Series in Basketball
Books in Basketball
A Season on the Reservation: My Soujourn With the White Mountain Apaches
The basketball legend shares his adventures coaching a team of White Mountain Apache kids in the basics of the game, learning a good deal along the way about his own love of the game
After the Shot Drops
A powerful novel about friendship, basketball, and one teen's mission to create a better life for his family in the tradition of Jason Reynolds and Walter Dean Myers, from National Book Award Finalist Randy Ribay. “Belongs on the shelf alongside contemporary heavy-hitters like Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give , Brendan Kiely and Jason Reynolds’s All-American Boys , and Nic Stone’s Dear Martin ." — School Library Journal , starred review Bunny and Nasir have been best friends forever, but when Bunny accepts an athletic scholarship across town, Nasir feels betrayed. While Bunny tries to fit in with his new, privileged peers, Nasir spends more time with his cousin, Wallace, who is being evicted. Nasir can't help but wonder why the neighborhood is falling over itself to help Bunny when Wallace is in trouble. When Wallace makes a bet against Bunny, Nasir is faced with an impossible decision—maybe a dangerous one. Told from alternating perspectives, After the Shot Drops is a heart-pounding story about the responsibilities of great talent and the importance of compassion.
Beastly Basketball
Joe knows kung fu. In fact, he loves it more than anything. Every single evening, Joe walks to his neighborhood kung fu studio to practice for hours on end... until the day he arrives to find his studio is closed--permanently. Unperturbed, Joe decides to pursue his second-favorite activity--basketball. He joins his school's team only to find that the players are disorganized, timid, and lacking in discipline! So, Joe uses his experience in martial arts to bring out the best--or beast!--in his teammates by assigning each player a particular style of kung fu that suits their personalities. Will their newfound skills lead to flawless victory, or will they continue to get beaten to the punch?
Boy21
You can lose yourself in repetition--quiet your thoughts; I learned the value of this at a very young age. Basketball has always been an escape for Finley. He lives in broken-down Bellmont, a town ruled by the Irish mob, drugs, violence, and racially charged rivalries. At home, his dad works nights, and Finley is left to take care of his disabled grandfather alone. He's always dreamed of getting out someday, but until he can, putting on that number 21 jersey makes everything seem okay. Russ has just moved to the neighborhood, and the life of this teen basketball phenom has been turned upside down by tragedy. Cut off from everyone he knows, he won't pick up a basketball, but answers only to the name Boy21--taken from his former jersey number. As their final year of high school brings these two boys together, a unique friendship may turn out to be the answer they both need.
Buzzer Beater
Seth Goodwyn just couldn't get it right. He loved basketball but as much as he practiced, he didn't play well in games. The bigger kids on his team picked on him. Judy, the girl next door was totally annoying and his dad just didn't understand him. A stranger from down the street helped change all that. Follow Seth on his journey from deep on the bench to the team hero.
Champion(With: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)
A high school student whose promising basketball career is in jeopardy discovers the triumphs and hardships of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's life as a social justice advocate in this stunningly illustrated graphic novel. Monk Travers is the star basketball player on his high school team. Confident about his future as an NBA player, he doesn’t see the point in caring much about school, let alone his community. But his world is about to change—big time! After getting caught graffitiing his team's rival school, Monk comes to the awful realization that his actions have put his place on the team—and his future—in jeopardy. Fearing the worst, he’s taken by surprise when his coach offers him an unorthodox way to atone: completing a report on the life of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Monk is ecstatic. He knows all Kareem’s records and stats. He smugly announces that the project will be a snap, but his excitement is short-lived when coach tells him that the project is not about Kareem’s basketball career—it’s about his life as an advocate for change. As Monk grudgingly begins his research, he discovers a history of struggles, conflicts, frustrations, and violence that he’d never been aware of, awakening a passion for social justice that rivals Kareem’s own.
