The Pinballs

Betsy Byars

Mar 2009 · Recorded Books · Narrated by Christina Moore

About this audiobook

When you're a pinball, life is a risky game, especially for three adolescent children placed in a foster home. Their hard-won defenses are firmly in place as these three uneasy strangers meet their foster parents. For each of these children who were failed by their families, caring for others is so scary it hurts. No one has been in control. But as their daily lives become dotted with fried chicken dinners, puppies, and birthdays, they begin to hope that even pinballs can be winners. Betsy Byars, the National Book Award-winning author of McMummy, writes stories that are beloved by young listeners, their parents and teachers alike. Her thoroughly believable but quirky characters have captivated countless fans; The Pinballs was chosen by almost sixty thousand children in Georgia as their favorite book. The American Library Association agrees, designating it an ALA Notable Children's Book.

Ratings and reviews

Best book

About the author

Betsy Cromer Byars was born in1928. She graduated from Queens College in Charlotte, North Carolina. While she was in graduate school, she began writing articles for The Saturday Evening Post and Look. Byars writes novels for young people. She is an expert at tapping in to the pain of adolescence, using bits of her own experience to flavor her characters. She is author of more than 60 books and has won numerous awards. Her book about a 14-year-old girl and her mentally retarded brother, The Summer of the Swans (1970), won the Newberry Award as the most distinguished contribution to children's literature that year. Other books include The 18th Emergency (1973), The TV Kid (1976), and After the Goat Man (1995). Betsy Byars died on February 26,2020 at the age of 91.