Teammates in Young Adult Literature

Welcome to Teammates - Thematic Bibliography! The purpose of this blog is to provide a brief overview of literature that young adults might enjoy that all share the same theme: teammates. So far, most of the novels listed are directly related to sports but there are many other types of teams. Be sure to comment on this post with any recommendations you may have of any good books about what it's like to be part of a team. This could mean an academic team, a drama cast and crew or even a family working together to get food on the table. Teams, teammates and teamwork are an important part of growing up, whether you're the star quarterback at your high school or your life has been made miserable by the star quarterback and his football friends.

Danger Zone

Klass, David. Danger Zone. New York: Scholastic, 1996.


Children's Literature Annotation:

When he joins a predominantly black "Teen Dream Team" that will be representing the United States in an international basketball tournament in Rome, Jimmy Doyle makes some unexpected discoveries about prejudice, racism, and politics.

Awards and Honors:

• Black-Eyed Susan Book Award, 2000 Winner High School Maryland
• Children's Literature Council of Southern California Awards, 1997 Winner Outstanding Fiction for Young Adults United States
• Golden Sower Award, 1998 Winner Young Adult Nebraska
• Sequoyah Book Award, 1999 Winner Young Adult Oklahoma

Review:

Alexandria LaFaye, Ph.D. (Children's Literature)

International Youth Basketball, death threats, racism, poverty, and romance are the interwoven issues in this fast-paced sports novel. Jimmy Doyle, known as the Snowman by his teammates, is honored to be selected to represent the U.S., but he gets more than he bargains for when he accepts. As the only white and inexperienced member of the team, Jimmy must prove himself worthy. Klass has a way of giving blow-by-blow descriptions of the basketball games that thoroughly involves the reader. He broaches many important topics with candor--Neo-Nazism, race relations in Los Angeles and in Europe, and the ethics of the media and politicians. He also provides a personal flavor to the novel by revealing the Doyle family's struggle to deal with the death of Jimmy's father and the bankruptcy of their family business. An intriguing novel that has a lot to say to today's young adults. 1996, Scholastic, $16.95. Ages 12 up.

Collection Suggestion:

This looks like a great novel that tackles issues that are not only important to teens but also entertaining. Most sources say that it would be good for middle and high schools. I would most likely recommend it to students from 7th to 10th grade, and perhaps older if they are particularly interested in basketball.

We are the Ship : the Story of Negro League Baseball

Nelson, Kadir. We Are the Ship The Story of Negro League Baseball. New york: Jump At The Sun, 2008.

Children's Literature Annotation:

Using an "Everyman" player as his narrator, Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through the decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947.

Awards and Honors:

• Coretta Scott King Book Award, 2009 Winner Author United States
• Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, 2009 Winner United States
• New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books, 2008 Winner United States
• Society of Illustrators' Award, 2008 Silver Medal United States

Review:

Ian Chipman (Booklist, Feb. 1, 2008 (Vol. 104, No. 11))

Starred Review* Award-winning illustrator and first-time author Nelson’s history of the Negro Leagues, told from the vantage point of an unnamed narrator, reads like an old-timer regaling his grandchildren with tales of baseball greats Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and others who forged the path toward breaking the race barrier before Jackie Robinson made his historic debut. The narrative showcases the pride and comradery of the Negro Leagues, celebrates triumphing on one’s own terms and embracing adversity, even as it clearly shows the “us” and “them” mentality bred by segregation. If the story is the pitch, though, it’s the artwork that blasts the book into the stands. Nelson often works from a straight-on vantage point, as if the players took time out of the action to peer at the viewer from history, eyes leveled and challenging, before turning back to the field of play. With enormous blue skies and jam-packed grandstands backing them, these players look like the giants they are. The stories and artwork are a tribute to the spirit of the Negro Leaguers, who were much more than also-rans and deserve a more prominent place on baseball’s history shelves. For students and fans (and those even older than the suggested grade level), this is the book to accomplish just that. Grades 5-8

Collection Suggestion:

This book is definitely geared to a middle school audience but it such an under-told and interesting part of America's cultural history that it would also be good for reluctant readers or special education students at the high school level. I also think that Nelson's award winning art would really appeal to students of all ages. I would recommend middle school librarians to add this to their collection and high school librarians who need more books for students with IEPs.

