MORE OF DAN’S BOOKS
Since the 1980’s, Dan Gutman has written more than 190 books for both kids and adults. Below is a selection of Dan’s books that are no longer widely available.
PICTURE BOOKS
Running Press, 1998
Katy’s Gift, co-written with Keith Bowen
Katy’s Gift is Dan’s first picture book for young readers. It’s a story about two Amish children, originally written by illustrator Keith Bowen.
Bloomsbury Childrens, 2011
The Day Roy Riegels Ran the Wrong Way
When Dan heard the story of “Wrong Way” Riegels, he thought it would make a great football story for little kids. At the 1929 Rose Bowl, talented center Roy Riegels picked up a fumble and made an incredible touchdown. There was just one problem: Roy Riegels was running the wrong way!
CHAPTER BOOKS
Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, 1999
Childhood of Famous Americans: Joe DiMaggio
Childhood of Famous Americans: Jackie Robinson
Written under the pen name Herb Dunn, Dan wrote two books about baseball greats for the Childhood of Famous Americans series. This was one of his favorite series to read when he was kid, and it’s still being published.
MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS
Viking Children’s Books, 1994
Baseball’s Greatest Games
Profiling nine of the most memorable games in baseball history, a young fan’s treasury provides play-by-play descriptions that bring to life every sensational pitch, hit, catch, and home run.
Viking Children’s Books, 1994
World Series Classics
A close-up look at five of the greatest World Series ever, from 1912 to 1991, and the extraordinary events and athletes that changed sports history.
Viking Children’s Books, 1995
Ice Skating: From Axels to Zambonis
This is an everything-you-always-wanted-to-know kind of book about ice skating. Dan got to interview Tara Lipinski, before she went on to become Olympic champion.
Viking Children’s Books, 1995
Taking Flight, co-written with Vicki Van Meter
Dan saw an article in The New York Times about a 12-year-old Pennsylvania girl named Vicki Van Meter who was about to pilot a plane across the Atlantic Ocean. About the inspiration for the book, Dan said, “It sounded like an inspirational story for kids, so I called Vicki up and suggested we write a book about her flying. This was very fun and different for me.”
Scholastic, 1995
They Came from Centerfield
This was Dan’s first fiction book. He wanted to write something like Matt Christopher, but wackier. In They Came from Centerfield, aliens visit Earth and threaten to destroy our planet unless a group of kids teach them how to play baseball.
Scholastic, 1997
Tales from the Sandlot
The Shortstop Who Knew Too Much | The Green Monster in Left Field | The Catcher Who Shocked the World | The Pitcher Who Went Out of His Mind
Tales from the Sandlot was conceived when Dan was sick in bed one day. He sketched out the plot for a novel about a kid who gets hit in the head with a baseball and wakes up to discover he has ESP, which became The Shortstop Who Knew Too Much. That was followed by three more Little League stories in which weird, paranormal things occur.
Hyperion, 1997-2006
The Million Dollar Series
The Million Dollar Shot | The Million Dollar Kick | The Million Dollar Goal | The Million Dollar Strike |
The Million Dollar Putt
The Million Dollar series follows five different kids playing five different sports—all playing for a chance to win one million dollars.
Hyperion, 1998
Virtually Perfect
Based on months of research Dan conducted on movie special effects, Virtually Perfect is about the son of a special effects wizard who creates a “vactor” – or virtual actor – on a computer. The boy gives the vactor so much intelligence that it figures out how to come through the screen to exist in the real world like a regular kid. This is one of Dan’s favorite books.
Dial Books for Young Readers, 1999
Cal Ripken, Jr.: My Story, Adapted From Cal Ripkin’s Autobiography
This is a young reader’s version of Ripken’s autobiography, “The Only Way I Know.” Dan was asked to adapt it for kids, but unfortunately he didn’t get to meet Cal.
ADULT BOOKS
Computer Books, 1985
The Greatest Games, co-written with Shay Addams
Achieving Dan’s goal to publish a book by the time he turned 30, his first book, The Greatest Games, was published on his 30th birthday. Dan wrote this book with Shay Addams, his fellow editor on the magazine “Computer Games,” and it describes the greatest computer games up until 1985. It’s out of date, and out of print. A real collector’s item!
Computer Books, 1986
I Didn’t Know You Could Do THAT With A Computer
This book is inspired by a misconception in the mid-1980s that computers were only useful for word processing and number crunching. The book described hundreds of software programs that would help people write their own will, trace their family roots, learn to speedread, learn a new language, chart their horoscope, and so on.
Penguin, 1990
It Ain’t Cheatin’ If You Don’t Get Caught
This is Dan’s first baseball book, and his first book with a major publisher. Inspired by an early article Dan had written for “Discover” magazine about the science behind the spitball, scuffball, corked bat, etc, he was able to sell the idea as a book to Penguin and spent nearly a year writing it. During his research, Dan got to meet Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield, Brooks Robinson, Bob Feller, Mike Schmidt, and other baseball greats.
Penguin, 1992
Baseball Babylon
This is a history of scandals in baseball. In his promotion, Dan appeared on The Joan Rivers Show, Entertainment Tonight, and in hundreds of radio interviews.
Macmillan, 1995
Banana Bats & Ding-Dong Balls
A history of baseball inventions, from the catcher’s mask and the pitching machine to aluminum bats and radar guns. Illustrated with great photos and original inventor patent drawings.
Simon & Schuster, 1996
The Way Baseball Works
A “coffee table” gift book. The game of baseball is broken into about 100 essential elements and each one is explained in words and pictures.