Full Court Press

Deborah Dowson is a Canadian children’s librarian in North Wales,
Pennsylvania.

In this sequel to the popular Three on Three (1999), Grade 3 students
Nick and Kia break with tradition by becoming the first kids not in
Grade 5 to make the school basketball team. However, rather than being a
cause for celebration, it seems more like a catastrophe. Problems start
during the tryouts when the best friends have a falling out. When they
both make the team, their teammates resent them and their coach is
afraid they will get hurt. In fact, Nick does suffer a concussion in one
game. Tired of watching their team lose from the sidelines, Kia devises
a plan that puts her and Nick back in the game and takes the team all
the way to the playoffs. The disparate members of the team learn to pull
together; boundaries are broken and friendships are forged.

The idea that age and gender bias should be tested is a great theme for
a sports chapter book. Readers in Grades 2 through 5 will find this a
fun, fast-paced, and provocative story. The colloquial language and
candid style of the narration evoke a genuine affection for the
characters and their situations. The not-so-confident narrator wins the
reader’s trust with his honest and humorous expression of the worries,
fears, and anxieties that go along with playing sports. Interesting,
fresh, and well presented, this book is sure to be enjoyed by sports
fans. Highly recommended.