March 5, 2024 by Viking Books for Young Readers
E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus
This highly illustrated biography comes in at just under 100 pages. We learn about the life and athletic career of Maya Moore, who was born in 1989 and played college and professional ball. When she retired, she worked hard to get a wrongfully imprisoned friend exonerated. After he got out, she turned her talents to working on other social justice issues.
Strengths: I had never heard of Maya Moore, but her story is similar to Marks' fictional From the Desk of Zoe Washington , which also examined wrongful incarceration and racism within the justice system. The illustrations add a lot, and young readers will enjoy the fast paced story that involves not only sports but also activism. The basketball statistics at the back are great as well.
Weaknesses: I am looking forward to seeing the physical copy of this; the E ARC had to be accessed through a drop box, which made it harder to read.
What I really think: I really enjoy Maraniss' work and will purchase this series even though it is slightly young for my students. Sports biographies are always very popular, and I love that this goes "beyond the game" and talks about the ways that sports figures try to make the world a better place.
Weaknesses: I am looking forward to seeing the physical copy of this; the E ARC had to be accessed through a drop box, which made it harder to read.
What I really think: I really enjoy Maraniss' work and will purchase this series even though it is slightly young for my students. Sports biographies are always very popular, and I love that this goes "beyond the game" and talks about the ways that sports figures try to make the world a better place.
September 12, 2023 by Candlewick Press
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
In this picture book, young Maxwell loves basketball so much that he even dreams about it, and when his dreams take him to Basketball Town, he's thrilled. Everywhere he looks, there are places to play, people hooping, and fresh high tops and gear! Because he hasn't practiced as much as the residents, his skills are not as good as theirs, but the mayor of Basketball Town (who looks a lot like his father) tells him that he needs to work on his game if he wants to play in the Championship. This is a blow, but Maxwell goes to Skillsville and learns what he needs to better his game, and enters the Daily Dunk Off. While Maxwell earns the titles of "King Dunkman the First", the mayor tells him he still isn't ready for the Championship, so he practices some more. He is able to play in the Championship, and his teammates from real life are there. His hard work pays off, and his team does well against a very good team. When he wakes up, Maxwell is ready to do some real work on his basketball skills.
Rothman's fantasy basketball world is vividly illustrated by Darnell Johnson's bright pictures, and young readers will love seeing all of the action and fashion on the pages. The digitally created images have a tiny bit of a feel of the 1970s Harlem Globe Trotters cartoons, at least to my eyes!
The message of reinforcing skills through hard work and repetition is a good one, and a world revolving around basketball is one that many young readers would like to inhabit. I review a lot of sports books for middle grade readers, but have never considered that sports books might be attractive even to early elementary school readers! Basketball Town will be a slam dunk with readers who enjoyed Dahl and Lugo's Goodnight, Basketball, Wheeler and Gott's Dino-Basketball, Barber and Ligasan's Allie's Basketball Dream and Herzog and Bowle's Little Basketball.
In this picture book, young Maxwell loves basketball so much that he even dreams about it, and when his dreams take him to Basketball Town, he's thrilled. Everywhere he looks, there are places to play, people hooping, and fresh high tops and gear! Because he hasn't practiced as much as the residents, his skills are not as good as theirs, but the mayor of Basketball Town (who looks a lot like his father) tells him that he needs to work on his game if he wants to play in the Championship. This is a blow, but Maxwell goes to Skillsville and learns what he needs to better his game, and enters the Daily Dunk Off. While Maxwell earns the titles of "King Dunkman the First", the mayor tells him he still isn't ready for the Championship, so he practices some more. He is able to play in the Championship, and his teammates from real life are there. His hard work pays off, and his team does well against a very good team. When he wakes up, Maxwell is ready to do some real work on his basketball skills.
Rothman's fantasy basketball world is vividly illustrated by Darnell Johnson's bright pictures, and young readers will love seeing all of the action and fashion on the pages. The digitally created images have a tiny bit of a feel of the 1970s Harlem Globe Trotters cartoons, at least to my eyes!
The message of reinforcing skills through hard work and repetition is a good one, and a world revolving around basketball is one that many young readers would like to inhabit. I review a lot of sports books for middle grade readers, but have never considered that sports books might be attractive even to early elementary school readers! Basketball Town will be a slam dunk with readers who enjoyed Dahl and Lugo's Goodnight, Basketball, Wheeler and Gott's Dino-Basketball, Barber and Ligasan's Allie's Basketball Dream and Herzog and Bowle's Little Basketball.
These basketball books should be popular among students. Carol Baldwin
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