In this book, protagonist Stosh travels back in time to try to warn Roberto Clemente not to board the plane that will end his life. In the course of the book, Stosh also travels into the future and helps one of his teachers in an unexpected way. This book is fast-paced and includes many historical facts about baseball and life in the 1960s. The book also includes scanned examples of many historical documents, ranging from 1960s baseball cards to newspaper clippings to photographs of Clemente. The end of the book has historical information about Roberto Clemente, a list of sources consulted for the book, and a description of times at which the book does not accurately portray history. Although the underlying story about saving Clemente’s life is captivating, the author goes off topic at times to discuss how kids can help the environment today in order to create a better tomorrow, which seems quite preachy. Overall, this book is recommended if libraries have funds to spend and/or have other books in the Baseball Card Adventure series. It does present an accurate picture of the 1960s, but its preachiness about environmental issues can be a bit off-putting. ( )

I've seen some reviews of Roberto and Me by Dan Gutman and had decided not to get it. Full disclosure: I didn't read this thoroughly, I just skimmed it. I don't have the time or the interest. I don't really think my kids will either. Yes, they like Dan Gutman. Yes, some of them like baseball. However, I can't bring to mind any that are interested in baseball+time travel/historical fiction+ecology. If you have young patrons who love this story (or series) let me know and give me a good argument for putting it on the shelf. Otherwise, it's going into the donation stack. [Good arguments given - put on the shelf and did actually check out quite a few times. Will be getting more in this series.]

Roberto and Me by Dan Gutman
ISBN: 978-0061234842; Published March 2010 by HarperCollins; Review copy provided by publisher