Around The World [School & Library Binding]

John Coy (Author), Antonio Reonegro (Illustrator), Tom Lynch (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-4–A pickup basketball game in New York City expands to similar scenes of kids and hoops in nine other locations around the world. Cartoon panels show a girl named Tanika leading a fast break, then a page turn shifts to a moonlit court in Perth at the same moment. The Australian kids complete their fast break and subsequent spreads take readers to China, Turkey, and other locations before returning to the finish of the New York game. Comic-book-style artwork captures the speed and motion of the sport with elongated figures and good use of small panels inset within larger views. Game details come through in dialogue bubbles, sound effects (thwack! and swish), and play-by-play description: Vladimir finds Marko, who drives baseline. The language and look of the players convey their differences, as do the various venues, from an indoor Serbian gym to cool beachside hoops in Puerto Rico. Court action includes arguments, injuries, and rough play, along with fancy passes and finger rolls. This helps reaffirm the commonalities of the sport, regardless of the setting. Tanika's game of around the world that begins and ends the book is a slightly forced tie-in to the international theme but serves as a suitable framework for the more fast-paced scenes in between. This title helps fill the need for books about kids from different countries, with particular appeal to fans of comics or basketball or both.–Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR
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Review

A fast and furious street-basketball game is played in an original graphic style: from action-packed spread to spread, the ball travels from New York to countries including Nigeria, China, and Brazil and back to New York. Despite the schematic concept, the book, featuring comic-strip dialogue boxes capturing the young players' telegraphic speech patterns, will hook readers. -- The Horn Book Guide

In the hottest and most cosmic hoops contest since Kevin O'Malley's Mount Olympus Basketball (2003), Coy shifts the court between shots from New York to Perth, to Shanghai, then Istanbul and on around the world. The players may change with each turn of the page, but the game stays the same, and so does the fast-break pace: In Lagos, just as "Obinna muscles for position and jumps for rebound," [turn] "On a court in Paris, France, Jerome slaps the rebound-FWAPP! He tosses to Antoine, who jets up the floor." The art is all energy, with thickly drawn figures flying across panels and spreads past comic-book style dialogue balloons and text boxes. Opening and closing with Tanika and Jamal shooting "Around the World" on a playground in New York (instructions for play appended), Coy and the illustrators give the speed, the physicality and especially the international scope fo the game a real slam dunk. -- Kirkus Reviews

Take a fantastic journey around the world as teams in ten countries--Australia, China, Turkey, Serbia, Nigeria, France, Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United States--play an unusual game of basketball. Beginning with a map that shows each locale, the game starts in New York where Jamal and his sister play on a rooftop court. As the action continues, the athletes change but the game continues, offering a glimpse at the universality of sports. Boys and girls will be attracted not only to the topic, but also to the comic book-style layout, featuring multiple panels one each page, dialogue bubbles, and action-packed perspectives. After the game returns to New York, an afterword page provides instructions for playing the game in your neighborhood. -- PARENT: WISE AUSTIN

Grab a courtside seat as an everyday game of Around the World takes readers on an extraordinary journey. Beginning in New York City, the comic book-style text transports readers from game to game on a ten-city tour that will have them bouncing with delight. -- LEARNING Magazine

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• School & Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Lee & Low Books (December 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584302445
• ISBN-13: 978-1584302445
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #597,754 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hi, I'm the author of the picture books Night Driving, Strong to the Hoop, Vroomaloom Zoom, Two Old Potatoes and Me, and Around the World. Strong to the Hoop is also available in Spanish as Directo Al Aro and Two Old Potatoes and Me is available in Chinese.

I am a member of the NBA Reading All-Star Team as part of the Read to Achieve program. Crackback, my first young adult novel, is about high school football and my second, Box Out, is about high school basketball.

I am working on a middle-grade series and the first two books, Top of the Order and Eyes on the Goal, are now out. Love of the Game, the third book will be published in October of 2011. I live in Minneapolis and visit schools nationally and internationally.

Check out www.johncoy.com for more information, and yes, it's fine to use the material for author studies.