Basketball (or Something Like It) [Paperback]

Nora Raleigh Baskin (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Basketball clinics, a revolving door of coaches, incensed parents, and the importance of the right sneakers—is that what the game is about? Told from the perspective of four unlikely friends, Nora Raleigh Baskin's poignant novel focuses on the action, drama, and fun of playing ball and explores what it takes to be a winner of the game—both on the court and off.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8 - Many young basketball players will relate to this story about parents living vicariously through their children's athletic endeavors. In alternating chapters, four sixth graders tell their own stories about how sports affects their lives. Hank is made miserable by the pressure and expectations placed on him by his parents. Nathan desperately wants to play and lies in order to try out for the team because his father's agenda doesn't include sports. Annabel is brushed aside by her father, whose focus is on her brother and his playing time. Jeremy, the best player on the team, has been dumped at his grandmother's by his father's girlfriend. The day these four find themselves in detention together, where they learn about one another's situations, is the turning point of the novel. In the final game of the season, Jeremy's plan to run away is thwarted by a true gesture of friendship from Hank. Hank's parents make an unrealistic turnabout, admiring their son's plot to sit the bench so Jeremy can play. Nathan and his family reconcile their differences about sports, and Annabel becomes the star of the girl's high school basketball team. Even though the plot is predictable, the author's point comes through loud and clear. - Julie Webb, Shelby County High School, Shelbyville, KY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. Baskin's latest, the story of a sixth-grade traveling basketball team based in an affluent suburb, smoothly unfolds through the perspectives of four central characters--Jeremy, Anabel, Nathan, and Hank--who meet when they serve detention together. The teammates' basketball skills vary, but each manages to triumph in some way. Meanwhile, the team's fortunes are hindered by idiotic, foul-mouthed, super-competitive parents who undermine one coach after another. The final chapters focus on the players' friendship through high school and their relationship with the game, which yields a surprise or two at the end. This is a surefire hit--a sports book with a larger focus, told in an original way. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060596120
• ISBN-13: 978-0060596125
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #758,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book for any young sports fan and then some, March 24, 2008

By 

A. Rees (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Basketball (or Something Like It) (Hardcover)

Both my boys loved the book- they are 12 and 10 years old- neither plays basketball- one is a soccer player and the other fences- but they certainly found they could relate to the characters and the dilemmas they faced- any parent who has sat on the sidelines watching their child play a sport can relate as well- has a nice message- we often give copies of this book as a bday gift-

5.0 out of 5 stars Captures the drama in youth sports!, July 26, 2009

By 

Lori Calabrese "Children's Books Examiner... (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Basketball (or Something Like It) (Paperback)

Yes--there's a lot of drama in sports and it's captured in Nora Raleigh Baskin's Basketball (or Something Like It). Baskin catches the action, drama, and fun of playing basketball and it's told from the perspective of four unlikely friends.

The book begins with Hank, listening in on his parents' conversation how the basketball coach is deliberately scheduling clinics to conflict with Hank's soccer playoffs, so the coach's own son will come out looking better. Hank's parents are a bit controlling, insisting that Hank play every game, and that the coach should be fired. We've all seen a player like this on one team or another.

Next is Nathan. Nathan is not very good at basketball, but he brags to his parents that he is. After all, he's the only black kid in the whole North Bridge sixth grade. Throughout the season, Nathan tells his parents how great he is, but will he be able to pull of his lie when his parents show up at the final game of the season?

Then there's Jeremy. Jeremy is a great player who temporarily lives with his grandmother after moving from the city to North Bridge. However, feeling a bit isolated and alone in North Bridge, Jeremy really doesn't want to play basketball this year. But with a little nudging and a payoff from his grandmother, Jeremy agrees to try out.

To add a bit of a girl factor to the story, we also have Anabel. Anabel's brother, Michael plays on the team and Anabel has been dragged to every game since she could remember. Anabel knows that basketball could be fun if you take out the parents, the arguments, the tension, and the expectations.

What I really enjoyed about this story were the characters and the alternating third-person narratives. Anyone who has ever played on a sports team will be able to relate to them, feel for them, and cheer for them. It's interesting to see how sports affect each young athlete differently--from parents living vicariously through their children, the pressure of trying to impress parents, and girls being cast aside while sports expectations are placed on sons.The team endures some humiliating losses, the loss of coach after coach, and the reality of putting up with demanding parents, but in the end, the theme of team and friendship prevails. A great read for any sports fan!