All About Canadian Sports: Basketball

Nikki Tate-Stratton writes novels for pre-teens; her latest books are
Jessa Be Nimble, Rebel Be Quick; Raven’s Revenge; and Tarragon Island.

Aimed at beginning and remedial readers (or ESL students), the All About
Canadian Sports books feature simple, repetitive sentence structure and
lots of photographs. Each book, which focuses on a particular sport,
includes a general introduction; a brief history (with a focus on how
the sport evolved in Canada); and information about the uniform,
equipment, and rules of play. If the subject of the book is a team
sport, player positions are named (though the detail provided for each
is minimal) and a drawing of the court (or field) is provided. For
individual sports (like skiing), examples of specific kinds of events
are described (e.g., downhill, slalom, marathons). Each book also
includes a glossary and an index.

Each double-page spread includes a photograph. The use of archival
black-and-white images in the history section is a nice touch. The color
photos of professionals in action or children participating in the sport
are appealing and relevant to a contemporary readership. Photos
throughout have been thoughtfully selected to complement the text.

The subject matter for this series has been chosen with children’s
interests in mind. Each title contains quite a bit of information
presented in an easy-to-read-and-understand format. These books would
work well as supplementary materials for a variety of learning-to-read
situations. Recommended.