Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge
is unlike any other style of book I have ever read. Koertge, through his main character, Kevin, writes the
entire story in poems. Although
the style is different, the storyline is similar. Many of the themes are the same as the other books this
class has explored throughout the semester. The types of poems are explained by Kevin to make the book
educational. Grief is the theme I
would like to discuss.
The
first time Kevin grieves is when he is home in bed and missing baseball. Up until now Kevin has been breathing
and sleeping baseball. Kevin is
unsure what he is supposed to do now, that is in between times he is not
sleeping, since it feels like that is all he does lately. He calls himself an
invalid on page 6, so readers know he is grieving. On page 8, Kevin recalls how good he used to be at baseball,
showing no confidence of a strong return.
Not only is he grieving about baseball, but because of mono he is finally
grieving his mom’s passing as well.
Kevin’s mom brings
him the most grief. At first,
Kevin is just recalling how his mom used to bring him toast, juice, and books
when he was not feeling well (20).
Children often want to be pampered when they are not feeling well, so
this is a time when Kevin would probably really like to have his mom. He also notices his dad’s feelings, but
they both act like they are okay. Pg
29 is when we start to really think about Kevin’s mom. The words ‘dark, angry blood’ paint a
picture that gives readers a heavy heart.
The tone is angry and Kevin seems to be blaming himself for making her
life harder by tramping in mud, but not on purpose. He even includes a countdown of his mothers last few months,
weeks and days giving readers a lump in their throats. By the end of page 30 Kevin has
reminisced and thanked his mom for being great and realizes he had praised her
for being a great mom by the mug he made for her at the YMCA camp.
After the funeral
Kevin’s dad got thinner and thinner even though neighbors continued to bring
meals for him and his dad. It
seemed to pain Kevin to see his dad stare blankly at the TV and cry randomly. He did not know what to do or how to
act without Kevin’s mom and Kevin did not know how to help his dad in the
slightest (37). I think writing
poems is the first time Kevin is really dealing with his feelings of losing his
mom. According to the ‘After the Funeral’ poem, Kevin had to be strong to help
his dad through the loss and did not grieve right away.
Kevin wonders why
some of the neighbors continue to bring casseroles. He wonders if they think he is hot or someone nice they
could marry, because he believes his dad is really nice. The fact that Kevin can think of his
dad marring someone besides his mom shows he is healing and understands his mom
is not coming back. He also wants
his dad to be happy again and that may mean his dad marrying another woman now
that his mom has passed away (49).
Kevin is able to remember good memories, like when his mom went to the
store dressed as a monster (50).
He also is able to look at his mom’s car and remember her. He thinks of his mom’s one-armed hugs,
which make him miss her, but also remember how caring she always was (65). It is expected that just because he has
grieved and dealt with the pain of losing his mom he will have memories that
will elicit happy and sad feelings.
His dad also deals with the loss of Kevin’s mom by practicing his Spanish
because Kevin’s mom would like that (94).
By the end of the book, both Kevin and his dad have worked through their
feelings and are able to better handle what life throws at them with the help
of one another and the good memories of Kevin’s mom.
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