Chris Skallerup yearns to be more than a benchwarmer on the Oak View Middle School basketball team. To improve his game, he turns to one of his best friends, the high-scoring star of the middle school girls' team, Greta "Gretzky" Pemberton. But, it's Greta's mom-who was a high school basketball star without ever making a basket-who teaches him that defense is just as important as offense to a team's success on the court.
With the help of Greta and her mom, Chris begins to change his defensive strategy and successfully learns to keep his opponents from scoring. To his surprise, Chris becomes a valuable player on the school team while hardly scoring at all.
In the sports history epilogue, readers learn about the development of women's basketball and the teamwork-building six-on-six game.
"Bowen is quickly joining the ranks of today's most popular sports-fiction authors.... he skillfully interweaves fact and fiction and uses historical sports plays and concepts as a backdrop for the story." ?School Library Journal
"If you are a sports fan or just love sports books, you should check out the new AllStar SportStory series by Fred Bowen.... Bowen is a natural when it comes to writing sports stories and informing his readers about the past. These books are perfect for kids ages 8 to 12." ?Newsday
"[Bowen's] pace is excellent and he has a knack for efficient evocation...." ?Washington Post
Leveling Information
Accelerated Reader
AR Quiz#: 25215
AR Reading Level: 4.2
AR Points: 2
F&P (Fountas & Pinnell)
F&P Level: Q
F&P Grade: 4
Reading Counts
Reading Counts Level: 3.5
Reading Counts Points: 6
Reading Counts Interest Level: 3-5
Additional Info
Color Info: black & white illustrations
Categories
Fiction
Middle Reader
Sports
ANN BARROW has illustrated six titles in the AllStar SportStory series--The Kid Coach, Playoff Dreams, Full Court Fever, Off the Rim, The Final Cut, and On the Line. Her illustrations have also appeared in Cricket magazine and numerous books. She earned a degree in English literature and in painting from the University of Massachusetts, and has taught courses in children's book illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design. Barrow lives with her family in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.
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