The Million Dollar Shot

Million Dollar #1

by Dan Gutman

There's nothing but net in this engaging tale of basketball and life.

Eddie "Air" Ball wants to win the Finkle Foods poetry contest for a chance to sink a million-dollar free throw at halftime of the NBA finals. He knows he can make the shot, no problem. He's not so sure he can write a winning poem, though. Luckily, Eddie has the help of his best friend, Annie "Oakley" Stokely. Not only is Annie as good at shooting baskets as Eddie is, she also knows a lot about writing poems. But someone wants him to miss and will stop at nothing to keep Eddie from winning. Together, the two friends might have a chance to win the money that will help their parents move them out of their trailer park homes.

Genres: Sports, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Humor, School

128 pages, Unknown Binding

First published October 1, 1997

About the author

The author of over 80 books in a little over a decade of writing, Dan Gutman has written on topics from computers to baseball. Beginning his freelance career as a nonfiction author dealing mostly with sports for adults and young readers, Gutman has concentrated on juvenile fiction since 1995. His most popular titles include the time-travel sports book Honus and Me and its sequels, and a clutch of baseball books, including The Green Monster from Left Field. From hopeful and very youthful presidential candidates to stunt men, nothing is off limits in Gutman's fertile imagination. As he noted on his author Web site, since writing his first novel, They Came from Centerfield, in 1994, he has been hooked on fiction. "It was fun to write, kids loved it, and I discovered how incredibly rewarding it is to take a blank page and turn it into a WORLD."

Gutman was born in New York City in 1955, but moved to Newark, New Jersey the following year and spent his youth there.

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review #2 - November 2025
Bumped my review to three stars. Still not a big fan of anything about sports and the story is pretty ridiculous, but I liked the friendship between Eddie and Annie. I love how they support and take care of each other. It's even sweet how Annie's dad coaches and helps Eddie practice for his million dollar shot.

Also, Mr. Finkle is trash so he's a good villain for the story.

I listened to the audio and it went super fast. I read this book because my niece is doing Battle of the Books this year so I'm trying to read some of the books with her. She hasn't finished this one yet, so I don't know what she thinks about it.


Review #1 - December 2019
What would you do if you were offered a million dollars? Eddie Ball (the name is really too much) wins a contest and is offered the chance to win a million dollars. All he has to do is sink a free throw at the NBA playoffs. With some determination and practice he just might get it!

This is a BOB book and while it wasn’t awful there also wasn’t really anything great about it either. It was mostly just meh. That said, it was easy to read and I could see some kids really liking this. Gutman’s name doesn’t hurt either because they like those Weird School books.

[anthony sendzimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

what do you want me to say? i loved this in second grade, and i love it now

[Danielle]

I absolutely ADORED this book!! It was fantastic because of the simple, yet greatly-detailed life of Eddie, a boy who is tasked with making a million-dollar foul shot in professional basketball, the NBA league. It shows his struggles as he practices with his friend, and although I read this book a few years ago, I still remember how much I enjoyed it. It was an absolute joy to read. I hope that anyone else who really likes basketball and stories about determination, hope, and passion will pick up this book and page through its awesome pages!!

[Roderick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Gutman writes books that kids want to read. That’s why he did his “million dollar” series, where he puts readers into positions which they have the opportunity to win a million dollars. According to Gutman that’s the kind of stuff kids dream about, and the success of his books prove that he’s right. What makes the book so good is that he creates believable characters that you can really relate with. The Million Dollar Shot is no different, in which young Eddie Ball unexpectedly has the opportunity has the opportunity to shoot one basket worth a million dollars.

[Yahir Estrada · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think that this book was good but it could've been better. Something that I really liked about this book was the plot and the author had an ending where he did something you don't see a lot. What he did was at the end talked to the reader. All in all I think the book was pretty good.

[Carter Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary of the million dollar shot. (Spoilers in here)

Dan Gutman

Eddie Ball first hooped at 5-6 until his dad died. Eddie really connects to basketball after finding this bald girl named in their trailer park. Annie’s mom was assasinated when she was 2 years old. Unexpectedly, they slowly started to connect over playing HORSE together. George Finkle fired Eddie’s mom and Annie’s dad from the factory where they were overworked for low pay. Eddie saw an ad in the newspaper for a basketball contest at an NBA finals game to win 1 million dollars if you wrote the best poem. They kind of cheated because Annie wrote the poem, but Eddie submitted the poem to go in the contest. Annie’s dad, Mr. Stokely, trained Eddie hard and he had to practice every single day, making 500 free throw shots. Mr. Finkle was also an evil man and started bribing Eddie saying he could get an unlimited supply of Finkles (marshmallows and chocolate), but then he changed it to a free ride to college if he missed the shots in the contest. This made Eddie more determined to make the shot and he did! He felt bad he put Mr. Finkle out of business, but didn’t take the bribe because he had integrity.