Whale Talk

Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2001.


Children's Literature Annotation:

Intellectually and athletically gifted, TJ, a multiracial, adopted teenager, shuns organized sports and the gung-ho athletes at his high school until he agrees to form a swimming team and recruits some of the school's less popular students.

Awards and Honors:

• ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Award, 2002 Winner Young Adult Readers United States
• Heartland Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, 2003 Finalist United States
• Young Reader's Choice Award, 2002 Winner Pacific Northwest

Review:
Deborah Stevenson (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April 2001 (Vol. 54, No. 8))

T.J. (short for his given name of The Tao Jones) hates the jock worship at his high school, which is why he’s gone through nearly four years without playing on a school team despite his considerable athletic talents. A mixed-race kid in a largely white town (T.J. was adopted in early youth), he’s gotten his share of hatred from the jocks (and their recent-graduate ringleader, Rich Marshall), too. He nonetheless ends up as captain and driving force behind his high school’s first swim team, which comprises a broad sampling of misfits, and he takes particular pleasure in using the swim team’s likelihood of lettering to taunt the überjocks, so tensions are running high. When Rich Marshall’s sons and stepdaughter end up in foster care with T.J.’s family, serious trouble seems inevitable. There’s more than a sprinkling of sentimentality here, and the book doesn’t avoid clichés about underdog sports teams (“I have never coached a team with the guts this team has,” the coach predictably proclaims); it also seems to waver a bit on some of its moral stands (physical threat seems to be variably acceptable). It nonetheless has a hard core of smoldering anger that is almost palpable, which a lot of readers will appreciate: T.J. is merciless in his disdain of the unjustly powerful in his world, and his victories over them provide a particularly sweet satisfaction. The book balances out the pleasure of those victories with a painful price (Rich Marshall’s revenge attempt kills T.J.’s father), but there’s pain throughout--what’s emphasized are the human bonds that can surmount and heal human destruction. The emotional dynamics are the main point here, and they’ll keep Crutcher fans--and other young adults disturbed by daily injustice--absorbed throughout. (Reviewed from galleys) Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2001, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2001, Greenwillow, 224p, $16.89 and $16.95. Grades 7-12.

Collection Suggestion:

This book clearly tackles some serious issues and has been challenged by individuals who would like to see it off the shelves of school libraries and public libraries. Librarians should be aware that purchasing this book could lead to challenges at their own library but still should not hesitate adding this book to their collection. This is another novel that would appeal to both middle and high school students.

In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle

Blais, Madeleine. In these girls, hope is a muscle. New York, NY: Warner Books, 1995.

Barnes & Noble Annotation:

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist tells the story of a high school girls' basketball team's championship season and their fierce, funny, sisterhood-is-powerful quest for excellence. Reminiscent of A Sense of Where You Are and Friday Night Lights, Blais's book takes readers through an incredible season of the Lady Hurricanes of Massachusetts.

Awards and Honors:

• National Book Critics Circle Award, 1995 Finalist in General Nonfiction
• ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 1996
• ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 1999 Good Sports

Review:

Publishers Weekly, January 1996

When Pulitzer Prize-winner Blais pokes gentle fun at Amherst, Mass., where an infuriated teen-aged athlete in the heat of the fray may yell, "You ignore your inner child!" you suspect this will be a special book. And it is, as the reader follows the Amherst High girls basketball team-the Lady Hurricanes-in the 1992-93 season, from game one on December 15 to the final game on March 16, when they all but obliterated Haverhill, 74-36, to win the state championship. While this is the story of well-bred, upper-middle class, genteel girls who learned to be tough, it is also a picture of a changing period in American sports history, when a town rallied around its female athletes in a way that had previously been reserved for males. Alternately funny, exciting and moving, the book should be enjoyed not only by girls and women who have played sports but also those who wanted to but let themselves be discouraged.

Collection Suggestion:

While the story of this team would appeal to readers of all ages, the story may drag at points for younger readers when the author goes into detail about Amherst, MA, the hometown of the hometown team. For this reason, I would recommend it to high school librarians but not necessarily middle school librarians. That said, this book begins to fill a huge void of decent literature about female athletes so even middle school librarians might consider the book if they have students who might not want to wait until high school.

