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Overview
UNBEATABLE TEAM--MAYBE. UNBEATABLE READING--FOR SURE! The first novel in Betty Hick's Gym Shorts series is a slam-dunk for newly-independent readers.
Henry and his friends on Rockford Road are a basketball team unstoppable on their driveway court. But without team t-shirts or an official name can they take on The Tigers, a team that plays at the huge YWCA and has a player old enough to shave? Young readers will cheer as The Bats take on a name and stick together to beat the odds.
Basketball Bats is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781429981767 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Roaring Brook Press |
| Publication date: | 04/01/2008 |
| Series: | Gym Shorts |
| Sold by: | Macmillan |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 64 |
| Lexile: | 490L (what's this?) |
| File size: | 848 KB |
| Age Range: | 7 - 10 Years |
About the Author
Betty Hicks, highly regarded for her novels for middle grade and older readers, turns her attention to children ready to begin reading real novels, in this first book in her Gym Shorts series of humorous sports stories, filled with friendship and action. Betty Hicks lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Adam McCauley is the illustrator of the successful middle-grade fiction series, Time Warp Trio by Jon Scieszka, as well as Louis Sachar's Wayside School books. He lives in San Francisco, California.
Betty Hicks is the author of Basketball Bats and several sports novels for older readers, including Busted! and I Smell Like Ham. She lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Adam McCauley is the illustrator of the successful middle-grade fiction series, Time Warp Trio by Jon Scieszka, as well as Louis Sachar’s Wayside School books. He lives in San Francisco, California.
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
BUG JUICE
Henry felt lucky. He had four friends.
Exactly enough to make a basketball team.
To Henry, playing sports was better than triples-coop ice cream. Better than the circus coming to town. Better than anything.
Henry dribbled the ball just inside the chalk line he'd drawn across his driveway. It marked the boundary of his backyard basketball court.
He did a spin move and drove for the basket. A layup is too easy, thought Henry. Instead, he pulled up short. He aimed and threw up a mid-range jump shot. Swish!
"I could squash you like a bug," snarled a gruff voice.
"Huh?" Henry stared at the boy at the top of his driveway. He had spiky hair. His body slouched to one side.
"Me and my friends," said Tough Guy. "The Tigers. We can beat anybody."
"Yeah?" said Henry.
"Well, my friends are good, too."
"I doubt it," sneered Tough Guy.
I'd like to squash him like a bug, thought Henry.
But he didn't say it out loud. Instead, he said, "We challenge you. Tomorrow. Right here — three o'clock."
"Your funeral," said Tough Guy.
CHAPTER 2
GROUP GROWL
The next day, Henry's friends formed a circle around him: Goose, Rocky, Rita, and Jazz.
Rocky's bulldog, Chops, squeezed himself into the space between their legs.
"Anybody here afraid of Tigers?" asked Henry.
Jazz's bright eyes danced with excitement. "Are you kidding?"
Rocky shrugged. "Not me."
Goose grinned his famous goofball grin.
Rita twirled on one toe like a ballet dancer. "We are the champions!" she sang.
Yes! thought Henry.
He had four good friends. They all lived on the same street. And, they were a team.
"Let's practice before Tough Guy and the Tigers show up," said Henry. He tossed the ball to Rocky.
Rocky dribbled it — one, two, three times. He heaved the ball into the air.
Swish! The ball dropped through the net as if it had eyes. Three points! Rocky was deadly from three-point land.
Henry raced under the net and scooped it up.
Jazz zipped in. Just like she always did — quicker than a blink. And stole the ball from Henry.
She passed it off to Goose, who raced toward the basket. His long arm guided the ball straight up and in.
Goose grinned his goofball grin again. He pumped his arm and shouted, "Yes!"
"We ... are ... good!" sang Rita, twirling again.
Henry threw one fist into the air. "We can beat anybody!"
Then they heard it — a grrrr sound. They turned.
Tough Guy and his team were grinding out group growls at the top of Henry's driveway.
Henry couldn't believe it. Neither could Chops. Rocky's dog cocked his head. Tough Guy and each of his friends wore T-shirts with tigers on them. Big, mean, yellow tigers. With lots of teeth.
Henry's friends didn't have fancy T-shirts.
They didn't even have a team name.
