Long Shot [Paperback]

Timothy Tocher (Author)

Book Description

A new Town, a New School, a New Team --
Can Laurie Emerge a Winner?

When eleven-year-old Laurie Bird Preston learns her dad has accepted a job in another town, she's disappointed and angry. Not only will Laurie be leaving her best friend, Christy, and her position on the middle school basketball team, but she'll also have to make new friends in a new school and play for a new basketball team. To complicate matters, her dad's the new girls' basketball coach, and the team is made up of girls who aren't exactly team players or even athletes. But with time, understanding, and help from a quirky kid named Howard, Laurie discovers that being happy in her new home and with her new team might not be such a long shot.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Meadowbrook; Original edition (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689843313
• ISBN-13: 978-0689843310
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 6.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,265,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A resident of New York's Hudson Valley, Timothy Tocher is the author of 4 novels and 1 nonfiction book for middle grade and YA readers. His poetry and short stories appear in many magazines and anthologies. A former teacher, Timothy enjoys visiting schools, libraries and conferences.

ODD BALL: HILARIOUS, UNUSUAL, AND BIZARRE BASEBALL MOMENTS (Marshall Cavendish, 2011) presents some of the oddest and most amusing incidents in baseball's long history using black and white comic strips drawn by the talented Stacy Curtis.

CHIEF SUNRISE, JOHN MCGRAW, AND ME (Cricket Books, 2004) was named a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association. The sequel, BILL PENNANT, BABE RUTH, AND ME (Cricket Books, 2009) received a starred Kirkus review. Newbery Award winning author Richard Peck called it, "Heart speeding history at its finest," in his cover blurb.

LONG SHOT and PLAYING FOR PRIDE (Meadowbrook Press, 2001 and 2002)feature Laurie Bird Preston, a middle school girl who loves to compete in sports. Living in a single parent household, Laurie struggles to match her success in athletics in the other facets of her life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Long Shot's a Winner!, October 10, 2001

By 

Nokaoe (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Long Shot (Paperback)

"Long Shot" is an unusual book on a number of counts, with elements that aren't often found in a single volume of children's "sports" literature. First, it's a sports story in which the protagonist is a girl--a crackerjack basketball player (hurrah!)--and it's well and intelligently written, with lively dialogue and delightful touches of humor. The kids and the adults seem like real people, and the story develops relationships both on and off the basketball court. The author really captures the cliffhanger excitement of competitive sports--and also handles the downside of competition (and its meanness) in a way that kids, both girls and boys, will really be able to relate to. I enjoyed this book so much that I stayed up late one night reading it...and I'm an adult! The kids I gave it to loved it just as much as I did, so it's now on my list of favorites for gifts.