Hoop Kings 2: New Royalty by Charles R. Smith Jr.

When a new student recently told me  I should ”get a poetry book about LeBron James” I knew I’d found the perfect reader for Charles R. Smith Jr.’s Hoop Kings. All the copies of Hoop Kings copies were checked out from my site’s library but  I was happy to discover  that author Smith had published a sequel back in 2021 in the midst of the pandemic.

 Hoop Kings 2: New Royalty  is an appealingly  slim volume that includes  a poem entitled “Royalty” about none other than LeBron James.

Similar in style to the first  Hoop Kings, the bold graphic design of this sequel, the large size of the font, and the brevity,  specificity,  and rhythms of the ten or so poems are made entirely accessible to developing readers. 

The  backmatter includes poem notes and short paragraphs by the poet fleshing out a bit of his poetic process, thoughts, struggles and goals for each poem, a perfect snippet to help new, young poets think about their art.  Highly recommended for older emerging and developing readers who love basketball.  --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Smith J., Charles R.  Hoop Kings 2: New Royalty.  Somerville: Candlewick Press, 2021.

Click here for a teaching guide from the publisher.  Contains a few ideas for content area applications in Social Studies, Math, and Art in addition to ELA/Writing.

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

Pregnant and desperately poor, fifteen-year-old Esch lives with her two older brothers, high school basketball star Randall and pitbull-raising Skeetah, her baby brother Junior, and her widowed, underemployed, and alcoholic father in rural Louisiana.  Set during the week before Hurricane Katrina descends, Salvage the Bones heart-wrenchingly depicts Esch’s scorching love for her brother’s friend, Skeetah’s Greek tragedy-like devotion to his pitbull and her litter of puppies, Randall’s hopes of attending basketball camp where he’s sure to be noticed by college scouts, Junior’s search for a connection to the mother who died giving birth to him, and their father’s futile attempts to prepare for the unimaginable.  Themes of love, family, friendship, loyalty, and betrayal are thick throughout this many-layered story.  A modern classic for a strong reader.  --Anne Lotito-Schuh

Ward, Jesmyn. Salvage the Bones. New York: Bloomsbury, 2011. Print.

Sports Illustrated Basketball’s Greatest

“In the clutch, who would you rather have with the ball, Magic Johnson or Larry Bird?”  Sports Illustrated’s Basketball’s Greatest is another pictorial with dramatic and artistic photographs of the most famous men in basketball, filling the void left by books like DK’s Basketball’s Best Shots when they go out of print.  Yes, only men.  To their credit, this edition includes the editors’ notes on how they created the rankings and lists the writers and editors whose opinions counted on page ten.  Back matter includes full lists of all nominees for each category.  Less sophisticated readers will appreciate the treasury of photographs, most in full-color, in this oversized coffee table book.  More sophisticated readers will enjoy the articles authored by some of the most famous and most prolific Sports Illustrated writers.  All basketball lovers will find much to discuss, similar to Sports Illustrated’s Kids’ edition on this same topic.  The two make an interesting comparison:  what do publishers do differently when they are trying to sell a book for a younger audience and why?  Perfect for media units and scaffolding the common core’s emphasis on analyzing nonfiction text for audience. --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Skyen, Bill. (Editor).  Sports Illustrated Basketball’s Greatest.  New York: Time Home Entertainment, 2014.

Slam Dunk! The Top 10 Lists of Everything in Basketball by Sports Illustrated Kids

Greatest basketball player of all time...well, let’s just say that SIK’s pick won’t surprise you and this book is full of rankings that will inspire controversy among readers passionate about basketball.  The large format size emphasizes the full-color photos, sure to appeal to social readers and browsers, as well as serious fans and players.  Foregoing an introduction in favor of jumping right into “Top 10 Greatest Players,” this volume encompasses thirty-two lists, some spread out over several pages, and including topics such as “coolest jerseys,” “teams,” “trades,” and “WNBA players,”... What’s that?  You can’t believe that women don’t show up until page thirty-four and none are among the “greatest players?”  Me neither.  This book will be popular anyway.  Fodder for discussion on multiple fronts.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Sports Illustrated Kids.  Slam Dunk!  Top 10 Lists of Everything In Basketball.  New York: Time Hope Entertainment, 2014.