Champion(With: Raymond Obstfeld)
A high school student whose promising basketball career is in jeopardy discovers the triumphs and hardships of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's life as a social justice advocate in this stunningly illustrated graphic novel. Monk Travers is the star basketball player on his high school team. Confident about his future as an NBA player, he doesn’t see the point in caring much about school, let alone his community. But his world is about to change—big time! After getting caught graffitiing his team's rival school, Monk comes to the awful realization that his actions have put his place on the team—and his future—in jeopardy. Fearing the worst, he’s taken by surprise when his coach offers him an unorthodox way to atone: completing a report on the life of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Monk is ecstatic. He knows all Kareem’s records and stats. He smugly announces that the project will be a snap, but his excitement is short-lived when coach tells him that the project is not about Kareem’s basketball career—it’s about his life as an advocate for change. As Monk grudgingly begins his research, he discovers a history of struggles, conflicts, frustrations, and violence that he’d never been aware of, awakening a passion for social justice that rivals Kareem’s own.
Diary of a Basketball Hero
Marcus Atkinson is a basketball boss (not!)—but his dad is convinced that Marcus has magic in his bounce. Marcus's humorous adventures are perfect for newly independent and reluctant readers. Marcus is a math whiz who is not good at sports. His dad is a self-help author who thinks Marcus can achieve anything he sets his mind to—with hilarious results. In illustrated diary format, Marcus's gentle, satiric humor and comic drawings will have readers laughing out loud while learning a surprising amount about basketball.
Diary of a Basketball Hero
Marcus Atkinson is a basketball boss (not!)—but his dad is convinced that Marcus has magic in his bounce. Marcus's humorous adventures are perfect for newly independent and reluctant readers. Marcus is a math whiz who is not good at sports. His dad is a self-help author who thinks Marcus can achieve anything he sets his mind to—with hilarious results. In illustrated diary format, Marcus's gentle, satiric humor and comic drawings will have readers laughing out loud while learning a surprising amount about basketball.
Edenville Owls
New York Times bestselling author Robert B. Parker?s first novel for young readers There is something evil in the air ; Bobby senses it. Who is that man he saw arguing with his pretty new English teacher? Bobby knows he should mind his own business, but times are confusing. World War II just ended, and the world is changing? Bobby?s world, especially. There?s Joanie, for one?why does being her friend feel awkward? And then there are his buddies, the junior varsity Edenville Owls?basketball players in need of a leader. Can they help each other off the court as well as they can on it? They will need to.
Hazards of the Half-Court Press
It was the world's fastest summer. A summer of basketball. A summer of growing up. A summer of becoming best friends. School starts in a few days, but first comes the basketball league championship. The Lewis and Clark Squad is in the semifinals. They think their toughest challenge is to beat the other team. Instead, their about to face their greatest adventures off the court. Cody Clark suspects trouble when nobody shows up for practice. Larry Bird Lewis miss a practice? Something big must have happened. With a little detective work Cody learns Feather is in another city and Jeremiah is on his way to Colorado. That leaves only Larry and Cody to play in the semifinals. With a few creative plays and little help from a friend, they might be able to win their game...if they can get past that wild, basketball hungry boar!
Her Good Side
**A New York Times Best Romance Book of the Year** A swoony, heart-melting YA romance from beloved author Rebekah Weatherspoon about two awkward teens who decide to practice dating in order to be good at the real thing. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Jenny Han. Sixteen-year-old Bethany Greene, though confident and self-assured, is what they call a late-bloomer. She’s never had a boyfriend, date, or first kiss. She’s determined to change that but after her crush turns her down cold for Homecoming—declaring her too inexperienced—and all her back-up ideas fall through, she cautiously agrees to go with her best friend’s boyfriend Jacob. A platonic date is better than no date, right? Until her friend breaks up with said boyfriend. Dumped twice in just two months, Jacob Yeun wonders if he’s the problem. After years hiding behind his camera and a shocking summer glow up, he wasn’t quite ready for all the attention or to be someone’s boyfriend. There are no guides for his particular circumstances, or for taking your ex’s best friend to the dance. Why not make the best of an awkward situation? Bethany and Jacob decide to fake date for practice, building their confidence in matters of the heart. And it works—guys are finally noticing Bethany. But things get complicated as their kissing sessions—for research of course!—start to feel real. This arrangement was supposed to help them in dating other people, but what if their perfect match is right in front of them?