This was one of my favorite books! It was super exciting once you make it to the end, and I finished it in one day.

[Carolyn Menke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Battle of the Books pick at Eden Hall Upper Elementary, The Million Dollar Shot is a fun, fast, suspenseful read perfect for 3rd and 4th graders. Eleven-year-old basketball player Eddie Ball prefers Shirts to Skins cause he's so skinny his ribs stick out. One day he meets Annie, a girl with a shaved head who can sink every shot. They live in the same trailer park. When Eddie's mom and Annie's dad both get laid off from Finkle's, the factory that employs everyone in their small "company town," Eddie enters a contest to win a million dollars -- all he has to do is make the foul shot at an NBA game. Eddie promises to share the winnings with Annie since she was the one who wrote the contest entry poem. Despite saboteurs and pressure from George Finkle himself, who's shaking in his boots that this kid might actually earn that prize and put him out of business, Eddie is determined to practice every day and nail it. Will Eddie be able to focus and calm his nerves long enough to make the shot? You'll keep turning the pages to find out.

[Scott H · Rating 3 out of 5]

The million dollar shot by Dan Gutman falls into the sports genre. Because it’s about basketball and basketball ball is a real sport. The summary of the book is this kid was bad at basketball. So he got onto a team, and he could not make a shot. So he was playing a game and the clock was ticking, and he got the ball. He was trying to make a game winning buzzer beater.
The main conflict is man v.s man. Because he had to go one on one with another player. And that was on page number 56. An example of internal conflict is his determination to continuesly to get batter at basketball.
I really did not like the book. Because it got boring and it was not that funny. It lost my attention. So I think this book would be for someone who likes basketball, and it would be interesting for someone who like sports especially basketball. I think people or readers the age 10-12 would like this book if they like sports including basketball.

[Emma]

Fourth Grade Book Talk:

If you know who Dan Gutman is, it’s probably because you’ve read the “My Weird School” series. Before he shifted to writing wacky books about Ella Mentry school, he wrote sports books. I’ve never played many sports, but that didn’t stop me from reading and enjoying The Million Dollar Shot.

Maybe that’s because 11-year-old Eddie isn’t really that good at playing basketball either, though he really wishes he were. His friend Annie, though, can sink every shot. Eddie and his mom hope to move from their trailer into a larger house, but then the Finkle Foods Factory lays off both Eddie’s mom and Annie’s dad. Eddie thinks he’ll be able to solve all their problems, though when he enters one of Annie’s poems into a poetry contest and finds he’ll have a chance to win a million dollars--as long as he can make a free throw at the halftime of a NBA finals game.

[X · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one book that I randomly picked off a shelf as a kid and never forgot. Recently reread it with a student, who enjoyed it. Good book for reluctant and enthusiastic readers alike. Both boys and girls (I LOVED that the main character's best friend was a gender-nonconforming, smart, confident, principled and athletic girl! And the boy main character, Eddie, never did the whole "Ew girls are gross and boring but I guess you're kinda okay because you're basically the Cool Girl from Gone Girl except the child-friendly version" trope that was so prevalent in children's books of the day... and probably still is.) Sports fans and non sports fans (because I never cared for sports as a kid, but I still empathized with Eddie and his goal to get himself and his family and friend a better life + get revenge on the evil corporate businessman who layed off his mom.) Great book.

[L]

The book stereotypes poor white and black people as lazy drinking trailor trash claiming that those who live in trailers are "poor" and spiritless individuals. It casts Black against heartless Whites: "White people have no rhythm." Death abounds in this childhood story when we learn The main character's father died. The second character, Annie, who is African American, mother we learn is also dead , a victim of violence:"she was shot". The "poor" families work in a factory that makes junk food full of chemicals. The factory laid the adults off and there is actually a reference to them "sitting like zombies", surrounded by beer cans. Can these stereotypes be any clearer? What on earth are the redeeming qualities of this "literature"? Name one!

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short and readable: I wasn't expecting much from this book, but I liked how many challenges Eddie faced on the way to his face-off to try to get the free throw for a million dollars (from the snack food company that just fired his mom, no less)! The coaching in the book from Eddie's friend's dad was so well-described and made so much sense that it made we want to go and practice some shots myself. I could easily see how kids who like sports would be drawn into this, but I think it's a good book overall for the suspense around if Eddie will make the shot (despite the many obstacles, personal and corporate, thrown in his way).

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, yes, now I remember why I read this several times in fourth grade, after getting it for free at school as a prize for accumulating a certain number of Reading Counts points (if I recall correctly).

I think a lot of the humor went over my head when I was nine, though. It was funnier than I remembered. Rather farcical, actually.

Even with me knowing exactly what was going to happen, the book still managed to keep me in suspense, which I'd say is a point in its favor. And that was an awkwardly worded sentence.

