Beautifully illustrated, Stinky Feet Pete and the Mighty Hitters by Cindy L. Shirley is a funny story about how nine-year-old Pete McGee hopes to win the championship game with his lucky but smelly socks. At first, Pete panics because as he’s getting ready, he can’t find his socks. His dad helps him, and unlike many parents who might force him to wash his socks, his parents think it’s amusing. His dad coaches the team and understands Pete’s superstition. During the whole season, Pete refused to wear clean socks. Pete is the pitcher and holds the league record for the least runs allowed. Since the team is made up of nine-year-olds, I’m guessing author Shirley gauged the vocabulary accordingly.

I’m sure baseball coaches around the world would have a hard time accepting a player having reeking socks, but Pete’s dad is the coach and plays along. This story is about the value of superstition to unify a team effort. Sports are full of superstitions, with peculiar team rituals. But in this case, it’s more than a ritual because the socks stink so much the opposing team has trouble fielding the ball. Also, the story uses some vocabulary-building words such as scorcher, rank (smelly), stench, potential, huddled, assigned, arrogant, encouragement, and anticipation. And it’s also cool how Ms. Shirley has Pete wear glasses just like his father so that you can spot them quickly in the team pictures. Also good is that there’s a girl on the team. Kids love Little League, so I’m sure they will relate to the story and the great illustrations. I think kids, especially boys, will enjoy and learn from Stinky Feet Pete and the Mighty Hitters by Cindy L. Shirley.

Stinky Feet Pete and the Mighty Hitters is an interesting story that athletes and non-athletes will enjoy. Many people have superstitions like lucky socks, a favorite necklace, or a lucky sweater whether they’re an athlete before a big game or a student before an important test. Or perhaps you have a ritual or sequence of events that you perform just before a significant event. Author Cindy L. Shirley shares the successful superstitions of Pete’s lucky—but smelly—baseball game socks. The main character truly believes that his success at baseball is due to his favorite socks and refuses to wash them. This book will surely spark some discussion about people’s lucky game rituals like one pro hockey player who has his jersey untucked at the back. Do you have any pre-game superstitions or a lucky sweater you wear on test day?

The illustrations in Stinky Feet Pete and the Mighty Hitters are outstanding! Illustrator Cleoward Sy is an excellent artist with images showing emotion and depth. The full-page artwork will draw young readers into the book, while the story will keep them entertained. The book’s hilariously outrageous exaggeration of just how smelly his socks are makes this book a very entertaining read for children and their parents. Boys and girls can relate to this humorous story. I think public and school libraries would benefit from this book. I was surprised by the surprising twist at the end of the story. Perhaps now that the baseball championship is over, Pete will wash his socks.