Travel Team (Paperback)

~ (Author) "HE KNEW HE WAS SMALL..." (more)
Key Phrases: travel basketball, layup line, travel team, Richie Walker, Ali Walker, Teddy Moran (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–Danny is a basketball fanatic. He is smart, talented, fast, and dedicated, but short. When he fails to make the seventh-grade travel team, he also fails to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father, Richie Walker, who led his own 12-year-old team to win the nationals and whose career was tragically ended by a car accident. Danny, who lives with his warm and supportive mom, has a somewhat stilted relationship with his less-reliable father. Danny did not make the squad because of the machinations of Richie's childhood nemesis, Mr. Ross, a controlling man who is determined to build a winning team. Although this text lacks only the stage directions and music cues to make the transition to the small screen as a Hallmark special, it really is a fun book for sports fans. Danny and the others cut from the travel team predictably form their own squad, coached by his father who battles alcoholism (and another car accident!) to lead them, with Danny's leadership, to the climactic game against their arch rivals. Although the kids compare themselves to the Bad News Bears, they are strictly old-school, harkening back to Stephen W. Meader's Sparkplug of the Hornets(Harcourt, 1968; o.p.). There's even a sweetly innocent romance with a wise-beyond-her-years girl who uses IM/chat to provide Danny with support just when he needs it most. A round-ball heart-warmer.–Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-8. Danny Walker is crushed when he doesn't make the Vikings, the seventh-grade basketball team. He is told that he is too short, but he suspects that the real reason has something to do with the bad blood between his divorced father (a former NBA star whose career was cut short by a car accident) and Mr. Ross, the father of the team's best player. Then Danny's father announces that he is starting his own youth team, but unexpected setbacks sideline his dad and the team until Danny steps in and coaches the team himself. Some readers may find that the story drags at times, and sports cliches fill the final pages. Still, Lupica creates a sports novel that is rich in details; this is one of the few novels about basketball, for example, that actually mentions zone defenses rather than the perennial one-on-one scenes in most basketball novels. Many fans of sports fiction will like this. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (August 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142404624
• ISBN-13: 978-0142404621
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,690 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #2 in	Books > Children's Books > Sports & Activities > Sports > Basketball > Fiction
  #22 in	Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Social Situations > Self-Esteem & Self-Respect > Fiction
  #30 in	Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Family Life > Multigenerational > Fiction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, October 29, 2004

By	Luke Iverson "L.D" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Travel Team (Hardcover)

Mike Lupica has a masterpiece with this book. This is one of the best book's I have ever read. It's suggestion on the age level on this book's site isnt correct according to me. I think this book should be read by 12-15 year olds, thus because it deals with so many serious situations. This is a great comeback story, and i hope my review can convince you to by it.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 7th grade book club choice, November 22, 2004

By	LARS (Chicago area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Travel Team (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book. I read Mike Lupica's novels and ordered this book on their strength. My daughter heard me laughing while reading it and wanted to see what was so funny. Now a group of 12 year old girls are reading it for their book club and love it. This book really is for the 11 to 14 year old age group, but don't be misled by the subject matter the girls are finding lots to interest them including the ones who have no interest in basketball.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I have ever read!, December 17, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Travel Team (Hardcover)

"Travel Team" is a great book about a boy named Danny and his travel team of rejects which his Dad, Richie Walker, former NBA star and child basketball hero, coaches. The main reason I like this book is because it is realistic and gives a good picture of what kids this age can do on the court. As a youth basketball player myself, I can say the descriptions of the basketball games were phenomenal, and accurate. It was also interesting to see references to real things and people, such as LeBron James and Tracy McGrady. I highly recommend this book to people who like sports and basketball, and for people who like good come-from-behind stories like "Hoosiers". This book is good for people age 11 through 15, but anyone would enjoy it. Travel Team was so good that I hope Mike Lupica writes a sequel!