Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: NO SLAM DUNK by Mike Lupica

NO SLAM DUNK by Mike Lupica

What It's About (from Goodreads): 

Wes' father always told him that there was only one ball in basketball. That you had to know when to take it yourself and when to give it up, that finding the right balance was key. So at every practice and game, Wes tries his best to be a good basketball player and, above all, a good teammate.

As the season kicks off, Wes finds that not everyone on his team has the same idea. All-star player and the Hawks' point guard, Danilo "Dinero" Rey seems determined to hold the spotlight and the ball, even if it means costing his team the game. If Wes is to lead the Hawks to the playoffs, he'll need to find new ways to dish out an assist--even if it means his most important one comes off the court.

Opening Lines:

Everybody always says there's only one ball in basketball.
Now one had just hit Wes in the side of the face, making him feel like somebody had slapped him.
Hard.

What I Liked About It:
I like novels about sports, even those I never had a clue about when I was a schoolboy in England many moons ago. (Basketball has since become a world-wide sport, so I would have no excuse nowadays.)

There's no doubting that Mike Lupica knows what he's doing when it comes to sports. The guy was a celebrated broadcaster for many years, and his descriptions of the game are spot on. But what makes a sports book top-notch is when the plot goes beyond the sport itself. In this novel, Wes is dealing with a father with whom he was once close, a father who was a basketball mentor for him. But his father has seen horrors in war, and has come back from active duty battling demons (including alcohol.)

This is deftly handled, and one feels for Wes as he tries to succeed both on the basketball court, as well as dealing with the way his family has been fractured. Lupica's secondary characters are well-rounded (Wes' best friend, Emmanuel, and his mentor, Mr. Correa.) There is also a great rivalry going on with Dinero Rey. Dinero is a bit of a show boat, and has his own issues. Can he be part of a team, with a player like Wes, who is equally as good, or will Dinero give in to ball-hoggery and bring the team down?

My 12-year-old is an extraordinary basketball player, and we read this novel aloud together, Here's what he thought: No Slam Dunk doesn't just tell you about what's on the court, it also tells you about what's happening off it. It really makes you see these characters in another way. I like the story and the conflicts and the way they solve it. I would give No Slam Dunk a 9 out of 10.
(Editor's note: The 12-year-old wrote the above paragraph himself, and changed his bio from 'great' to 'extraordinary.' He's as humble as his old man!)

About the Author (from Amazon):
Mike Lupica began his newspaper career covering the New York Knicks for the New York Post at age 23. He became the youngest columnist ever at a New York paper with the New York Daily News, which he joined in 1977. For more than 30 years, Lupica has added magazines, novels, sports biographies, other non-fiction books on sports, as well as television to his professional resume. For the past fifteen years, he has been a TV anchor for ESPN's The Sports Reporters. His previous young adult novels, Travel Team, Heat, Miracle on 49th Street, and Summer Ball, have been New York Times bestsellers. Lupica is also what he describes as a "serial Little League coach," a youth basketball coach, and a soccer coach for his four children, three sons and a daughter. He and his family live in Connecticut.

MARVELOUS MIDDLE GRADE MONDAY: LULU, THE BROADWAY MOUSE by Jenna Gavigan

LULU, THE BROADWAY MOUSE by Jenna Gavigan (Running Press Kids, October 9, 2018)

What It's About:
Ratatouille meets Broadway in this charming new middle grade novel about a little mouse with big dreams. 

Lulu is a little girl with a very big dream: she wants to be on Broadway. She wants it more than anything in the world. As it happens, she lives in Broadway's Shubert Theatre; so achieving her dream shouldn't be too tricky, right? Wrong. Because the thing about Lulu? She's a little girl mouse.


When a human girl named Jayne joins the cast of the show at the Shubert as an understudy, Lulu becomes Jayne's guide through the world of her theatre and its wonderfully kooky cast and crew. Together, Jayne and Lulu learn that sometimes dreams turn out differently than we imagined; sometimes they come with terms and conditions (aka the company mean girl, Amanda). But sometimes, just when we've given up all hope, bigger and better dreams than we'd ever thought could come true, do.

Opening Lines:
"Not to brag (well, this is my story so if I'm going to brag this is the place to do it, right?) but my house is the most beautiful, most magical, most jaw-droppingly fabulous place in the world. (If I'm going to brag, I may as well full-out brag, right?)

What I LOVED About It:
Can you hear it from the opening lines? Little Ms. Lulu has a lot of sass. Voice, people! So important. Also, I am a total drama dad, with two kids you are immersed in theater (oldest is about to finish college with a theater degree, and the middle guy's life revolves around the stage. Youngest is into sports, so you can't win 'em all.)

But, you say, the narrator's a mouse! Look, kids, I used to not be a fan of animal narrators--but the more middle grade I read, the more accepting I get. The cool thing is that the stars of the Broadway stage are so accepting of "Tiny" and her Broadway dreams.

Lulu's family lives in the Shubert Theater (a Broadway theater in real life) and Lulu is stage-struck. I love all the allusions to Broadway shows she weaves into her narration, as well as the insights into putting on a show. The story ends on a high note (no spoilers here!) I would whole-heartedly recommend this to each and every kid who loves to perform--as well as those readers who embrace animal stories. I unequivocally LOVED it.

