Back in the 1940s, Minneapolis-born writer B.J. Chute wrote a series of books for boys. They had titles like "Shift to the Right" and "Blocking Back," and were collections of stories about tennis, baseball and football. Being neither a boy nor a sports nut, I was not their intended audience, but the year I was 11 I read every one of them. Why? I liked the way she wrote and I thought the stories were fun. That was all I cared about. I was reminded of Chute when I read this trio of young-adult baseball novels by three Minnesota writers. They're all nicely written, they're all good stories and they're all fun. It will help if you like baseball, but it's not a requirement. And you definitely do not have to be a boy. MUDVILLE

by Kurtis Scaletta (Knopf, 265 pages, $16.99)

In the mythical Minnesota town of Moundville, it has been raining steadily and gloomily for 20 years.

Despite the nonstop deluge, Roy McGuire, the 12-year-old narrator, is cheerful and sensible, and he loves baseball, even in the rain. When he comes home from baseball camp, he finds that his father has taken in an enigmatic foster son named Sturgis.

With Sturgis' arrival -- or because of Sturgis' arrival? -- everything begins to change. The rain stops. The field dries out. The team takes shape.

Sturgis turns out to be an incredible pitcher with a mysterious past, and when Roy's team gets set to play arch-rivals from Sinister Bend, Sturgis becomes even more inscrutable.

Scaletta has written a very readable story with many twists and turns, and while everything doesn't add up precisely -- the whole Indian curse is a bit inexplicable, even on a second reading -- what in life does?

Star Tribune, Star Tribune
Mudville by Kurtis Scaletta

TOP OF THE ORDER

by John Coy (Feiwel and Friends, 182 pages, $16.99)

Like Scaletta's book, Coy's is told in first person by a likeable catcher, but the storyline is quite different.

This narrator, Jackson, is doing what catchers do: He is taking on the weight of the team's problems, trying to balance everything, solve everything, keep the pitcher sane, keep the other players on track.

When Gig -- Jackson's best friend -- finds that his sister is trying out for the team, he begs Jackson to help him thwart her. The last thing he needs is his little sister hanging around the ball field, his sanctuary.

But there's just one problem: the team needs her. Not only is there no one else to play her position, but it turns out she's pretty darn good. Where do Jackson's loyalties lie? Where should they lie?

Coy has a wonderful ability to place you squarely in the world of 12-year-old boys. Not always a pretty place to be, as you watch these kids at the school lunch table, sticking mini corn dogs up their noses, but oh so authentic. These kids sound just like kids you know.

THE GIRL WHO THREW BUTTERFLIES

by Mick Cochrane (Knopf, 177 pages, 15.99)

"The Girl Who Threw Butterflies," by St. Paul native Mick Cochrane, is a lovely book, with a great sense of place and a tender storyline. Cochrane sets his story in Buffalo, N.Y., where he now lives.

The book follows a girl named Molly, who loves baseball and who tries out for her school's team. Some of the boys think it's fine having a girl on the team, and some think it's a travesty, but the coach is way beyond caring about gender: He cares about Molly's ability to throw the knuckleball, also known as the butterfly. (And I whooped with laughter when Molly's friend earnestly tells him that Molly has a secret pitch: the mothball.)

Cochrane skillfully weaves in Molly's personal problems -- her father has recently died, her mother has grown remote. But none of this weighs down what is basically a poignant and quite believable story of a girl's coming of age.

Laurie Hertzel, the books editor, is at 612-673-7302.