James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley
Author: Elizabeth J. Van Allen
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 412
Release: 1999
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780253335913

Van Allen sifts facts from fiction to construct as true a portrait of Riley as possible in the context of the society in which he lived."--BOOK JACKET.

The Milan Miracle

The Milan Miracle
Author: Bill Riley
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 195
Release: 2016-08-29
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0253020956

Will lightning ever strike twice? Can David beat Goliath a second time? These questions haunt everyone in the small town of Milan, Indiana, whose basketball team inspired Hoosiers, the greatest underdog sports movie ever made. From a town of just 1,816 residents, the team remains forever an underdog, but one with a storied past that has them eternally frozen in their 1954 moment of glory. Every ten years or so, Milan has a winning season, but for the most part, they only manage a win or two each year. And still, perhaps because it's the only option for Milan, the town believes that the Indians can rise again. Bill Riley follows the modern day Indians for a season and explores how the Milan myth still permeates the town, the residents, and their high level of expectations of the team. Riley deftly captures the camaraderie between the players and their coach and their school pride in being Indians. In the end, there are few wins or causes for celebration—there is only the little town where basketball is king and nearly the whole town shows up to watch each game. The legend of Milan and Hoosiers is both a blessing and a curse.

When the Frost is on the Punkin

When the Frost is on the Punkin
Author: James Whitcomb Riley
Publisher: David R. Godine Publisher
Total Pages: 38
Release: 1993
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780879239886

A classic poem of automn is accompanied by illustrations of a young girl's day on a farm.