January 1, 2026 by Lerner Publications ™
Copy provided by the publisher
Beatriz is a soccer player, but wants to try something new. Since her college-aged brother Emilio plays basketball, she asks him about trying out for a new team. He says that she is too short and laughs off her interest, which makes her even more determined. She asks her best friend Aurora to practice with her, and prints out a schedule of activities to improve their skills. Both girls get assigned to Coach Partridge's team, and hope to learn a lot and have fun playing for Las Arañas (The Spiders). Beatriz is fast and good at passing, so Coach says she would make a good point guard. Sometimes, Beatriz thinks she should try to make the baskets herself, but that's not where her talents lie. After the pregnant Coach Partridge has to take time off to rest, Emilio becomes the new coach. The team plays a disastrous game against the Blue Jays under his direction, and the other point guard, Selena, twists her ankle. Emilio reluctantly puts Beatriz in after she practices a lot, and the team makes it to the playoffs against the Cobras after a really great game. Emilio apologizes to Beatriz for not taking her seriously, and Beatriz now feels like she can be both a good soccer player and a good basketball player.
This is a short, easy to read sports book that would be great for elementary readers but also for emerging middle school ones. The font is large and clear, and the illustrations are attractive and support the text.
Beatriz' determination to try something different was great to see, and I loved that she looked up a training plan and worked with Aurora to develop skills that would allow them both to make the team after her brother was less than supportive. The description of the point guard role on the court will help young readers who want to play basketball but are not particularly tall. At the end of the book, there is a short biography of Gabriela Jaquez, a player who also followed her brother's footsteps into the sport.
Readers who enjoyed Lyons' Miles Lewis books or Harley's Charlie Bumpers tales but want more sports content will be glad to see this Lerner Sports Stories series, which is a good additions to books like Capstone's Jake Maddox sport titles, or Sports Illustrated Kids Graphic Novels like Full Court Pressure.
Hoop Genius:How a Desperate Teacher and a Rowdy Gym Class Invented Basketball
January 1, 2026 by Carolrhoda Books ®
Copy provided by the publisher
In 1891, James Naismith took a job as a physical education teacher. Two other teachers had failed to curb the enthusiasm of the students, so Naismith tried active games to try to keep the attention of the students. Indoor football, soccer, and lacrosse were too violent, and led to injuries. Not wanting the students to be bored, Naismith drew on his own experience of playing a throwing game called Duck on a Rock and developed a game where soccer balls could be thrown into peach baskets a janitor found for him. He typed up rules that included not running with the ball and not touching other players. The game caught on through word of mouth. There was even a group of women teachers who wanted to play, and one of them eventually married Naismith! By 1936, this new sport was in the Olympics. There is a bit more biographical information about Naismith in the author's note at the end, as well as a short bibliography.
The illustration style is very distinctive, and seems to draw from the stylized Works Projects Administration murals popular in the 1930s. I was surprised that there were students with mustaches, but the artist must have consulted the photograph of Naismith and his students (which appears with the author's note), because there are indeed students sporting facial hair! There is a good sense of movement, and the clothing styles and depictions of rooms and buildings all give a historical feeling to the book.
This would be a great read aloud for elementary schools to celebrate March Madness along with Macy and Collins' Basketball Belles: How Two Teams and One Scrappy Player Put Women's Hoops on the Map, Diep and Giddings' Rising Above: The Wataru "Wat" Misaka Story, Slade and Tate's Swish!: The Slam-Dunking, Alley-Ooping, High-Flying Harlem Globetrotters, and Jordan and Nelson's Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream.
Joshi, Anjali. Fast Break
In 1891, James Naismith took a job as a physical education teacher. Two other teachers had failed to curb the enthusiasm of the students, so Naismith tried active games to try to keep the attention of the students. Indoor football, soccer, and lacrosse were too violent, and led to injuries. Not wanting the students to be bored, Naismith drew on his own experience of playing a throwing game called Duck on a Rock and developed a game where soccer balls could be thrown into peach baskets a janitor found for him. He typed up rules that included not running with the ball and not touching other players. The game caught on through word of mouth. There was even a group of women teachers who wanted to play, and one of them eventually married Naismith! By 1936, this new sport was in the Olympics. There is a bit more biographical information about Naismith in the author's note at the end, as well as a short bibliography.
The illustration style is very distinctive, and seems to draw from the stylized Works Projects Administration murals popular in the 1930s. I was surprised that there were students with mustaches, but the artist must have consulted the photograph of Naismith and his students (which appears with the author's note), because there are indeed students sporting facial hair! There is a good sense of movement, and the clothing styles and depictions of rooms and buildings all give a historical feeling to the book.