Slam Kicks: Basketball Sneakers that Changed the Game edited by Ben Osborne

With a simple, yet inviting cover and colorful photographs of sneakers and the basketball stars who wore them on every page, this new acquisition has quickly become one of the most popular books in the Bronx Hope library. In addition to the attention-grabbing pictures is a collection of articles ranging from sneaker collecting to the history of the Nike Air Jordan I. The articles may not be the initial draw for students, but because they’re written in an accessible style similar to what might be found in a magazine, students are likely to pick up some interesting facts about the basketball sneaker business just through browsing. Highly recommended for basketball and/or sneaker enthusiasts and reluctant readers of all ages. --Anja Kennedy

Osborne, Ben, ed.  Slam Kicks: Basketball Sneakers that Changed the Game.  New York: Universe-Rizzoli, 2013.  Print.

The Brooklyn Nets

Two new books about Brooklyn’s own Nets have arrived in Belmont’s library and both are slim volumes with a heavy bent on the Nets’ history.  Wyner focuses more on the team’s current incarnation and will probably appeal more to reluctant readers with its engaging narrative style.  There are some differences in points of view between the two volumes’ authors, so these might make for a useful pairing as teachers lead students into Common Core ELA Informational text standards.  Neither text contains a bibliography, but Frager’s backmatter includes a timeline, index, and glossary.  Both begin with a table of contents and contain a generous helping of pictures throughout their 48 pages.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Frager, Ray.  Brooklyn Nets.  Edina: ABDO Publishing, 2012.  Print.

Wyner, Zach.  On The Hardwood: Brooklyn Nets.  La Jolla: MVP Books, 2014.  Print.

Big Guys Don’t Shrink: Basketball’s Best Quotes & Quips by Eric Zweig

“These young guys are playing checkers.  I’m out there playing chess.” - Kobe Bryant

This collection of deep thoughts, sarcastic quips, brags, and ponderings from some of basketball’s biggest personalities is full of attitude, humor, and, at times, wisdom.  Big Guys Don’t Shrink is a stylish book, making good use of typography and white space, including eye-catching punches of color, and with full page color photos sprinkled generously throughout.  Including over 400 quotes, this low-stress read is popular with sports fans and offers a unique look at the sport over the last few decades.  Organized thematically, the table of contents includes sections such as, “Foul Play,” “Gettin Old,” “Snappy Answers,“ and “Weakest Link.”  Looking for a quote from a specific player?  No problem - they are indexed by player name. --Regan Schwartz

Zweig, Eric. Big Guys Don’t Shrink: Basketball’s Best Quotes & Quips. Buffalo, NY: Firefly Books, 2008. Print.

NBA Champions: New York Knicks by Aaron Frisch

Don’t like to read?  This book, and others in the NBA Champions series, have become some of the more heavily-relied upon go-to books.  Go-to, that is,  for students who tell me the first time I meet them in Belmont’s library that they “hate to read and don’t want to see nothing.”  If, in response to my questioning about other interests, they mention basketball, I can usually solicit the name of their favorite team, go to our sports section, and return, handily, with a title from this series.  Silent perusal of the book is most often what I observe next.  What’s inside?  Twenty-four full-color pages with historical pictures and one or two sentences per page.  The captions for the photos are short and accessible.  This book is perfect for the emergent reader who is a Knicks fan and struggling in an independent reading situation.  The text, while unthrilling, does a serviceable job of engaging the reader’s attention in a few facts about the Knicks.  Did you know they formed in 1946?  Or what “Knicks” is short for?  I didn’t either--until now.  A table of contents, an index and glossary make this a suitable pick for reading specialists introducing non-fiction.  --Jessica Fenster-Sparber

Frisch, Aaron.  NBA Champions: The New York Knicks.  Mankato:  Creative Paperbacks, 2012.