Would the Tigers squash him like a bug?
"Who gets the ball first?" asked the only girl Tiger.
"We can have a jump ball," suggested Henry. "I'll toss it up."
"No way," said Tough Guy.
Henry shrugged. "Okay. You toss it up."
"Wrong again," said Tough Guy. "I'll jump." He flipped the ball to Girl Tiger. "She'll toss it up."
You are a jerk, thought Henry.
He checked out the rest of the Tiger team.
One Tiger wore new sneakers. One of those cool brands that cost a lot.
Another Tiger had crazy orange hair. "Hey, Carrot," called Fancy Shoe Boy.
Carrot? All his life Henry had wanted a nickname. But Carrot? Whoa! That name stunk. Even if the kid's hair was the color of a crayon.
The fifth Tiger was a huge kid with a squishy, moon face. Not tall. Just big. As if he ate a donut every five minutes.
Henry wondered if Big Kid had a nickname. He hoped it wasn't anything mean.
Girl Tiger held the basketball straight out with one hand. Ready to toss it up.
Tough Guy crouched. Ready to jump.
Goose stood on Girl Tiger's other side.
She tossed the ball into the air.
Only she didn't throw it straight up. She threw it slanted, toward Tough Guy. He grabbed the ball and raced for the basket.
"Not fair!" Henry shouted.
Girl Tiger smiled.
This team has two jerks, thought Henry.
CHAPTER 3
NO FAIR, NO FOUL
Henry's team was playing Tough Guy's.
The Tigers had cheated on the opening ball toss. No time to worry about it.
Goose scrambled back on defense. Tough Guy streaked in for a layup.
Goose blocked his shot. He swatted it so hard it flew straight into Henry's mother's tulips.
Henry wanted to scream, in your face! at the Tigers. But he didn't want to be a bad sport.
The ball bounced once. Squashed six flowers. And landed in the birdbath. Splash!
Jazz scooped the ball out of the water. She dried it on her shorts. Then she threw it to Henry.
Henry saw Rocky standing in his favorite spot. A mile from the basket. So far out, the Tigers didn't guard him.
Henry passed Rocky the ball. He caught it and dribbled three times. Rocky always dribbled three times. Then he heaved a three-point shot into the air.
Swish.
The Tigers all growled again. They crowded together. They slapped a group high five. And they growled.
Then Fancy Shoe Boy threw the ball in. Just like a normal person. As if he hadn't been making jungle noises five seconds ago.
Carrot Hair caught it.
That's when Jazz zipped in. Just like she always did. She stole the ball right out of his hands.
"She fouled him!" cried Shoe Boy.
"Did not," said Jazz. "I never touched him!"
Carrot Hair's face told the truth. It flushed red.
Well, thought Henry. One Tiger plays fair.
Jazz tossed the ball to Henry. He sprinted for the basket. He planned to pull up short and shoot his favorite jump shot.
Instead, he spotted Rita. With her frizzy dark red hair. She was wide open under the basket.
He bounced a pass around Big Kid.
Big Kid turned. Too slow. Too late. "Nooo," he moaned. Henry almost felt sorry for him.
Rita put it up and into the hoop. She twirled and floated like a dancer in her ruffly clothes. Rita dressed girly, but she was tougher than sharks' teeth.
"The score's five to nothing," said Goose, quietly. But his hands were so happy, they twitched.
Henry guessed Goose was trying to be a good sport, too.
The Tigers didn't growl. They just stomped to the back of the court and started over.
They made a few shots, but Henry and his friends killed them. Thirty-six to twenty.
"We want a rematch," whined Shoe Boy.
"Sure," said Henry.
Rita, Jazz, Rocky, and Goose all nodded.
"How about two out of three?" asked Rocky.
"Done," barked Tough Guy. "Only, next time, it has to be fair."
Henry balled up his fists. "This was fair!" he snapped. Being a good sport was getting harder.
"You call this fake court fair?" sneered Tough Guy. "You play on it every day. We've never played here. Besides — look at it!"
He waved his hand around. As if he were pointing at a driveway covered with roadkill. "The basket's not even the right height."
"It is, too!" Henry jammed his fists on his hips and glared.
"Next game's on our turf," said Tough Guy. He jerked his thumb at his puffed-out chest.
