Long Shot (Comeback Kids) [Mass Market Paperback]

Mike Lupica (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Comeback Kids

Pedro Morales loves playing basketball, but he's more of a team guy than a star - that would be Ned Hancock, the best player in their entire town. The two boys get along well, but their friendship is threatened when Pedro decides to run against Ned for class president. The election starts to affect their team, and Pedro learns who his real friends are and the best way to work together on and off the court.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 3-6–Pedro Morales loves to play basketball, and as the point guard on his schools team, he knows that being successful on the court means being a good teammate. However, when Pedro decides to run for class president against the most popular boy in his grade, who also happens to be the school's star basketball player, he has to learn the hard way that not everyone is a team player. Drawing on his knowledge of the sport, Mike Lupica's novel ((Philomel, 2008) sends kids a message about the importance of cooperation and teamwork both on and off the court, without being preachy and didactic. Keith Nobbs's narration engages listeners and brings the characters to life. For fans of the series as well as reluctant readers.Amy Joslyn, Fairport Public Library, NY
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

About the Author

Mike Lupica is the author of many novels for sports fans. His columns for the New York Daily News are syndicated nationally, and he is a regular on ESPN's The Sports Reporters. Partial to the little guys, Mr. Lupica enjoys coaching youth basketball. He lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his wife and their four children.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Puffin; Reprint edition (March 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142415200
• ISBN-13: 978-0142415207
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Sports & Activities > Sports > Basketball
  • #19 in Books > Children's Books > Sports & Games > Sports > Basketball
  • #30 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Sports & Activities > Sports > General

More About the Author

Mike Lupica is one of the most prominent sports writers in America. His longevity at the top of his field is based on his experience and insider's knowledge, coupled with a provocative presentation that takes an uncompromising look at the tumultuous world of professional sports. Today he is a syndicated columnist for the New York Daily News, which includes his popular "Shooting from the Lip" column, which appears every Sunday. He began his newspaper career covering the New York Knicks for the New York Post at age 23. He became the youngest columnist ever at a New York paper with the New York Daily News, which he joined in 1977. For more than 30 years, Lupica has added magazines, novels, sports biographies, other non-fiction books on sports, as well as television to his professional resume. For the past fifteen years, he has been a TV anchor for ESPN's The Sports Reporters. He also hosted his own program, The Mike Lupica Show on ESPN2. In 1987, Lupica launched "The Sporting Life" column in Esquire magazine. He has published articles in other magazines, including Sport, World Tennis, Tennis, Golf Digest, Playboy, Sports Illustrated, ESPN: The Magazine, Men's Journal and Parade. He has received numerous honors, including the 2003 Jim Murray Award from the National Football Foundation. Mike Lupica co-wrote autobiographies with Reggie Jackson and Bill Parcells, collaborated with noted author and screenwriter, William Goldman on Wait Till Next Year, and wrote The Summer of '98, Mad as Hell: How Sports Got Away from the Fans and How We Get It Back and Shooting From the Lip, a collection of columns. In addition, he has written a number of novels, including Dead Air, Extra Credits, Limited Partner, Jump, Full Court Press, Red Zone, Too Far and national bestsellers Wild Pitch and Bump and Run. Dead Air was nominated for the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best First Mystery and became a CBS television move, "Money, Power, Murder" to which Lupica contributed the teleplay. Over the years he has been a regular on the CBS Morning News, Good Morning America and The MacNeil-Lehrer Newshour. On the radio, he has made frequent appearances on Imus in the Morning since the early 1980s. His previous young adult novels, Travel Team, Heat, Miracle on 49th Street, and the summer hit for 2007, Summer Ball, have shot up the New York Times bestseller list. Lupica is also what he describes as a "serial Little League coach," a youth basketball coach, and a soccer coach for his four children, three sons and a daughter. He and his family live in Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good sports novel for tween boys, December 16, 2008

By 

M. Tanenbaum (Claremont, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Long Shot: Mike Lupica's Comeback Kids (Comeback Kids Series) (Hardcover)

Sixth grader Pedro is an excellent basketball player. When he decides to run for class president against Ned, his teammate, a fabulously talented basketball player and one of the most popular boys at school, it creates problems for Pedro both on and off the court. This book includes lots of basketball jargon, description of plays, and strategies, but also incorporates strong "family values" in the strong relationship between Pedro and his dad Luis. The author emphasizes teamwork over individual efforts as the way to win in sports as well as life.

4.0 out of 5 stars My 9 year old enjoys this series, October 11, 2011

By 

mairob "mairob" (Big Apple) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Long Shot (Comeback Kids Series) (Kindle Edition)

He's an athlete and he enjoys reading. I thought this might be a little too advanced for him but it's right on the mark. His favorite was the Comeback Kids that focused on football. He thought that was the best out of the bunch, but liked this one very much too and would recommend it to any boy who enjoys playing sports and loves sports movies geared toward kids.