"The Aurora County All-Stars" (Harcourt) completes the trilogy of Mississippi novels that includes "Each Little Bird That Sings" and "Love, Ruby Lavender". It is about a young pitcher named House Jackson, whose hero is the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax. House's team, the Aurora County All-Stars, is a small community team that has only one game every year at four-o-clock on July 4, without fail, against the Raleigh Redbugs. Unfortunately for House, his pitching elbow was broken before last year's game, and his team lost. This year though, he is going to give that game all he has. July 4 happens to also be the town's 200th anniversary this year, and the town is holding a pageant, for which all mothers have signed up their children, including the baseball players. The director of the pageant is 14-year-old Frances Shotz, the same girl who broke House's elbow. 'The Aurora County All-Stars' shows what it truly means to be strong, to create community, and to sacrifice for a friend.