BRD EWRT Author Interview - John H. Ritter :_:——=•: c- Carrie Pauling, Brodart Books & Automation Accountants calculate hometown. Most are trying to establish their numbers and nurses, place in the world. hushed, listen to the Ritter's breakout novel, Choosing Up cadence of heartbeats Sides (1998) found immediate success— with stethoscopes. winning an ALA Best Books notation, Rock stars jam on 1999 International Reading Association's guitars; painters wield Children's Book Award, and a 1999 Blue brushes; writers form Ribbon Book citation from The Bulletin of sentences with a 26the Center for Children's Books. Pieces word alphabet. People from Ritter's unique background—^Allare defined by what Star shortstop and MVP of his high school they do, no matter baseball team, the influence of his sportswhat they do. To some, this may seem writer father and musical mother (though inhibiting, type-casting. For John H. Ritter, she died of breast cancer when he was only award-winning novelist, being a self-titled four, he remembers her singing) laid the baseball novelist offers foundation for a number him freedom. "It might of follow-up, celebrated be hard to understand," "I fill my books novels, including The he says. True—a writer with moral Boy Who Saved Baseball can string together lines questions—from the (Penquin Group, 2003) and of prose. But narrow that his most recent Under the genesis of bigotry writer to, specifically, Baseball Moon (Penquin sports writer, and suddenly to the definition of Group, 2006). his opportunities for free success—because association close in, right? Soul-searching questions these are things we Not necessarily for him, are not lost on young says Ritter. need to think about, readers—Ritter actually as children "I slip under the radar of an awful lot of people because adults." of that title," says Ritter, now a notable author of sports fiction for young adult readers. Writing under the cover of baseball "allows me to reach an audience who would most likely never pick up a book about religious-based bigotry or the cowardice of war, or demising anti-environmentalists, and so on." Ritter's coming-of-age stories include players of the all-American game, true. But they also include characters with whom just about any young person (and any adult who remembers what it's like to be a kid) can identify. Some have unquenchable dreams of stardom; some merely want to save a piece of their and believes a young audience is the perfect sponge to soak up his ponderable spills. Young benchwarmer Tom Gallagher puts a question in Doc Altenheimer's mind in The Boy Who Saved Baseball: "Is it new facilities that would help this town the most, or a new spirit?" He's referring to the run-down baseball diamond on his land—shoot, the same one Doc had a hand in building, but that he's decided to sell to developers to help revitalize the town. Young Tom, desperate to save the diamond, finds himself in a pickle. Doc will save the field—but only if Tom's rag-tag team can beat the All-Stars in the next town—opponents with a sparkly new chain-link fence and impressive field. Books & Automation 10 If they lose, he'll sell. The team embarks on a mission that is helped along by their mysterious peer, Cruz de la Cruz, who rides in on horseback to help the team, baseball bat slung like a rifle, and crazy ex-pro Dante del Goto who was once a baseball hero, living as a hermit in the hills outside Dillontown. and musical skills are weaved together and nearly unraveled again at the appearance of an eccentric man in black who promises Andy success, but at an unforeseen cost. It's the question that lingers beyond baseball action: "should we take this drastic action or should we work on rebuilding our spirit?" Ritter equates it with the state of the world as he saw it in 2003, teetering on war with Iraq, a mostly supportive nation backing the President. "I fill my books with moral questions—from the genesis of bigotry to the definition of success—because these are things we need to think about, as children and adults," says Ritter, who feels that "we're not teaching [our kids] to think critically about vital questions of our time. That is, we've chosen 'facilities' over 'spirit.'" Reader's reviews have scored Baseball Moon as one of the favorites—and Ritter admits it's his favorite of his novels, too. He was able to capture Andy's passion for music and aspirations from his own dreams as a 15year-old. Though he was a gifted baseball player, he says, "I chose to hang my hopes on music, poetry, and song. I saw that road as having a better chance of changing the world—or as Andy says, 'moving the stars around.'" Book by book, Ritter seems to be making an impact. He draws attention to issues he feels are unjust—like forcing a lefty to be righthanded—but in a manner that appeals to readers; as a Booklist review said, "never preachy." The Boy Who Saved Baseball won the "Notable Children's Book" Award by the Children's Book Council, Child Magazine's Best Book of 2003 Award, and was named to both the New York Public Library's "Best Books for the Teen Age" list and Texas State Lone Star List for 2004. "The gentle game of baseball allows me to pioneer literary ground no one has ever worked in before," says Ritter. "I'm going to continue writing my socio-political fiction for that basically non-political audience—and their parents—because it's a lot of fun. I feel like I'm a secret agent." Remaining faithful to his chosen genre, Ritter includes ballplayers in his most recent Under the Baseball Moon, as well as the "fringe people" who add dimension to the story and help Ritter "express his wild side." Baseball Moon explores the dreams of two 15-yearolds: Andy Ramos, skateboarder and aspiring musician who formulates a new sound—a fusion of Latin jazz, hip-hop, salsa, and rock—and softball pitcher Glory Martinez who dreams of the Olympics. The pair's athletic BRO DrW And if he ever decides to break out? "I will. As Dylan once wrote, 'And but for the sky, there are no fences facin'.'" Books & Automation n