Home of the Brave

After the rousing success in New Orleans, the Paynes face yet another crushing defeat when the Chancellor’s thugs finally steal the baseball—and kill their uncle in the process. Faced with a second funeral in as many months, Griffith, Ruby, and Graham are determined to beat the Chancellor at his own game and save their family as well as the game of baseball. Pulling into their hometown of Baltimore, the Paynes are reunited with a familiar face, and the Travelin’ Nine are tested on the field once again. Can they win without the help of their baseball? Prepare for fireworks in this final inning to the grand slam series, Sluggers!

Loren Long illustrated President Barack Obama’s Of Thee I Sing; the newest version of The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper; Madonna’s second picture book, Mr. Peabody’s Apples; Nightsong by Ari Berk; Frank McCourt’s Angela and the Baby Jesus; Love by Matt de la Pena; and If I Was the Sunshine by Julie Fogliano. He also wrote and illustrated the Otis series and was part of the Design Garage for Jon Scieszka’s Trucktown series. Loren’s work has appeared in Time, Sports Illustrated, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic. He lives with his wife and two sons in Cincinnati, Ohio. Visit him at LorenLong.com.

Phil Bildner is a former New York City public school teacher who lives in Newburgh, New York. He spends much of his year visiting schools and libraries around the country and world. He is the author of over twenty books including the middle grade novel A Whole New Ballgame and picture books Marvelous Cornelius, The Soccer Fence, The Hallelujah Flight, and Twenty-One Elephants. Along with Loren Long, he is the coauthor of the New York Times bestselling Sluggers series. Visit him online at PhilBildner.com.