"Fine." Henry spit out the word. Before he had time to think.
Then, he stopped.
Their turf?
Where was Tiger turf?
CHAPTER 4
BECOMING A BAT
"Can you believe them?" said Henry. "Tigers! Ha!"
"Jerks," said Goose.
"Where is Tiger turf?" asked Rita.
"India," answered Jazz. "Tigers live in India."
Henry nodded. Jazz knew stuff.
"We need a name, too," said Rocky. He sat in the driveway, fishing a rock out of his shoe.
"Totally," agreed Rita. "We'll name ourselves —"
"— after the street we live on," suggested Jazz. "Rockford." She clapped her hands. "The Rockford Rockets!"
Rita pumped her arms. She did a wiggly dance with her hips. "We are the Rock-ets — the Rockford Rock-ets."
"I like rockets," said Goose. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a Tootsie Pop.
It looked grape flavored. But it had too much fuzz on it to tell for sure. He wiped it on his sleeve and slid it into his mouth.
"Eeew," said Rita.
"We'll need T-shirts," said Rocky. He stuffed his foot back into his sneaker.
"Yeah!" Henry threw up his arms. "With a giant rocket on them, blasting into space."
"Or a bat," said Rocky.
"A bat?" they all asked together.
"I know how to draw a really good bat," explained Rocky.
Goose curled his tongue out to show everyone that it was purple. "Food dye," he said. Then he licked the Tootsie Pop and asked, "A baseball bat?"
Rocky picked up the piece of chalk Henry had used to mark the basketball court.
"Not a baseball bat," he said. His voice sounded more serious than a math test. "A vampire bat."
Rocky stretched flat on his stomach in the middle of Henry's driveway. Chops trotted over and licked his nose.
Everyone, even Chops, watched Rocky draw. Slowly, a very awesome bat, with tiny terrible teeth, appeared on the concrete.
"Coooool," they all whispered in one long breath.
"Yeah ... but, guys," Henry said, "where's our next game? Their turf. Remember? I'm guessing it's somewhere a lot closer than India."
"Who hares," said Goose. His cheek bulged full of Tootsie Pop again.
"What?" asked Henry.
Goose pulled out the lollipop. "Who cares?" he repeated. "So long as we get T-shirts."
"Yeah," said Henry. "Who cares?"
But he knew exactly who cared.
He did.
CHAPTER 5
THE SLAM-DUNK KID
Two mornings later, Henry woke up. He still didn't know where Tiger turf was.
But he decided not to worry. As long as he could play ball, he'd be happy.
After all, Henry loved sports. His room was filled with trophies. Baseball, basketball, tennis, swimming. You name it. He had three trophies for soccer.
Well ... the basketball trophy was for most improved in PE. He hadn't actually played on a real team. At Henry's school, you had to be in fifth grade to be on the basketball team.
One more year, thought Henry.
Only now, he was on a team. With a name. The Bats.
Henry heard ringing. The phone. Somewhere under his bed. How'd it get there? he wondered. He fumbled until he found it.
"Guess what?" said Jazz's voice.
"What?" asked Henry.
"A Tiger called me. I know where their turf is."
"Where?"
"The YWCA."
"The new one?"
"Yeah."
"The really big brand-new one?"
"Yeah. One of their mothers coaches there. The court's free for thirty minutes. She signed us up."
"When."
"Today."
"Today! Yes!" Henry cheered. Then he remembered. "We don't have T-shirts." He slumped. "Mom says I have to pay for mine." He sagged lower. "I'm broke."
"Well," said Jazz. "If we win two games, my dad said he'll buy shirts for everyone."
"No kidding!" Henry bolted straight up. "Thanks, Jazz."
He jumped out of bed. He threw on the first clothes he stepped on.
In the bathroom, he squeezed blue toothpaste onto his toothbrush. If we can beat the Tigers one more time, we get T- shirts.
Henry thought it would be so cool to have a bat T-shirt. One designed by Rocky. One that no one else on the planet owned. Just Henry and his four best friends.
Even better, if they beat the Tigers one more time, Tough Guy would know that he wasn't. Tough.
Henry scrubbed his teeth as if he were trying to wipe the Tigers off the face of the earth.
He stared in the mirror. He had worked up major suds. As a matter of fact, he looked rabid. Crazy. Foaming at the mouth — like a mad dog.