The entry under this specific ISBN has some messed-up metadata, but so it goes.

(Mon 07 Feb 2022 07:09:52 AM CST)

[Jayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Choice book - 2nd Quarter
The book first starts out when Eddie found a new friend named Annie. It turns out that they both love basketball. They love to practice playing HORSE. They saw a contest were they could win a million dollars. For the contest, they had to write a poem about Finkles ( a yummy dessert). Annie helped write it. Annie and Eddie won the contest. Eddie got to shoot a basket to win a million dollars. Mr. Stokley, Annie's dad coached Eddie on how to shoot a foul shot and...

I think this is is a good book you should read it.

[Kyle Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Million Dollar Shot by Dan Gutman is a great book about a young man who wants to make enough money so his mother can live more comfortably. The book follows a young man who enjoys basketball and practices his free throw shot, for an upcoming contest through his mothers work where he was selected to shoot a free throw for a million dollars. This book is a great book for any elementary school student to read as it is entertaining, thrilling, and informative. The book does a great job of showing perseverance when the odds are stacked against you.

[Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book.It is about a kid who is very poor and lives in a trailer park.He meets a girl one day when he was playing basketball and ever since then they have been best friends.The main characters name is eddie ball.One day his mom loses her job at the factory and she says that she can no longer pay bills so he starts to cry.One day there was an ad in the newspaper about a contest to shoot a ball from the foul line and whoever makes it will win 1 million dollars.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I only gave this book 3 stars, I think it is a solid book and a perfect book for a book club for readers in 3rd/4th grade. Eddie enters a contest that provides him with the opportunity of a lifetime! Make the foul shot at an NBA game and win $1,000,000. Will Eddie rise to the challenge? I admit I wanted to keep reading to find out if he would sink that ball into the net.

[Nancy Roach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about Eddie Ball and the opportunity he has to enter a contest to be able to shoot a million dollar foul shot at the NBA finals. He ends up winning the contest with the help of his friend Annie. Throughout the book readers see people who impact Eddie and make him realize the importance of the people you surround yourselves with.

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

After entering a competition hosted by Finkle Foods, Eddie Ball gets the chance to shoot a foul shot during halftime at the NBA Finals to win a million dollars. Eddie's friends and family help him practice, and he feels confident until he learns that someone is trying to sabotage him and his million-dollar shot.

A suspenseful early chapter book that is great for sports enthusiasts.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sports, sweepstakes, competition, basketball, boy/girl friendship, rich vs. poor

A boy enters a contest and is chosen to shoot a free throw at the NBA finals and receive $1million if he makes the shot. The company sponsoring the contest is the same company his mom and best friend's dad was recently laid off from. Fun, quick read, somewhat dated with NBA player info.

[Juleah V.]

I liked this book. It was called The Million Dollar Shot. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes basketball and/or competitions. This book takes place in a small town. He really likes basketball and he is really good at shooting. He meets a girl and she helps him. I really liked this book.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I enjoyed reading this story together. This book keep him excited and wanting to know more. He liked the action of the basketball and the math. The humor was perfect for him. Thank you for sparking a joy in Reading for my reluctant reader.

[Ralph Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book was good.The climax was that Eddie was going to take the million dollar shot. Mr.Finkle made Eddie dizzy when his was about to take shot.Eddie made the shot.When Eddie was trying to make the shot An tried to help but the ref wouldn't let her.Eddie box out the crowd and shot the ball.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an adult, I found the story to be interesting. I am not sure if the story would be written the same if it was modern day, but the concepts and thought processes would not be different. This is a book that is a good read and should be for years to come, no matter the situation of the world!

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book with my son because it’s on the Battle Of The Books list for this coming year. A delightful read that he thoroughly enjoyed. I did not realize it is a series. Dan Gutman is a great author who writes books that my boys enjoy and I appreciate that I don’t have to nag them to read!

[Connor C]

The million Dollar shot was a good book! Eddie Ball wins the Finke poetry contest and wins a chance to get a million dollars. His task? To shoot a basketball from the free-throw line during halftime of the NBA finals. Eddie must prepare himself to get the million dollar shot.

[Erth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eddie Ball has the chance of a lifetime: to win a million dollars by sinking a foul shot during halftime at the NBA finals, no less. But someone really wants Eddie to shoot an air ball on the big day, and will do anything to sabotage the million dollar shot.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m reading several short books to meet my reading goal here at the end of December. I’m very glad that I read this one. It’s been in my classroom for a long time and I’ve never picked it up. It’s just kind of a classic tale simply told, and I enjoyed it.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book aloud to A during 3rd grade. We both enjoyed the story. It had a lot of good parts and lessons in it. I liked that it was about basketball - a sport he enjoys playing each year. I love reading to him.

[Carl Tolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reason I rate this book five stars is because it was a good book. If you like basketball you will like this book. My favorite part was when Eddie made the million dollar shot.