Hoop Queens [Hardcover]

Charles R. Smith Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Cheer on twelve professional women basketball players with a collection of vivid poems by Charles R. Smith Jr. set against vibrant photographs of the players in action.


Seven-foot-two-inch Margo Dydek blocks shots like a "Fly Swatter." Ticha Penicheiro feeds the ball to her teammates like a "Chef . . . mixing / and tossing / and chopping / and whipping." And then there’s "Fire Starter" Chamique Holdsclaw, rapidly racking up points and "blazing a trail with moves that scorch."

These are just three of the twelve women profiled by Charles R. Smith Jr. in a remarkable group of poems honoring the unique talents and determination of some of the best female players in professional basketball. With its arresting visual layout, action photographs on craft paper, and kinetic lyrics illustrating each player’s style, HOOP QUEENS will grab the attention of any kid who loves basketball - and score a slam-dunk with teachers of poetry. The book’s special cover treatment includes a cloth spine and cover stamping, giving a textured feel.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8-Smith, the author of Short Takes: Fast Break Basketball Poetry (Dutton, 2001), returns to basketball with these lyrical rap poetry tributes to 12 WNBA stars. He gives each player a nickname based on her style, and launches into his ode with all the excitement and grace of the game. For example, Ticha Penicheiro, "The Chef," is described: "Racing and running/and spinning and swerving/in total control/while feeding and serving/delicious assists/with wrist-flick tricks,/Chef T serves/dishes with slick/style and/skill,/finesse and/flair-." Chamique Holdsclaw, the "Fire Starter," throws the winning basket: "Finger-roll finish/for last-second win,/rising and floating/like smoke/to the rim./Blazing a trail/with moves that scorch,/another hot performance/from The Human Torch." Sheryl Swoopes, "The Board Snatcher/BulletPass Catcher,/charging hard/through-the-lane/coming-right-at-ya.-/The Ball Stripper/Defense Slipper,/right-side fadeaway/net-cord-ripper" is nicknamed, simply, "All That." Action photos of the athletes are pasted large on colorful, dynamic backgrounds that barely hold the motion-filled poems to the page. Notes about each player and poem communicate the joy Smith finds both in watching the game and writing poetry. Pure pleasure for basketball fans and inspiration for kids who doubted poetry was alive, this book, like Swoopes, is "all that."-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. Like his previous poetry titles about basketball, Rimshots (1999), Short Takes (2001), and Tall Tales (2002), Smith's latest captures the rhythms, sounds, and excitement of the court. This time he celebrates WNBA players in poems that use metaphors to describe each athlete. Ticha Penicheiro, for example is "The Chef," serving "dishes with slick / style and / skill, / finesse and / flair, / feeding teammates while twisting midair." The photo-collages, with muted colors printed on matte paper, aren't as striking as those in Smith's previous titles, but the poems crackle with the beat, wordplay, and compulsive chant-along appeal of rap: "Point leader/ stat line feeder, / last-second / shot-making / OT Buzzer-Beater." Young basketball fans will have a hard time keeping still while they read these tributes to astonishing athletes, and Smith's infectious wordplay may encourage them to invent their own creative ways to describe the things they love. Concluding author's notes talk about each poem's inspiration. A great choice to energize poetry units. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; Library Binding edition (July 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076361422X
• ISBN-13: 978-0763614225
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,374,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It shoots, it scores!, July 23, 2004

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hoop Queens (Hardcover)

Though published through a children's book publishing house, you cannot say that this is necessarily a book intended for the eyes of kids only. Anyone who has ever loved the WNBA, anyone who has a favorite player that is featured in this book, and anyone who loves poetry OR basketball will enjoy this book. A ribald collection of photographic images and odes to individual WNBA players, Charles R. Smith Jr. has created the ultimate loving tribute to twelve of his favorite muses.

First of all, I am not personally a WNBA fan. So in reviewing this book I can't tell you whether or not the twelve women featured in this book are the current top twelve players, the past top twelve players, or just random players that Smith thinks are especially talented. For each woman pictured here, Smith has written a poem. We begin with "Fly Swatter", dedicated to the great height and skill of Margo Dydek. This poem, like all the others, shows a picture of the woman featured in sepia tones doing exactly what the poem says she's doing. So Tina Thompson's poem "T 4 2" shows her scoring a two-pointer while Nykesha Sales's, "The Bomb" shows the ultimate jump shot. The poems are written with a bouncy fast-paced style that's sure to please any burgeoning poet or sports fan. For example, a poem about Ticha Penicheiro says, "Racing and running/and spinning and swerving/ in total control/ while feeding and serving/ delicious assists/ with wrist-flick tricks/ Chef T serves/ dishes with slick/ style and/ skill". They're all like that. Tricky enjoyable little spots of poetry that laud some of Smith's favorite players and talents.

In the back of the book Smith has included little bios of each player and the reason he wrote the poem he did for each. If the poems themselves were complimentary, these bios are positively worshipful. Still, I think what Smith has done here is give each person an individual identity. A lesser writer (or fan, for that matter) might be tempted to lump these women into a single group without individual personalities or traits. Smith works hard to display each person with the dignity and talent they so rightly possess.

The book's covers are apparently made of cardboard, which struck me as a little odd. Still, despite this bizarre packaging the book's a worthy addition to any sports fan's home. If you've been scouring the shelves for WNBA poetry and have found yourself coming up short, I believe you'll be happy to find this little number ready and waiting for you. It may not contain the most thought provoking poems in the world, but it accomplishes what it set out to do. It praises its subjects fervently and beautifully.