About the Author:
Jenna Gavigan, a fourth generation New Yorker, grew up dreaming of Broadway. At age sixteen she made her Broadway debut in Gypsy, opposite Bernadette Peters. Since then she's appeared in a half-dozen films, on more than a dozen television shows, and on east and west coast stages, most recently Off-Broadway in the world premiere of Straight. Jenna graduated from Columbia University with a BA in Creative Writing, where she focused on fiction, television, and screenwriting. She lives in a teeny tiny Manhattan apartment with her husband, Kevin. This is her first novel.


Find Jenna online at IamJennaGavigan.com and on Twitter and Instagram @Jenna_Gavigan.

MMGM: DIEGO'S DRAGON by Kevin Gerard (with Interview)

DIEGO'S DRAGON, BOOK ONE: SPIRITS OF THE SUN by Kevin Gerard (Crying Cougar Press, 2011)

What It's About (from the book jacket): Eleven-year-old Diego Ramirez has no idea how much his life is about to change when he wins a district-wide writing contest for sixth graders. His prize: a statue of a handsome, glistening black dragon. 

Magnifico, his family and friends exclaim. Diego decides that will be his dragon's name. It's a good choice, because Magnifico actually is the dragon's name. Magnifico isn't really a statue. He's the leader of the Sol Dragones, dragons that live within the magical fires of the sun--and Diego is his unknowing guide.

As Magnifico comes to life he becomes quite mischievous, playing tricks on Diego to embarrass him. When Diego discovers his bloodline, however, he assumes greater control over his dragon and his destiny. In the climactic journey, he frees his people and suffers a terrible loss by guiding Magnifico to their goal.

Opening Lines: "Diego knew the dragon was alive the moment he touched it. Even though only a statue, and only eighteen inches tall, Diego felt a pulsing heartbeat when he accepted it from the author."

What I Liked:

1) The cover: I found the colors of the cover very appealing. 
2) The Latino main character. Diego is an appealing young guy, and I liked the interactions between him and his family and friends. 
3) Magnifico. What a character! This dragon is feisty, and not always in a good mood. I liked the fact that often it is only Diego who can see the dragon--that leads to a number of comic misunderstandings. I also liked the fact that the dragon is a Mexican dragon, and the fact that the quest had to do with the sufferings of crossing the border.
4) The pacing. The story pulses along at a good clip. It doesn't take much to get lost in the world Kevin Gerard has created.
5) Realism. The characters are faced with issues often prevalent in the real world, especially violence. A caveat: I am a very open-minded reader, and don't mind things getting a little gritty--but I have to warn more sensitive readers that there is quite a lot of alcohol consumption (Esteban, Diego's older brother, is an alcoholic), as well as some bad language in both English and Spanish that you don't typically see in middle grade.

I e-mailed Kevin Gerard a few questions, and enjoyed his answers. 

1) Who are your favorite (middle grade) writers?
James Matlack Raney
Katherine Longshore
Bruce Hale
Kirby Larson

2) What's on your nightstand now?
Jim Morgan and the King of Thieves by James Matlack Raney

3) Pick a favorite scene from DIEGO'S DRAGON: SPIRITS OF THE SUN, and say why you like it
Well, the first time Magnifico comes to life in the school library is wonderful, and it's incredible when Diego and Magnifico save Diego's brother, Esteban in the middle of the night, but if I had to pick one scene, I love it when Magnifico hides in the ivy on the side of Diego's house and then can't suppress a sneeze. Ka-BOOM! The concussion from the sneeze knocks Diego and his father out cold and sets off car alarms in the entire neighborhood. It's always nice to add a little humor to a character as powerful as Magnifico.

4) Fill in the blank: I'm really awesome at....
Talking to a multi-purpose room full of students about Diego's Dragon. The students think they're having the best time, but the big secret is that I'm really a 10 year old at heart, and I have as much fun as they do!

5) My favorite breakfast is...
A five-egg omelet with onions, green peppers, and mushrooms. Throw some turkey bacon and a few Aussie Bites (get them at CostCo) on the side, and I'm starting my day right.

6) If you could visit any place, where would it be?
The Glade of Champions, where all the giant cat warriors in the Conor and the Crossworlds series live. I'd like to meet all of them. If I had to stick with reality, though, I want to go to Ireland someday. My great, great, great, great, who knows how many grandfathers ago, left the old country and came to America. I'd like to go back home and scrunch some native soil in my fingers.

There are two other books in the series: Dragons of the Dark Rift and The Battle at Tenochtitlan. Kevin Gerard is also the author of the Conor and the Crossworlds series. You can find out more about him at his website, Diego's Dragon.

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! Kevin's going to run a contest for these cool dragon claws. 



Sign up for Diego and Conor's newsletter list, and find out about it. All you have to do is go to Diego's home page and the sign-up box is on the right. www.diegosdragon.com

No MMGM today--Because of Shrek...

I wish I had an MMGM for you this week, I really do. But between last night's high school auction (don't worry, the Don wouldn't let me bid big) and the fact that my son has been in the cast of SHREK: THE MUSICAL, which just ended a two-week run this afternoon, I've barely had time to pick up a book.

(The book I have been reading is Andre Agassi's autobiography, OPEN. Really revealing about life as a prodigy. I saw Agassi at the Champions Tennis event a couple of weeks ago, and am happy to report he can still smack a forehand.)

Next week, I am heading for a blissful two-day solitary retreat at the family  beach house on the Oregon Coast--so there won't be any blog posting then. But I do intend to write and read a lot--so look for me on the 24th. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to seeing what you all have been reading for MMGM.

Cheers!