This would be a great read aloud for elementary schools to celebrate March Madness along with Macy and Collins' Basketball Belles: How Two Teams and One Scrappy Player Put Women's Hoops on the Map, Diep and Giddings' Rising Above: The Wataru "Wat" Misaka Story, Slade and Tate's Swish!: The Slam-Dunking, Alley-Ooping, High-Flying Harlem Globetrotters, and Jordan and Nelson's Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream.
April 14, 2026 by Orca Book Publishers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Twelve-year-old Arjun Arora has just moved from California to Port Hope, Canada for his mother's job as a doctor. He starts Thickson Middle School, and is surprised at the amount of vending machines and advertising for OmniBoost products. It turns out that the company has sponsored the school, renovating the cafeteria and gym as well as providing a new public address video system and new team uniforms. In exchange, the school sells its products and subjects the students to a lot of advertising. Most of the kids think it's great, because they can grab an energy drink from a machine or eat pizza and cookies in the cafeteria. Mr. Grood, from OmniBoost, even address the students in an assembly. Arjun meets Demar, who also plays basketball, which is a relief since hockey is the predominate sport. Jake is also trying out for the team and is welcoming, although Bobby is a jerk. Demar's sister, Denise, is active on the student council and is an anchor on the morning announcements. In health class with Mr. Rowland, a first year teacher, coach, and former hockey star, the students are working on a team project. One morning, Arjun forgets to eat breakfast and doesn't feel well. He asks permission to go to the cafeteria to get something to eat, and after downing an energy drink, he throws up. He is sent home, where his mother suggests he rest and hydrate. He starts to think about what he's been eating, and realizes the food at school isn't healthy, and that all of the sugar he has been consuming is making him tired. This is discussed at home, and his parents want to go to the school and complain, but he tells them he wants to deal with it himself. He talks to Mr. Rowland, who suggests he tread carefully with Principal Jones because of the sponsorship. This was good advice; Jones tells him just to bring things from home. When Arjun sees another student getting "caf cash" because he can't afford to bring food from home, he gathers his friends to fight back. They play their health class project on the dangers of OmniBoost on the morning announcements, and lose the company's sponsorship, putting the school $100,000 in debt. Thanks to social media, they get help, and have a new sponsor in the Toronto Raptors.
Strengths: Does anyone Remember Channel One News? From 1990 until 2018, schools could get free televisions and other media support in exchange for having students watch a 12 minute news program. Apple Computers also had a partnership with schools, and discounted their computers so that teachers would buy them. Corporate sponsorships do exist, but it's important for kids to know that there's no free lunch. I loved that Arjun was able to make friends and get involved in his school even though there was a big culture change. Mr. Rowland is well portrayed. Middle school students are always interested in food and often don't have great diets, so Fast Break delivers a timely message in a fun way.
Weaknesses: While my school district has an exclusive agreement with a soda company, we haven't had student vending machines for years, nor any other sponsorships. Our cafeteria food is fairly healthy, although there is pizza brought in from a rotating selection of vendors. However, since I have witnessed a child eating blue Takis and gummy worms for breakfast, I will let this slide as something that goes on in Canada, because I love that Arjun makes the connection between diet and athletic performance and actively makes a change for his whole school.
What I really think: This series of Orca books is aimed at emerging readers, so books have fewer pages (144), larger font and more white space on the page. I will definitely order a copy, and it will be in constant circulation. This is a great, fast read for kids who are interested in basketball and care about their health. It's similar to Herbach's 2015 Gabe Johnson Takes Over, but is much shorter.
Strengths: Does anyone Remember Channel One News? From 1990 until 2018, schools could get free televisions and other media support in exchange for having students watch a 12 minute news program. Apple Computers also had a partnership with schools, and discounted their computers so that teachers would buy them. Corporate sponsorships do exist, but it's important for kids to know that there's no free lunch. I loved that Arjun was able to make friends and get involved in his school even though there was a big culture change. Mr. Rowland is well portrayed. Middle school students are always interested in food and often don't have great diets, so Fast Break delivers a timely message in a fun way.
Weaknesses: While my school district has an exclusive agreement with a soda company, we haven't had student vending machines for years, nor any other sponsorships. Our cafeteria food is fairly healthy, although there is pizza brought in from a rotating selection of vendors. However, since I have witnessed a child eating blue Takis and gummy worms for breakfast, I will let this slide as something that goes on in Canada, because I love that Arjun makes the connection between diet and athletic performance and actively makes a change for his whole school.
What I really think: This series of Orca books is aimed at emerging readers, so books have fewer pages (144), larger font and more white space on the page. I will definitely order a copy, and it will be in constant circulation. This is a great, fast read for kids who are interested in basketball and care about their health. It's similar to Herbach's 2015 Gabe Johnson Takes Over, but is much shorter.
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