Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1169270 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .39" h x 10.10" w x 10.14" l, .90 pounds
• Binding: School & Library Binding
• 31 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 5 Up?Through unusual fonts and splashes of color, the design of this book mirrors the exuberant nature of this American pastime. Like the game, the poems are quick, energetic, and highly rhythmic, and the prose pieces, personal and passionate. The author/photographer reveals his unabashed love of the game and insight into the personal dynamics of the sport in each double-page spread. The pieces are both varied and accessible. In the humorous narrative "No Sole," different voices lecture a player complaining about how much his new shoes hurt. Each narrator remembers how it was "when I was your age," from no high-tech shoes, to no new shoes, to no shoes at all. In '"Please Put Me In, Coach!!"' a boy's pleading voice promises "not to hog," and "I'll listen to you now" if only he can go back in the game. "School's in Session" and "The Sweetest Roll" are gracefully shaped poems that will inspire students to create their own selections. The concluding piece, "Everything I Need to Know in Life, I Learned from Basketball," will surely find its way onto locker-room and gymnasium walls. All of the superb dual-toned photographs depict young men. Once students and teachers become aware of this title, it will bounce right off the shelves.?Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Mixing poetry, memoir, short fiction, and photography, Smith pays a fast-break tribute to the pleasures and pains of b-ball, from being benched (`` `Please Put Me In, Coach!!' ''); to playing ``Hot Like Fire,'' on the way to scoring 65 points; remembering ``the time when my dad could no longer play one on one; or how a new kid, ``Meek,'' proved himself on the court, once he was given a chance. Figures in the photos are blurred, clipped, or shot from behind, giving the illustrations an arty look, and the author is fond to excess of text in multiple colors and typefaces, but for range of experience and immediacy of feeling, this blows past Robert Burleigh's Hoops (1997). Smith closes with another tribute, to the African-American athletes, musicians, and artists who have meant the most to him. (Poetry. 8-11) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ingram
This major debut from a talented young writer and photographer is an entertaining medley of quick stories, poems, jokes, and prose meditations focusing on "The Game" as played by high school and college hopefuls, street warriors, and the pros they all admire. Gritty duotone photos of street courts and young urban players provide the perfect venue for the bold design of the text.