Mad Dog Henry, he thought, and wished, for the millionth time, that he had a nickname.
Everybody has a nickname, he thought, spitting into the sink. Rocky's named after the movie boxer who never gave up. Jazz's real name is Jasmine.
Rita is short for Margarita. And Goose's name is Brian.
He is really not a Brian.
Then there's me. He pitched his voice low and boomed at the mirror. "Heeenry!" He tried to make it sound manly.
It didn't.
The name was so boring. Worse, there was no way to shorten it. Except to Hen.
"Cluck, buck, buck, cluck!" Henry tucked his hands under his armpits. He flapped his arms like a chicken.
He sloshed water inside his mouth. He aimed it at a blue glob of toothpaste on the left side of the sink. Splat! He nailed it!
Hotshot Henry.
He spit the next mouthful straight down the drain. "Sploosh!"
The Slam-dunk Kid!
Could being a Bat earn him a nickname? Definitely.
Could it earn him a nickname today? He'd find out.
CHAPTER 6
TIGER TURF
Henry stepped into the huge YWCA gym with his team. He felt tiny. Like a bug.
He looked up. It was a mile to the rafters.
He looked down. The floor was so shiny he could see his face. The squeaky-clean newness smelled like rubber.
Henry felt three things at once.
1. Excited.
He was about to play basketball on an awesome new court.
2. Nervous.
He was about to play basketball on an awesome new court.
3. Fear.
They might not get T-shirts.
Worse. They might not beat Tough Guy.
Henry had played on enough teams to know — sometimes the bad guy comes in first.
Then he spotted Tough Guy. Strutting around as if he were the boss of everything. Ordering his team to shoot layups. Then free throws. "Now we'll get to play fair," he boasted.
Henry doubted it. He wondered who the older kid was — the one wearing a Tiger T-shirt. He was shooting free throws with the other Tigers.
Rita pointed at him. "Who's he?"
No one answered.
Rita poked Tough Guy on the arm and repeated. "Who's he?"
Tough Guy rubbed his arm and said, "Huh?" As if he couldn't see the six-foot-tall kid. The one who looked like a teenager and was nailing a free throw every four seconds.
"Oh," said Tough Guy. "That's my cousin." He shrugged a no- big-deal shrug and added, "He's subbing on our team today."
Subbing? thought Henry. He looked around the huge gym. Big Kid from the first game was nowhere in sight. Teen Boy was subbing for Big Kid?
"Are you kidding me?" yelped Henry. "How old is that guy?"
"Eleven," said Tough Guy. He said it so fast, Henry knew it was a lie.
"Eleven!" exclaimed Henry. "How about thirteen!"
"Or fourteen," said Rita.
Henry looked to Carrot Hair for help. He was honest. Wasn't he?
But Carrot was quietly studying his toes. His face flushed brighter than his hair.
"My cousin," said Tough Guy, "is in fifth grade."
"Yeah," sneered Goose. "And I'm Peter Pan."
"Okay, kids!" A woman in pink-and-gray warm-ups clapped her hands. "We only have this court for thirty minutes."
"Who's that!" Henry blurted.
"My mother," said Tough Guy. "She's our referee."
Henry whirled around. What! He turned to his friends. This was not fair!
The Bats looked dazed. They stared from Tough Guy's mother — the referee! — to his teenage cousin — the sub! He was still drilling free throws.
He had a fuzzy dark shadow on his upper lip. He needed to shave!
We are doomed, thought Henry.
CHAPTER 7
HOT DOG
How do I bail out of this stupid, really, really not fair game? Henry wondered.
He could say, I have homework to do. Or, I don't want to miss my trip to the dentist. Maybe he could say, My house is on fire.
"Jump ball!" cried Tough Guy's mom. "I need a Bat over here."
Goose clenched his fists. He walked over to jump against Teen Boy.
Okay, thought Henry. If Goose can do this, so can I.
The Bats surrounded the jump-ball circle. Jazz crouched low.
"Think T-shirts," said Rocky.
"Think beating stupid cheaters," grumbled Henry.
"Just think," said Rita.
Teen Boy towered over Goose. He didn't even have to jump. He just reached up and swatted the ball to a waiting teammate.
