Backfield package - Softcover

Dygard, Thomas J.

4.14

37 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140363483 ISBN 13: 9780140363487

Publisher: Puffin Books, 1993

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The decision of four high school friends to go to the same college so that they can continue playing football together is shaken when one of them begins to receive attention as a star quarterback

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About the Author:

In His Own Words...

"I can't remember when I first started writing fiction. it was shortly after I began reading fiction, I'm sure.

"I've been a voracious reader for as long as I can remember. As a teenager, I read a lot of the same kinds of books I'm writing-the John R. Tunis sports stories, for example. I also read a lot of history when I was young-and I still do now. It's always fascinated me.

"When I was a high school senior, I was offered two jobs, both of the apprentice sort. One was in a commercial artist's studio, on a recommendation from my art teacher. The other was in the sports department of the local newspaper, following work on the school paper. I took the sportswriting job.

"For four years I worked for the Arkansas Gazette while attending the University of Arkansas, first at Little Rock and then at Fayetteville, covering football, baseball, basketball, boxing, golf, tennis-everything that made up the sports page. After graduation, I joined the Associated Press as a newsman at Little Rock and later worked in AP bureaus in Detroit, Birmingham, and New Orleans. Eventually, I was Chief of Bureau in Little Rock, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Tokyo, Japan. I retired from the Associated Press in 1993 and now live in Evansville, Indiana.

"For me, writing fiction is fun, relaxing, and satisfying-an enjoyable change of pace, a recharging of the batteries.

"My first young adult novel, Running Scared, got started one night in a motel room in Champaign, Illinois, when I had nothing else to do. Before long, the story had me in its grip. The creation of the thing was a fascinating experience. I liked the characters. I liked leading them through their problems to their triumphs. I kept going until one day it was finished.

"I did not set out to write for young people. Looking back, I think it was something of a blessing that 1 did not. As I wrote Running Scared, I imagined the reader as an adult, but after it was finished, it seemed more appropriate for young readers. The result, I think, was that the story did not talk down to teenagers. In every book I've written since, I've tried to keep the same approach."

From School Library Journal:

Grade 6-10-- This story centers around four se niors who make up the offensive backfield for their high school football team. These team mates and close friends decide early in the sea son that they will continue their football careers together as a ``package'' at a small state col lege. A conflict arises when Joe, the quarter back and protagonist, begins receiving interest from a major college. Suddenly, he realizes that his skills will present him with greater possibili ties than his less talented mates. The focus is on Joe's dilemma between loyalty to his friends and his desire to succeed. He is supported by his parents and coach, who believe that he should explore all available options. Dygard writes in his typical style, interspersing accurate and ex citing game description within the plot. The climatic game and Joe's ultimate decision are paralleled in the final chapter, and while readers might be able to predict the outcome of one, a surprise is also in store. While female characters are all but nonexistent, and the adults (other than the coach) are developed only slightly, Backfield Package is a fine read for its intended audience--sports-minded young adults. --Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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