New Releases by Dean Hughes

Having failed to get their applications in for the middle school summer baseball league, Robbie and Trent scramble to find a sponsor, a coach, and enough players to form their own team.

When Trent''s best friend Robbie and another teammate on the Scrappers begin bragging about their baseball abilities, Trent worries that it will affect the team''s play.

Just as Thurlow feels that he may be able to lead the Scrappers single-handedly to the season championship, an injury sidelines him and threatens to take away their victory.

Having been hit in the face by a ball during a previous game, Tracy tries to deal with her fear of its happening again as the Scrappers approach the baseball championship.

Seventh grader Ollie loses his self-confidence as a pitcher when his weird habit of talking to himself on the mound signals his pitches to the batters and draws the anger of some of his teammates.

As the Scrappers continue to advance toward the summer championship, Jeremy and his fellow players work to improve their baseball skills.

Because Gloria chews out her team members whenever they mess up, she sets the tone for infighting which in turn causes the coach to quit and leaves the future of the team in question.

Brad loves baseball and wants to be a star player like his best friend, Butter, but he''s probably the worst player on the whole team. When the big game arrives, will Brad strike out or become a home-run hero?

Trying to hold onto the newfound stability of his life in a foster home, thirteen-year-old David worries about the growing moodiness of his guardian Paul and the fluctuating fortunes of his Pony League baseball team.

This novel follows the events of WWII as they affect the Thomases, a Mormon family from Salt Lake City, Utah. The parents have sent three of their children into the armed forces, and Sister Thomas has had to go to work, helping her husband run their family businesses. Their role as parents is being reevaluated as their children become more independent and the hardships and realities of the war impact their traditional LDS lifestyle and beliefs.

The elders could see nothing but smoke until they turned the corner onto the street where the fire was. And then, both of them stopped. ?The synagogue!? Elder Thomas said. It had never occurred to him that anyone – even the Nazis – would do such a thing. Elder Thomas got his camera out. He snapped the shot but then heard someone say, in German, ?What are you doing there?? He tucked the camera inside his coat, under his arm. He tried to appear normal, but his heart was suddenly beating hard. A man was crossing the narrow street and coming toward them. ?Making pictures?? the man asked as he walked closer. Elder Thomas took a better look. He saw what he feared: the black uniform with silver trim and braided hat. Gestapo. Elder Alex Thomas wants only to teach the gospel to the people of Germany. But it soon becomes obvious that he will never complete his mission. War is coming, and that will affect not only Elder Thomas but also his family back home in Salt Lake City. In the family is Wally, Elder Thomas’s younger brother, who usually just wants ot have a good time, but lately doesn’t seem to care much about anything. There’s his sister Bobbi, who is supposed to marry Phil Clark, the most eligible bachelor in the Salt Lake Valley. The problem is, she can’t ignore her attraction to Dr. Stinson, a University of Utah professor who’s not a member of the Church. And there are Elder Thomas’s parents, D. Alexander Thomas, stake president and his wife, Bea, who want their children to be true to the values and ideals they’ve taught them. But President and Sister Thomas are finding they can’t just tell their children what to do anymore, and they’re worried about what will happen when the United States enters a war that no one seems able to stop. In Rumors of War, the first volume of the series Children of the Promise, author Dean Hughes recreates the era of World War II in stunning detail. But more than that, he shows how the war affects an ordinary family of Latter-day Saints. If you’re interested in Church or world history, or if you’re simply looking for a powerful LDS novel, you won’t want to miss Rumors of War.

Thirteen-year-old Kim is a star in softball, basketball, and volleyball, but when she begins playing soccer she fears she will let the team down.

Nutty runs for a second term as student council president against his arch-rival Mindy and encounters dirty tricks.

Presents the lives and accomplishments of Latter-Day Saints missionaries past and present.

Although he is a basketball whiz, seventh-grader Aaron Reeves must learn to be a team player in order to make friends on the basketball team at his new school.

Eleven-year-old Sterling Malone tries out for quarterback because his father thinks African-Americans need to prove they can be leaders, but Sterling isn''t sure he wants to be a leader.

When his father is nearly killed in the aftermath of an earthquake, the incident helps Lucky accept the possibility that his father may remarry.

Fifth-grader Ben Riddle is a brown belt in karate, but when the school bully starts hassling him, Ben must look within himself to learn his true strength.

Ten-year-old Danny struggles to improve his play during his first year on the basketball team and to deal with the moods of his alcoholic father.

It takes an earthquake to help the Angel Park Pride soccer players realize the importance of teamwork.

Nutty is now the star of a new film, directed by the overheated maker of notoriously terrible movies Damian Deveraux. It doesn''t matter that Nutty can''t act. He is the Tae Kwon Do Guy, powerful and fearless, yet warm and loving. What does matter, however, are the strange things going on.

Unless star guard Miles "Tip" Harris can keep his cool under pressure from opposing players, the Angel Park Lakers could have a short season.

When she finds that she is no longer taller than most of the other players, Heidi has to adjust to playing wing instead of striker.

In an easy-to-read format, here is a collection of useful pointers for the Little League set.

During a visit to Hawaii, twelve-year-old Lucky gets windsurfing lessons from an older, more muscular boy and tries to build up his own body after meeting a beautiful girl at the local Mormon church.

Two twelve-year-old boys, one black and one white, train for and compete in the 400 meter race, but find it hard to become friends because of racial differences and their fathers'' past relationship.