A fictional tale of magic, romance, and the legend of Shoeless Joe Jackson, the novel presents a world of possibility with organized religion serving as a foil. The narrator creates a baseball field in an Iowa cornfield to honor his hero, Shoeless Joe, and it becomes a conduit to the spirits of baseball legends. Kinsella invents a world in which lovers of the baseball are the pure ones, the chosen; those who don’t love baseball, whether materialists or worshippers of organized religion, are the blind.

Students recognize the extended metaphor, write dialogue and short stories, and explore parallels between religion and baseball tradition. They also discuss issues related to privacy, fame, and celebrity; write essays about characters and their senses of place; and interview classmates about dreams and goals. A final lesson asks students to compare the novel with the film version.  

Lessons include reading quizzes with answer keys.

Endurance, Faith, Loyalty, Respect, Truth