Tatay's Team: The Kindness Club

TATAY'S TEAM. The Kindness Club, Book 1. Middle grade fiction. Ages 8-12. When eleven-year-old JoAhn Reyes moves from the Philippines to Black Oak, Texas, she arrives invisible: a new student in a softball-obsessed town where no one can pronounce her name. Finding her gift as a slap hitter on the local girls' recreational softball team, JoAhn begins sharing her Filipino grandfather's Tagalog proverbs with her teammates, building a team identity rooted in patience, belonging, and mutual support. When she spots a girl eating alone in the school cafeteria - the same corner where she once sat in silence - she leads her teammates in crossing the room, sparking a kindness movement that reaches far beyond the softball diamond. A warm, culturally rich novel about identity, chosen family, and the courage it takes to make the invisible visible.