Freddy and the Baseball Team from Mars facts for kids
Cover with Freddy in his disguise as the team coach
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| Author | Walter R. Brooks |
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| Illustrator | Kurt Wiese |
| Country | U.S. |
| Language | American English |
| Series | Freddy the Pig |
| Genre | Children's novel, Comic novel |
| Publisher | Knopf, The Overlook Press |
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Publication date
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1955 (Knopf), 1999 (Overlook Press) |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 239 (pp. 3 – 241) |
| ISBN | 0-87951-942-8 (1999 hardback) |
| OCLC | 42830698 |
| Preceded by | Freddy and the Men from Mars |
| Followed by | Freddy and Simon the Dictator |
Freddy and the Baseball Team from Mars is a funny children's book from 1955. It's the 23rd story in the popular Freddy the Pig series. The book was written by Walter R. Brooks and has pictures by Kurt Wiese.
In this adventure, Freddy the pig comes up with a super cool idea. He decides to create a baseball team using Martians and circus animals! The Martians are special because they have four arms, which makes them amazing at pitching. But watch out! An old enemy of Freddy's tries to cheat and ruin the games.
Contents
The Story of Freddy's Martian Baseball Team
A Pig Detective on the Case
The story begins with Freddy and his animal friends ice skating. Suddenly, Mr. Boomschmidt, who owns the circus, asks for help. One of his Martians, named Squeak-squeak, has gone missing! Mr. Boom knows Freddy is a great detective. He also thinks the Martians need a more exciting activity than just being a circus attraction. Freddy suggests they form a baseball team.
First, they need to find Squeak-squeak. Freddy suspects a troublemaker named Anderson, who he has stopped before. To investigate without being recognized, Freddy puts on a disguise. He pretends to be an old baseball coach named Henry Arquebus. He wears glasses, a big coat, and a large beard. Freddy moves to town and carefully tries to become friends with Anderson.
It's a bit confusing because the Martians seemed eager for help at first. But now they don't want to talk about Squeak-squeak. Mr. Boom is sure they are in trouble. He tells Freddy to keep investigating anyway.
Building a Unique Baseball Team
The Martians are very excited about baseball. They quickly learn that the game's goal is not to hit the batter and knock them out! Practice starts on a muddy field at the bean farm. There are four Martians on the team. Most of the other players are circus animals.
Freddy asks Mr. J. J. Pomeroy, a robin who leads the Animal Bureau of Investigation (A.B.I.), to watch the Martians and Anderson. Around the same time, Freddy's rich friend, Mrs. Church, asks him to investigate a strange happening at her house. She thinks a "ghost" stole a necklace. Since the necklace is just costume jewelry worth only 25 cents, Freddy suggests a small reward.
The team practices for a whole month. Many people come to watch them. Freddy, still disguised as Mr. Arquebus, tells the Martians to swing at every single pitch, even if it's wild. He doesn't explain why, but it's part of a trick for the manager of the Tushville baseball team, Mr. Kurtz. Kurtz had cheated in a game last year by using professional players.
The Mystery of the "Ghost" Burglar
One night, Freddy and Jinx the cat bravely stake out Mrs. Church's house. They want to catch the "ghost." It turns out the "burglar ghost" is a human! But the person escapes. Freddy and Mrs. Church are puzzled because there are no footprints in the snow. They can't figure out how the burglar got in.
The first practice game draws a big crowd. Kurtz thinks the game against his Tushville team will sell a thousand tickets. He offers Mr. Boom a deal where the winner gets two-thirds of the money. The Martians' strange pitching style works well. But when they are batting, Freddy makes them swing at every pitch. The other team members do most of the hitting and scoring. In the end, the Martians lose the game, 8-6.
Anderson returns the necklace to Mrs. Church. He claims he's doing it for someone else. He's very upset about the small 10-cent reward, as he thought the necklace was real. Freddy knows Anderson is lying because the A.B.I. is watching his house. Freddy realizes Anderson is the thief. His main goal was to make Mrs. Church think her house was haunted. This way, he could buy it cheaply and then sell it for a lot more money.
Freddy notices house paint on the Martians' flying saucer. He figures out that Anderson is holding Squeak-squeak prisoner. He is forcing the Martians to help him steal things. The flying saucer is how Anderson has been getting into houses without leaving footprints! An investigation of Anderson's house shows that Squeak-squeak has been moved. They also find jewelry from other recent robberies. Freddy overhears Anderson talking on the phone to an accomplice he calls "Herb."
Big Games and Tricky Plans
The big game with Tushville begins. An elephant slides into third base, which causes quite a stir! With the elephant on third, Freddy reveals his secret plan. He tells the two-foot-tall Martians not to swing at anything. Since the strike zone (the area where a pitch must be to be called a strike) is much smaller for them, the Martians get a walk every time they bat. They start to take the lead!
But then, the sneaky Anderson whispers something to the Martians. They disobey coach Freddy, start swinging, and lose the game.
Mrs. Peppercorn, Freddy's landlady in town, tries to cheer him up. She shares her funny version of a Longfellow poem. For example, she changes:
- "As a feather is wafted downward / From an eagle in his flight."
to:
- "As a brick comes hurtling downward / From a rooftop, in a fight."
Freddy, who loves poetry, isn't super impressed. But it helps him snap out of his bad mood. He soon wonders if coach Kurtz is Anderson's partner. A phone call proves that Kurtz's first name is Herb!
Unmasking the Cheaters
Anderson approaches "Mr. Arquebus" (Freddy in disguise). He asks for help with another "burglary." Freddy agrees because he knows he can get proof. When the flying saucer drops Anderson off at a rich home, Freddy leaves and calls the police.
Knowing where Squeak-squeak might be, Freddy goes to Kurtz's house. He uses yet another disguise, this time as an Irish widow. However, the Martian is locked away securely. With the help of a group of wasps, Freddy manages to capture the Kurtzes.
When Anderson arrives with the police, the officers are confused by the whole situation. They decide to lock everyone in the basement so they can go watch the baseball game! Mr. Boom finally arrives and frees everyone right in the middle of the game.
The Martians can now play without fear. They start walking again, getting on base easily. But Anderson hasn't given up. Mr. Boom is too tired to play after sawing through the basement door. Freddy takes his place, pulling off his disguise as the crowd cheers! Anderson tries to cheat one last time by blinding the batters with a mirror. But his plan fails, and he is caught and sent to jail. Freddy and the Martians finally win the game, 12-11!
Illustrations
The book features 40 black and white drawings by Kurt Wiese. These are done with pen and ink. There are also special drawings on the endpapers (the pages glued to the inside covers of a book), a frontispiece (an illustration facing the title page), and a colorful cover. All these pictures show scenes from the book. Each chapter starts with a half-page illustration, and a full-page drawing is placed near an important event in each chapter.
