Cheer Challenge

by Jake Maddox, Tuesday Mourning (Illustrator), Ronda Redman (Other)

Overview

Amanda has always dreamed of being captain of a cheerleading squad, and this year, she is! But she soon realizes that being captain is harder than she thought. Not only does she have to lead the squad, she has to inspire them, and that’s hard work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781434288974
Publisher:	Capstone
Publication date:	05/24/2013
Series:	Jake Maddox Girl Sports Stories Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	72
File size:	9 MB
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

About the Author

Who is Jake Maddox? Athlete, author, world-traveler – or all three? He has surfed in Hawaii, scuba-dived in Australia, and climbed the mountains of Peru and Alaska. His books range from the most popular team sports to outdoor activities to survival adventures and even to auto racing. His exploits have inspired numerous writers to walk in his footsteps – literally! Each of his stories is stamped with teamwork, fair play, and a strong sense of self-worth and discipline. Always a team-player, Maddox realizes it takes more than one man (or woman) to create a book good enough for a young reader. He hopes the lessons learned on the court, field, or arena and the champion sprinter pace of his books can motivate kids to become better athletes and lifelong readers.

Table of Contents

The vote — First practice — Grace under pressure — Inspiration? — Something new — Put it to a vote — Making changes — A little glitch — The big day.

Interviews

Best-selling sports fiction Jake Maddox series will draw in reluctant and struggling readers;,Good for teaching plot and character development;,Features problem/solution sequence of events;,Discussion questions and writing prompts encourage students to engage and think critically;

Editorial Reviews

Amanda loves being on the cheer squad, but when she is chosen as the captain, she worries that she won't do a good job. She tries very hard to motivate her teammates, and suggests that they sign up for a competition. They work hard at it, but her best friend Rachel makes the decision to skip a practice, asking Amanda to lie for her. Amanda won't, so the group goes to competition without her.   Strengths: There are not many books on cheerleading, and again, there are quite a few pictures of the clearly African-American Amanda, and this fact does not come into the plot at all.   Weaknesses: Another too tidy resolution and very quick plot (recitals and competitions after a month of practice?), but this does keep things moving along.   The Jake Maddox sports books from Capstone are great for reluctant readers. There are so many different activities— there is even one on Geo caching! I would buy every single book AND the Accelerated Reader test for them if I had the money. At $18 each, though, I am circumspect about the titles that I buy.   http://msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2011/08/lower-level-books.html

Ms. Yingling Reads blog

Good stories. This series features female heroes. The story keeps you reading. One of the better sets I have previewed. Length of book is good, gives you time to become involved with the story. The main characters are older which helps with lower reading level books. Buying Recommendation: Good.

Albuquerque Public School