Meet Me on the Court

by David Aro

Cam, Tyler, and Markus are upset that their school cut the basketball team because of lack of funding. They decide to make their own! They don’t have jerseys, a coach, or even a regular court to practice on. There’s one more problem—they need at least two more people on the team to play. Can the team find two more players? Can they win their first game against the snooty prep school kids that keep stealing their court?

64 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2019

Reviews

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Edelweiss for an advanced copy. This book was very predictable and somewhat stereotypical. From being a school librarian, I know that there is a demand for sports fiction that is accessible for elementary students, some of whom are struggling to find materials that interest them. (Some middle school students would pick this up as well.) I hope that future books in the series will have a bit more depth.

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Occasional b&w line drawings manage to cleverly avoid any images of the characters, making all of them "race-neutral" except for one "yellow-haired" girl who is observing & cheering for the rival basketball team.

The three boys (Cam, Tyler, & Markus) reluctantly allow two girls (Jasmine & Brianna) to join them on an informal basketball team to play against the 5-person team of a much wealthier school. The wealth disparity is a pivotal plot point in this moving-up-level book aimed at kids in grades 4th to 7th who are comfortable at a 2nd-4th grade reading level. Large blocks of text may turn off some reluctant readers and readers who struggle with fluency, but the vocabulary and sentence structure is overtly non-challenging.

It is impossible for a literate adult to get past the pedantic descriptions, strictly linear chronology, clunky sentences that rarely include more than 10 or 12 words and never have subordinate clauses, and seemingly-gratuitous references to things a young person might care about while avoiding details that might too-quickly date the content. The result feels condescending - this book is meant to check boxes for a reading teacher, not meant to entertain a young person.

Example, p. 1: "The day started off great. It was the day after Halloween. The bus driver played the radio on the way to school. And not the oldies she usually played. The pop music the kids actually liked. The boys in the back seats played air drums. The girls sang. Three best friends named Tyler, Cam, and Markus traded their favorite candies." The entire book, at 53 pages, continues along this cadence and tone.

It's hard to tell if this is the author's natural writing style or if the publisher thought it'd be good for reading teachers.

[Sandi Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Hi-Lo book (high interest, low readability) for elementary school kiddos. The text and characters are accessible and I loved the sportsmanship lesson built into the story. I look forward to reading the next books in the series!