concluding baseball game is a brief, friendly exchange that
doesn’t generate much suspense. Perhaps more detail of the Japanese
approach to the sport would have better justified this title’s
publication as a “sports story.” Recommended.