Kristin Butcher... has novel ideas

Quill & Quire

Midge's voice is just self-aware enough to convey the story lucidly while avoiding being either too clever or too cool for words ... Most of the adults are refreshingly real and lessons are learned all around. (Teresa Toten)

Island Parent

... even someone who has never watched a baseball game will thoroughly enjoy this story about discovering what's important in life and then being brave enough to fight for it. (Nikki Tate)

CM Magazine

... a great novel to read in a class given that there are so many interesting avenues for discussion and that it will hold the interest of most members of the class. (Lisa Doucet)

Booklist

The baseball is exciting, Mann's secret is sensitively handled, and the contrasting family dynamics between Kelly's looser, single-parent home and Midge's stricter environment is edifying rather than cartoonishly overdrawn. (Francisca Goldsmith)

Kliatt

This is a fast-paced story, geared towards boys, which will keep the reader intrigued from the first page -- a high-interest tale that will engage even the most reluctant readers. (Shaunna S. Silva)

Burlington Public Library -- The Best of Books

More than just a sports story, Cairo Kelly and the Mann is about the importance of friendship and the sacrifices one has to make for one's friends. (Andrea Gordon)

Canadian Book Review Annual

This book contains two positive messages: teenagers can effect change and some causes are worth fighting for. (Carol-Ann Hoyte)

Voya

Butcher includes some serious issues here -- loyalty, illiteracy, cheating, and honesty -- but they do not overwhelm the baseball theme. (Cynthia Winfield)

BCTLA Bookmark

Kristin Butcher has written a very believable story, and manages to tie all the strands together. (Gloria Reinheimer)