Full Court Pressure (Sports Illustrated Kids Graphic Novels)

Description

Star defensive player Zack Fuller is in a tough spot. His new Panthers teammates don't trust him. The players on the Bulldogs, his old squad, think he's a traitor for leaving. When the two teams face each other in the playoffs, Zack has to guard his former best friend. To make matters worse, the Panthers captain refuses to pass the ball to Zack. Caught between a Panther and a Bulldog, and in serious foul trouble, Zack will have to find a way to play through the pressure.

Jessica Gunderson grew up in the small town of Washburn, North Dakota. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of North Dakota and an MFA in Creative Writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She has written more than fifty books for young readers. Her book Ropes of Revolution won the 2008 Moonbeam Award for best graphic novel. She currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband and cat. Jorge Gonzalez was born in Monterrey, Mexico, in 1982. Since then, he has dedicated several years of his life to the comic book industry. Jorge began his career as a colorist for the graphic novel retellings of The Time Machine and Journey to the Center of the Earth. In 2006, Jorge, along with several other artists, established Protobunker Studio, where he currently works as a colorist.

Ok, let me start out by announcing that I am NOT a sports fan. I'm not into sports...not a sports person whatsoever. You may have guessed this by the fact that I run a network of nerdy websites. I mean, I review books....what'd you seriously expect, right? Here is the thing with these releases from Capstone Kids [Stone Arch Books]....they rock, plain and simple. Why? Read on.... I gave this stack of books from Capstone and Sports Illustrated Kids to my own children and they went nuts! They too aren't into sports, but these aren't books for jocks. These are extreme sports and the focus is really on the characters and story. The sports hobbies are really just a backdrop. They're fun and interesting and not at all geared just towards jocky kids. We wanted to feature this series and bring them to your attention, whether you're a librarian, teacher or a parent, these titles should be in your possession! They can be purchased in hardback library binding or softcover. http: //booklegiondotcom.blogspot.com/2010/02/sports-illustrated-kids-book-series.html-- "Book Legion" Sports Illustrated Kids, in conjunction with Stone Arch Books, created a series of sports related fictional comic stories for elementary and middle school kids. The comics are designed to teach lessons on teamwork, sharing, anger control, bullying, fair play, disability inclusion, gender inclusion, and other lessons through a sports framework. Both mainstream and alternative sports are included: - Snowboarding - Baseball - Football - Basketball - Paintball - Hockey - Skateboarding - Soccer Many of the stories feature an overenthusiastic or even out-of-control parent or coach who pushes a kid to be overly aggressive and win at all costs. After a quick talk with a sage advisor they change their ways and even apologize to the player. Okay, so it's an ending with a pretty-bow. I'm typically more of a fan of authentic stories rather than teachable moment morality tales or after-school specials, but I understand the place that morality tales play in the classroom especially with younger kids. Considering the discussion of bullying within schools and society recently, perhaps we need more direct instruction on how to treat other people and behave within society. I think these would be well played on the elementary or early middle school level, but I suspect seventh and eighth graders might wholly reject the titles with their eye rolling, sighing and general sardonic teenagerness. That doesn't mean they don't need the lessons or should not have the lessons, but you might encounter resistance. The elementary level is where this series will do its good. Classroom teachers and even physical education teachers could use this series to help instruct kids on the complicated issues of bullying, ball hogging, aggression, and extreme sports pressures. Even on the elementary level we see students pushed very hard by parents or coaches to accel, win and often hurt or punish the other team. Learning to deal with those pressures at an early level can help with character development on and off the field. ART REVIEW SI Kids comics are designed like a TV sports show with stats, bios, and after-game interviews. The whole package is designed to engage reluctant readers in a TV-style experience. Once hooked, it can teach them honorable sports conduct. In a further attempt to gain entrance into modern minds, SI Kids comics use colorized manga with simple panel layouts, which is popular among youth. AGE RECOMMENDATION Chris' Rating: Ages 7 and older Publisher's Reading Level: Grades 2-3 Publisher's Interest Level: Grades 3-8 Lexile levels, ATOS, and Guided Reading levels are available on all the titles in the series. BE AWARE There are bullies and ultra-aggressive parents, but they always learn their lessons in the end. OTHER INFORMATION Publisher: Stone Arch Books Genre: Sports Format: Reinforced Library Binding Pages: 56 Color: Full color Google Previews are also available for some of the titles. CHRIS' RECOMMENDATION: Recommended-- "The Graphic Classroom Blog"