At least Tough Guy's mother tossed it straight. Maybe she'd be fair.
The Tigers passed it back to Teen Boy. He went in for an easy layup. Henry wouldn't have been surprised to see him dunk it.
Two to nothing — Tigers.
Jazz tossed the ball in to Henry, who dribbled toward half-court. He saw Rocky in his spot. He passed him the ball.
But Girl Tiger and Teen Boy double-teamed Rocky before he could dribble all three times.
They stole the ball.
Two more Tiger points.
Next time, Henry made sure he got the ball to Jazz. She could out-quick anybody.
Not this time. Teen Boy blocked her shot. Straight into the last row of the bleachers. Just like he was swatting a fly.
Goose, thought Henry. Get the ball to Goose. Where's Goose?
Henry spotted him — at the wrong end of the court. Leaning over. Grasping his gym shorts. Panting.
Goose never ran full court. None of the Bats did.
Tough Guy made an easy layup.
Six to nothing.
The Bats formed a quick huddle in the middle of the court.
"Next time," grumbled Jazz. "Let's use my cousin. He plays in the NBA."
"Really?" asked Rocky.
"No." Jazz laughed. "But maybe my mother could ref."
"Yeah," said Goose. "If they can cheat, why shouldn't we?"
Henry stayed silent, but he was thinking, No one has a clue. I guess it's up to me.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Basketball Bats"
by .
Copyright © 2008 Betty Hicks Illustrations.
Excerpted by permission of Roaring Brook Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Title Page,
1 - BUG JUICE,
2 - GROUP GROWL,
3 - NO FAIR, NO FOUL,
4 - BECOMING A BAT,
5 - THE SLAM-DUNK KID,
6 - TIGER TURF,
7 - HOT DOG,
8 - WAFFLE MAGIC,
9 - THE BAT DRESS,
10 - YOU THE MAN!,
11 - THIRD PLACE,
Also by,
Copyright Page,
Reading Group Guide
Themes Book Groups
One of the best ways to explore the themes of a books—the author's "messages"—and to enjoy a book is to discuss it with others who have read the book. Organize a weekly GYM SHORTS book group in your classroom. Any student can participate, as long as they've read at least one of the books in the series.
Provide the group with a list of possible discussion questions, and allow one of the students to lead the discussion. We've prepared this list of discussion topics so that the week's discussion leader can select those she or he wants to discuss and use them as is.
1. Cooperation or team-work (since the books are sports centered) is a major theme of the novels. Introduce the subject of cooperation by citing an example of how the kids in the books cooperate. A good place to start is to identify the goal in one of the books. Then ask: What did the kids do together to reach the goal? Have any of your classmates read other books, seen any movies or television shows, or heard a real-life story about how cooperation helped achieve a purpose? Can any of them talk about a personal experience with cooperation that made a job easier to accomplish?
2. Competition is another theme in the GYM SHORTS books. Betty Hicks tells us how she feels about this subject: "Win or lose, I think competition should be fun, fair, and exciting. It helps young people learn how to be part of a team and how to handle victory as well as defeat—all things which come in handy in many areas besides sports." With this in mind, talk about competition and winning. How do you and your classmates feel about it in the sports you play yourselves? How about the sports you watch? Are you true to your teams whether they are on a winning streak or losing?
3. Another theme in the books is that success/winning is never guaranteed, but it's a sure thing that you can't succeed unless you work hard and try. Which characters learn this lesson in which books? Have your classmates ever tried really hard, but still didn't succeed to the level they hoped? Talk about the way the characters in the book feel and react to this? How did the kids in your class react to this in their own lives?
4. Another important theme in the GYM SHORTS titles is being true to yourself. Friends are important—in your life and your classmates' lives, and in the lives of the characters in the books. But it is even more important for each person to understand who he or she is, and to be the best person possible. Certainly, Rita learns this lesson in Swimming with Sharks. Sometimes you can't just fit in with everyone else—but that doesn't mean you all can't be friends. What experiences have your classmates had that showed them the truth of this lesson?
5. Friendship is the most important theme of all in the GYM SHORTS books. Talk about the kinds of friends your classmates have and the kind of friend each of them is. Kids often say, "I'll do anything for my best friend." Do your classmates agree? Would you lie for your best friend? What are the most important qualities of a friend?