Swish!

by Bill Martin Jr., Michael Sampson, Michael Chesworth (Illustrator)

Overview

A fast-paced book about two girls' basketball teams fighting for the championship.

"The Cardinals and Bluejays are in the final game of the championship. The tension builds as the clock ticks away. The score is tied at 44/44 with one second left . . . who will win the game?"

New interest in women's basketball, including the 1996 Olympic team and the heavily watched 1996 NCAA women's championship, makes Swish! an exciting addition to the list. Bill Martin, Jr. and Michael Sampson have created an action-packed text filled with suspense. Illustrations by Michael Chesworth put the reader on the court as these tough players battle it out.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780805065787
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	09/15/2000
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.02(w) x 10.04(h) x 0.10(d)
Lexile:	AD280L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Bill Martin, Jr. (1916-2004) was an elementary-school principal, teacher, writer, and poet. His more than 300 books, among them the bestselling classics Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?; Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?; Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?; and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, are a testament to his ability to speak directly to children. Martin held a doctoral degree in early childhood education. Born in Kansas, he worked as an elementary-school principal in Chicago before moving to New York City, where he worked in publishing developing innovative reading programs for schools. After several years, he devoted himself full-time to writing his children's books. He lived in New York until 1993, when he moved to Texas. He lived in the east Texas woods, near the town of Commerce, until he passed away in 2004.

Michael Sampson is the author of The Football That Won and Star of the Circus. He collaborated on 21 books with Bill Martin, Jr.. He is Dean of the School of Education at Southern Connecticut State University.

Michael Chesworth has illustrated many picture books and is also the creator of Rainy Day Dream and Archibald Frisby, a Reading Rainbow Feature Book. He lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

With rhythmic text and dynamic art, Swish! draws readers into the final minute of a hotly contested game between two girls' basketball teams.... A bright and cheery choice for reading aloud to budding basketball enthusiasts.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Martin (Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?) teams up with Sampson (The Football That Won) for this account of a girls' championship basketball game between the Cardinals and the Blue Jays. As the seconds tick away, girls pass, dribble and shoot until a final Cardinals' basket breaks the tie. Part sportscaster ("Referee hands the ball to Lynn, Blue Jay pass comes bouncing in") and part cheerleader ("Only 3 seconds more, pass it now, we gotta score!"), the narrator imparts a sense of urgency that young basketball fans may initially find contagious. Yet a sometimes sloppy rhyme scheme (rebound/bounds; brows/how) and the repetition of the word "dribble" may make this a disappointing read for some sidelines spectators. The visuals make the most of Martin and Sampson's text. With a predominantly red, white and blue palette, Chesworth's (Television) cartoon art creates the illusion of camera shots as aerial views from the bleachers are juxtaposed with close-ups of on-court action (e.g., a concentrating Cardinal preparing for a lay-up shot or the scoreboard viewed from between a running player's legs). Clever use of white space adds to the instant-replay energy; in this game, the art gets the extra point. Ages 4-7. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The Cardinals and the Bluejays are at it. You can fell the pressure as they try to get the ball up the court, the sweat dripping off face, arms and legs. It's a crucial game-the winner goes to the hall of fame. We are down to the last three seconds and the crowd is going crazy, will Katie be able to pass off to Allie who in turn will shoot the ball to Cindi at the 3-point line. It's up, but as to which team wins, it's not fair to tell that in a review. Fun for sports enthusiasts and great for girls playing on basketball teams. Chesworth's cartoon style illustrations add a light touch to the intensity of the match.

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

K-Gr 3--With rhythmic rhyme and dynamic art, Swish! draws readers into the final minute of a hotly contested game between two girls' basketball teams, the Cardinals and the Blue Jays. The text echoes the fast-paced excitement of the game, punctuated by the slower "dribble...dribble...dribble" as each player decides where to place the ball. Both sides score and the red team calls a frantic time out, coming back to win with a three-pointer in the last second. Chesworth's drawings are full of motion. He zooms in from the first picture where the perspective is high in the bleachers, and then swoops down into the middle of the court with the team. Readers can nearly hear the gasping breaths and smell the sweaty uniforms in the struggle for that winning basket. The cartoonlike character of the pictures and the primary colors of the uniforms make this a bright and cheery choice for reading aloud to budding basketball enthusiasts. It makes an interesting contrast to the more serious tone and subdued colors of Robert Burleigh and Stephen Johnson's Hoops (Harcourt, 1997).--Connie C. Rockman, Stratford Library Association, CT

School Library Journal