Bildner, Phil

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Bildner, Phil

Personal

Born in Jericho, NY. Education: Johns Hopkins University, bachelor's degree (political science); New York

University School of Law, J.D., 1990; Long Island University, master's degree (elementary education). Hobbies and other interests: Tennis, softball, snowboarding, video games.

Addresses

Home—Brooklyn, NY. Agent—Jennifer Flannery, Flannery Literary, 1140 Wickfield Ct., Naperville, IL 60563-3300. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Writer, educator, and attorney. Admitted to the bars of the State of New York and the State of New Jersey; New York City Public Schools, New York, NY, elementary and middle-school teacher, 1994–2005; full-time writer, 2006—.

Awards, Honors

Texas Bluebonnet Award, 2004, for Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy.

Writings

PICTURE BOOKS

Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy, illustrated by C.F. Payne, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2002.

Twenty-one Elephants, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2004.

The Shot Heard 'round the World, illustrated by C.F. Payne, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

The Greatest Game Every Played: A Football Story, illustrated by Zachary Pullen, Putnam (New York, NY), 2006.

Turkey Bowl, illustrated by C.F. Payne, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2006.

NOVELS

Playing the Field (novel), Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2006.

Game 1 (‘The Barnstormers: Tales of the Travelin’ Nine" series), illustrated by Loren Long, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2007.

Busted, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2007.

Work in Progress

More works in ‘The Barnstormers: Tales of the Travelin’ Nine" series.

Sidelights

Lawyer turned teacher turned author Phil Bildner has published both picture books and novels with sports-related themes. Born in Jericho, New York, a Long Island suburb, Bildner graduated from Johns Hopkins University and attended the New York University School of Law before working briefly at a Manhattan law firm. He then returned to school, earning his master's degree in elementary education, and landed his first teaching job at a public school in the South Bronx. A lack of resources forced Bildner to develop innovative teaching methods; he often incorporated music into his lesson plans, drawing the attention of recording artists such as the Dave Matthews Band and The Fugees, who visited his classroom.

Bildner made the leap to published author in 2002 with Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy, "an amusing picture-book tall tale," according to Booklist contributor Bill Ott. The work concerns baseball great Joe Jackson, who turns to batsmith Charlie Ferguson when his performance slumps at the plate. Charlie makes a special bat, nicknamed Black Betsy, that carries Joe to the major leagues. "The repetition and wry humor of the exchanges between the two superstitious characters pull the legend out of the story," noted School Library Journal critic Wendy Lukehart, and a reviewer in Publishers Weekly stated that the author "hits a home run here, zeroing in on the bat as just the right lens through which to view his picture book biography." The book also won the prestigious 2004 Texas Bluebonnet Award.

A young girl's fascination with the Brooklyn Bridge is the focus of Bildner's Twenty-one Elephants. Having watched the bridge's construction since she was a tot, Hannah is determined to walk across it, though her skeptical father does not trust the newly completed structure. After a visit to the circus, where Hannah spies a group of performing elephants, she approaches P.T. Barnum with an unusual request. Bildner and illustrator LeUyen Pham "deftly juggle fact and fiction in this charming tale, which celebrates a child's imagination and faith," wrote a Publishers Weekly critic.

In The Shot Heard 'round the World Bildner chronicles the stirring 1951 pennant race between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Told from the per- spective of a young Dodgers' fan, the work takes readers through one of the most exciting seasons of the sport's Golden Age, "with the text showing how baseball in the pre-television era was a community passion, shared on front stoops and around radios," observed Booklist reviewer Bill Ott. "Bildner captures the spirit of Brooklyn in 1951," noted a critic in Kirkus Reviews of the author's depiction of the thrilling playoff series between the two teams. The series ended with Bobby Thomson's famous home run, known as "the shot heard around the world," which propelled the Giants into the World Series.

Bildner looks at another landmark sporting event in The Greatest Game Every Played: A Football Story. "Deftly blending surefire ingredients—nostalgia, father-son bonding, and on-field action," according to a Publishers Weekly contributor, "Bildner's story tells of the 1958 NFL championship game" in which the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants in a sudden-death overtime thriller.

Bildner's debut novel, Playing the Field, appeared in 2006. In the work, high schooler Darcy Miller, the star player of her dismal girls' softball team, desperately seeks a way to join the boy's baseball team. When Brandon Basset, the school principal's son, convinces his father that Darcy is a lesbian, Darcy plays along and Mr. Bassett finally allows her on the squad. Playing the Field received decidedly mixed reviews. In School Library Journal, Michelle Roberts observed that "wholly unbelievable scenarios prevent this novel from being anything close to a home run," but Booklist contributor John Peters called the work a "fearlessly irreverent first novel."

On his home page, Bildner offered some advice for aspiring authors. "When you write, especially when you're first starting out," he stated, "write about what you know, and more importantly, write about what you love. If you're passionate about something, your knowledge and fervor for that subject matter will come across in your written word."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2002, Bill Ott, review of Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy, p. 1014; October 1, 2004, Karin Snelson, review of Twenty-one Elephants, p. 332; March 1, 2005, Bill Ott, review of The Shot Heard 'round the World, p. 1199; April 1, 2006, John Peters, review of Playing the Field, p. 31.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, March, 2006, review of Playing the Field.

Children's Literature, May, 2006, review of Playing the Field.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2001, review of Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy, p. 1754; October 1, 2004, review of Twenty-one Elephants, p. 956; February 15, 2005, review of The Shot Heard 'round the World, p. 226; February 15, 2006, review of Playing the Field, p. 177.

Publishers Weekly, January 7, 2002, review of Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy, p. 64; December 13, 2004, review of Twenty-one Elephants, p. 67; February 7, 2005, review of The Shot Heard 'round the World, p. 59; July 24, 2006, review of The Greatest Game Every Played: A Football Story, pp. 57–58.

School Library Journal, April, 2002, Wendy Lukehart, review of Shoeless Joe and Black Betsy, p. 100; November, 2004, Susan Lissim, review of Twenty-one Elephants, pp. 90–91; May, 2005, Marilyn Taniguchi, review of The Shot Heard 'round the World, p. 77; March, 2006, Michelle Roberts, review of Playing the Field, p. 218.