Wrestling Sturbridge

Wallace, Rich. Wrestling Sturbridge. New York: Random House, 1996.



Children's Literature Annotation:

Stuck in a small town where no one ever leaves and relegated by his wrestling coach to sit on the bench while his best friend becomes state champion, Ben decides he can't let his last high school wrestling season slip by without challenging his friend and the future.

Awards and Honors:

• ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 1997
• ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 1999 Good Sports
• ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2008 Anyone Can Play
• ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, 1997

Review:

C. Allen Nichols (VOYA, June 1997 (Vol. 20, No. 2))

On the surface this book is about a high school wrestler who just can't crack the surface and beat his best friend for a spot on the team. Beneath the surface, however, is where the real action takes place. Ben is stuck in the small town of Sturbridge, where the year is spent waiting for the high school wrestling season and everyone works for the cinder block factory. Ben's best friends all are starters on the team, and he so happens to be in the same weight class as one of them. That friend is looking for another trip to the state championship, and Ben, a very good wrestler in his own right, has been labeled the best workout partner one could possibly have. Ben's frustration on the mat is only one of the challenges he is facing; others are determining his place in life (hopefully away from Sturbridge and the cinder block factory), figuring out his new girlfriend (an intelligent young woman if there ever was one), and trying to decide how badly he wants to be a state champion. Don't let the idea of wrestling turn you off this exciting and well-done story. Wallace has written a gem that deals with the gritty emotions of being a teenage boy who matures into a man. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P M J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 1996, Knopf, 133p., $16.00. Ages 11 to 18.

Collection Suggestion:

While this novel is recommended to middle and high schools by many reviewers, I think it may be enjoyed more by high school students. While young girls might read books about baseball or basketball, I do not think many would want to read about wrestling. High school female athletes, though, may have the maturity to appreciate that what is valued in athletes trancends the specific sport and be able to look past any aversion they may have towards wrestling. Older male students would also be more likely to pick up a book about wrestling since few are introduced to the sport before high school. That said, I do not think there is anything in the novel that would be inappropriate for middle school students.

Let Me Play : The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed The Future of Girls in America

Blumenthal, Karen. Let Me Play : The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed The Future of Girls in America. New York: Antheneum Books, 2005.

Teammates Blogger Annotation:

Blumenthal shows readers what life was like for girls before Title IX, not only in terms of school sports but academics and extra curricular activities as well. Along with visual aid like political cartoons of the time, government bureaucracy as never been so interesting as Congressional committees find a way to let girls play.

Awards and Honors:

• Jane Addams Children's Book Award, 2006 Winner Books for Older Children
• Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, 2005 Recommended
• Society of School Librarians International Book Awards, 2005 Honor Book Social Studies - Grades 7-12

Review:

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2006 (Vol. 74, No. 1))

The history of the small but wildly influential amendment known as Title IX receives a thoughtful, enlightening and inspiring treatment from the Sibert Honor-winning Blumenthal. Her narrative begins with the story of Donna de Varona, the Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer who watched her male colleagues receive swimming scholarships to college even as her own career abruptly ended. From this miscarriage of justice to the present, the text compellingly lays forth both the legislative fight to enact Title IX and the struggle to interpret the rules subsequent to its passage. Although the revolution Title IX created on the sports field gets the majority of the attention, the author is quite clear in detailing the overall educational advances women were able to make thanks to Title IX. This really splendid story receives absolutely criminal treatment from the designer, however, allowing page turns and sidebars to split sentences over whole pages, resulting in a sadly fragmented effect. Magnificent backmatter, including a time line, "then and now" comments from key players, extensive source notes, and suggested resources for further information, complement the narrative in making this a nearly perfect book, were it not for the execrable design. 2005, Atheneum, 160p, $17.95. Category: Nonfiction. Ages 10 and up.

Collection Suggestion:

This is another book that many reviews suggested for readers as young as 5th graders, all the way through 12th grade. While many aspects of the book might make it appealing to such young readers, such as the use of pictures and stories from female students before Title IX, a large chunk of the book is about the Congressional process of passing and then interpreting this ground breaking legislation. Middle school libraries could add this as a reference book so as to expose students to what the educational system once looked like. Otherwise, they probably will not have much interest in how Title IX was passed and implemented until high school government class.

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The Commercial that Inspired the Title ...