Slam Dunk! [Mass Market Paperback]

Sharon Robinson (Author)

Book Description

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

Jumper is back in this lively sequel to SAFE AT HOME . . . and this time he's running for student council!

Elijah "Jumper" Breeze is settling into his new home in Harlem--though it hasn't been easy since his father died and his mother moved them from the suburbs.
Still, he made friends at summer camp and he's eager to see them at his new middle school. Jumper is looking forward to hitting the books and hitting the court for some serious b-ball. Then his best friend, Kelvin, talks him into running for student council and suddenly life gets a lot more complicated! He needs to out-poll Nia, his fiercest opponent in the student council race, and doesn't want to lose her friendship in the process.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Suburban Connecticut transplant Elijah Jumper Breeze (Safe at Home, 2006) returns here in a story featuring a sport more to his liking than baseball—basketball. Friend Nia and her brother Marcus, Jumper's nemesis from summer camp, are on hand again, as Jumper begins sixth grade in his new Harlem school. This time, however, it's Nia who gets in Jumper's face. Nia's all-girls basketball team beats Jumper's boys team in an embarrassing exhibition match, and she decides to oppose Jumper in a bid for class student-council rep. The question then becomes, Can Jumper and Nia be both friends and competitors? The dialogue feels a little strained ("It's slammin'," "Word!"), and the basketball scenes are perhaps too few for real sport fans. While serious issues broached in the earlier book (Marcus' anger and Jumper's grieving for his father) are given renewed attention, this is really an amiable story about friends who stay that way, a theme that translates well in any community. Zvirin, Stephanie --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

SHARON ROBINSON is an educational consultant for Major League Baseball. She has written several nonfiction books about her father, including Promises to Keep: How Jackie Robinson Changed America. She is also the author of the novel Safe at Home. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks; Reprint edition (February 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439672007
• ISBN-13: 978-0439672009
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,237,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sharon Robinson is an author and educational consultant for Major League Baseball (MLB). She has written four books about her father, including most recently Jackie's Gift: A true Story of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Jackie Robinson with illustrator E.B. Lewis (Viking, 2010), Testing the Ice: A true story of Jackie Robinson with illustrator, Kadir Nelson (Scholastic, 2009). She has also written two middle-grade novels. In her work with MLB, Ms Robinson directs the national character education program: Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life. The program is in it's 15th year and has reached over 19 million children. Prior to joining Major League Baseball, Sharon had a twenty-year career as a nurse-midwife. She taught in such prestigious universities as: Columbia, Howard, Georgetown, and Yale. Ms. Robinson holds a BS from Howard University and MS from Columbia University as well as several honorary doctorates. Sharon Robinson lives in New York City and Apollo Beach, Florida. Learn more about Sharon and her books at www.sharonrobinsonink.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whether or not you're a basketball fan, this book truly is a slam dunk!, August 11, 2008

By 

A Customer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slam Dunk! (Hardcover)

Elijah "Jumper" Breeze has survived a rough summer. After his dad died unexpectedly from a heart attack, he and his mom moved from the suburbs in Connecticut to the urban community of Harlem to live with his grandmother. That meant an entirely new neighborhood, new friends and no father to stand next to him. Nevertheless, Jumper survived, meeting some great people, being introduced to a new sport at baseball camp, and even learning how to work together with a bully named Marcus. And he managed all of this without quitting! His dad would be so proud of him.

Now that the summer is over, Jumper faces a new challenge --- sixth grade. He has a bit of trouble managing the locker and getting to all of his classes on time, but within a few weeks, he settles into a routine. Then he finds out that the school is forming a new basketball team; basketball is where Jumper really shines. He and his friends arrive at the first meeting brimming with excitement, but there is a rather major challenge to overcome: a flood the previous year destroyed the gymnasium's floor. The school is trying to repair the damages, but will it be done before the basketball season begins?

Jumper's friend, Nia, has a wonderful idea. She suggests a basketball match of girls versus boys to raise the last bit of money needed to repair the gym. Both teams dive into practice for the big game. Nia then comes to Jumper with another problem. Her brother, Marcus, was kicked out of his school and will be coming to theirs. This is the same Marcus who bullied Jumper during the summer. Nia asks Jumper to invite Marcus to join the basketball team in hopes of getting him involved and more comfortable. But will Marcus go back to his bullying ways?

Before any of these situations can be resolved, yet another challenge presents itself. The school announces elections for class officers. Both Jumper and Nia decide to run for sixth grade representatives. The race is on to see who can come up with the most unusual and attention-grabbing campaign. Nia is more popular and well known, but Jumper and his friends come up with some amazing ideas to rock the sixth grade off their feet. Now Jumper is swamped with schoolwork, basketball practice and campaigning. He knows quitting isn't an option, so he turns to his family and friends to help him get through with lots of support, a bit of imagination and a whole lot of laughs.

SLAM DUNK! is the action-packed sequel to 2006's SAFE AT HOME. Sharon Robinson does an amazing job conveying to readers the struggles that Jumper faces as a sixth grader. Her characters are likable and relatable, and the story moves along with plenty of dialogue and problem solving. Whether or not you're a basketball fan, this book truly is a slam dunk!

--- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND