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Rip and Red #4
Most Valuable Players: A Rip & Red Book
In the fourth book of the Rip and Red series, the two boys have one last basketball thrill ride before the end of fifth grade.
It's fifth-grade graduation time for Rip and Red, and this year's festivities are going to be extra special because Reese Jones Elementary is also celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary. As part of the gala, Hoops Machine, the exhibition basketball team, is paying a visit, and Rip may be playing a surprise role. But he and his friends need to finish their schoolwork first, which includes taking a newly required standardized test. However, when the students of Room 208 begin to question the need to take the test, a mini opt-out movement gains momentum. When the administration gets wind of this rebellion in Mr. Acevedo's class, Hoops Machine, middle-school basketball tryouts, and walking at the graduation ceremony are in jeopardy. So is Mr. A's job. But luckily
for Rip, Red, their classmates, and their teacher, when you stand up for what you believe in, the people you've touched along the way rally to your corner.
Most Valuable Players is the fourth book in the Rip & Red series, written by Phil Bildner with illustrations by Tim Probert.
It's fifth-grade graduation time for Rip and Red, and this year's festivities are going to be extra special because Reese Jones Elementary is also celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary. As part of the gala, Hoops Machine, the exhibition basketball team, is paying a visit, and Rip may be playing a surprise role. But he and his friends need to finish their schoolwork first, which includes taking a newly required standardized test. However, when the students of Room 208 begin to question the need to take the test, a mini opt-out movement gains momentum. When the administration gets wind of this rebellion in Mr. Acevedo's class, Hoops Machine, middle-school basketball tryouts, and walking at the graduation ceremony are in jeopardy. So is Mr. A's job. But luckily
for Rip, Red, their classmates, and their teacher, when you stand up for what you believe in, the people you've touched along the way rally to your corner.
Most Valuable Players is the fourth book in the Rip & Red series, written by Phil Bildner with illustrations by Tim Probert.
240 pages, Paperback
Published May 28, 2019
About the author
Phil Bildner
33 books120 followersPhil Bildner is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books for kids. His latest book is the groundbreaking, #OwnVoices middle grade novel, A High Five for Glenn Burke. He is the author of many children’s picture books including the Margaret Wise Brown Prize winning Marvelous Cornelius, the Texas Bluebonnet Award winning Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy, Martina & Chrissie, Twenty-One Elephants, and The Soccer Fence. Phil is also the author of A Whole New Ballgame, Rookie of the Year, Tournament of Champions, and Most Valuable Players in the critically acclaimed middle grade Rip & Red series.
Phil grew up in Jericho, New York, a Long Island suburb of New York City. He studied political science at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and then attended law school at New York University School of Law. After passing the bar in New York and New Jersey, Phil worked as an associate at a large Manhattan law firm, but he quickly realized the legal profession wasn’t for him. So he followed his heart and went back to school, earning a master’s degree in early childhood and elementary education from Long Island University.
For eleven years, Phil taught in the New York City Public Schools. Teaching fifth and sixth grade in the Tremont section of the Bronx in the 1990s, he built an innovative ELA curriculum around song lyrics and music. Dave Matthews, Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveler, Lauryn Hill, and Wyclef Jean all visited his classroom. Teaching middle school English and American History in Manhattan in the 2000s, Phil continued to integrate music and the arts into his curriculum, working with the Lincoln Center Institute, Broadway shows (Wicked, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), and Off-Broadway shows (Def Poetry Jam, De la Guarda).
After leaving the classroom to write full time, Phil began chaperoning student-volunteer trips to New Orleans to help in the post-Hurricane Katrina recovery effort. He founded The NOLA Tree, a non-profit youth service organization and served as the co-Executive Director.
These days, Phil lives in Newburgh, New York with his husband in a two hundred year old farmhouse. Most of the time, you’ll find him out in the yard playing with his dog named Kat or writing on the back porch (aka, his office) overlooking the Hudson River.
Phil grew up in Jericho, New York, a Long Island suburb of New York City. He studied political science at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and then attended law school at New York University School of Law. After passing the bar in New York and New Jersey, Phil worked as an associate at a large Manhattan law firm, but he quickly realized the legal profession wasn’t for him. So he followed his heart and went back to school, earning a master’s degree in early childhood and elementary education from Long Island University.
For eleven years, Phil taught in the New York City Public Schools. Teaching fifth and sixth grade in the Tremont section of the Bronx in the 1990s, he built an innovative ELA curriculum around song lyrics and music. Dave Matthews, Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveler, Lauryn Hill, and Wyclef Jean all visited his classroom. Teaching middle school English and American History in Manhattan in the 2000s, Phil continued to integrate music and the arts into his curriculum, working with the Lincoln Center Institute, Broadway shows (Wicked, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), and Off-Broadway shows (Def Poetry Jam, De la Guarda).
After leaving the classroom to write full time, Phil began chaperoning student-volunteer trips to New Orleans to help in the post-Hurricane Katrina recovery effort. He founded The NOLA Tree, a non-profit youth service organization and served as the co-Executive Director.
These days, Phil lives in Newburgh, New York with his husband in a two hundred year old farmhouse. Most of the time, you’ll find him out in the yard playing with his dog named Kat or writing on the back porch (aka, his office) overlooking the Hudson River.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 11, 2018
“Experiences like this change the trajectory of your basketball life... they do, they do. And they can also change the trajectory of your entire life, if you allow it.”
This story, the final in the series, is a wonderful culminating end to an amazing journey. This series has the power to do just that...change the trajectory of someone’s life for the better. Phil just has such a way to bring characters to life and have them be catalysts for change, growth, and the goodness we know can and is possible in our world.
Really going to miss this series!
This story, the final in the series, is a wonderful culminating end to an amazing journey. This series has the power to do just that...change the trajectory of someone’s life for the better. Phil just has such a way to bring characters to life and have them be catalysts for change, growth, and the goodness we know can and is possible in our world.
Really going to miss this series!
July 6, 2018
Many times when I read a series, I prefer the first books over the later books in the series. With Rip & Red, I could not love the last book more!
In Most Valuable Players, Rip & Red are finishing up their final days in fifth grade. There are many familiar characters: Mr Acevedo, Avery, Diego, Mega-man. There is basketball of course. But the way Phil has shown four books worth of growth in Rip & Red and their friendship is just perfection.
I know a bit about Phil’s personal story, and therefore I can see pieces of his life scattered throughout the book which made my heart sing. Scenes with Bubba Chuck I’m guessing are inspired by his beloved Katniss and I love, love, love the story behind how Sinanis got his nickname! Hilariously brilliant. I could totally picture this happening.
I also appreciate the message to stand up and speak out for what you believe in, especially in our current climate, and kids also need to feel empowered. They also need to be prepared for the consequences of their actions as we all do. It’s a great lesson for everyone. Strength in numbers!
This book is one I cannot WAIT to get in the hands of my students.
In Most Valuable Players, Rip & Red are finishing up their final days in fifth grade. There are many familiar characters: Mr Acevedo, Avery, Diego, Mega-man. There is basketball of course. But the way Phil has shown four books worth of growth in Rip & Red and their friendship is just perfection.
I know a bit about Phil’s personal story, and therefore I can see pieces of his life scattered throughout the book which made my heart sing. Scenes with Bubba Chuck I’m guessing are inspired by his beloved Katniss and I love, love, love the story behind how Sinanis got his nickname! Hilariously brilliant. I could totally picture this happening.
I also appreciate the message to stand up and speak out for what you believe in, especially in our current climate, and kids also need to feel empowered. They also need to be prepared for the consequences of their actions as we all do. It’s a great lesson for everyone. Strength in numbers!
This book is one I cannot WAIT to get in the hands of my students.
August 5, 2018
One of my favorite middle grade series comes to an end! Excellent conclusion!
September 16, 2018
Most Valuable players ...by Phil Bildner.
"Success is measured by not what you have achieved but by the obstacles that you have overcome." A quote from the story and a quote that buried itself deep in my heart.
Every once in a while, a book comes along , the reading of which in itself is a lesson. When I started reading this book, I started out feeling bored. I'm not an avid follower of basketball and the first couple of chapters and quite a subsequent number of pages have been dedicated to a play by play description of the game. That being said, a die hard fan of the game would love those descriptions and probably could even imagine what's exactly going on ...as that's how good, the descriptions in this book are. The protagonist, Mason Irving, also known as RIP, is a fifth grader and a basketball player who along with the rest of his fifth grader friends is looking forward to his graduation party. What they are not looking forward to is a standardised test that is going to take place in the last week of their fifth grade school year. So, as RIP prepares to play with his favorite basketball group who are called the Hoops Machine, a bunch of his friends plan to boycott the test. RIP faces a dilemma ...if he joins his friends in the boycott, then he risks losing a game of a lifetime, not to mention the job of their favorite teacher, Mr.Acevedo, who believes in the children's right to assert themselves. On the other hand, if he chooses to give the test, he goes against his friends as well as his own core belief. What I liked the most about this book was the important role that the grown ups play in this book. Whether it is their favorite teacher Mr.Acevedo, who shows them video clips of star war movies and gets them to think about how experiences help in the growth of characters, or the protagonist's mother who might have contrary views to her son and yet wants to support him in his initiative, their roles have been etched out to perfection. Whether the adults are right or wrong, they definitely have a strong influence on the children and stand by them through thick or thin ...just like any of us would do for our child. As I said before ...just as the characters in this book learnt and grew by the end of the story, the reading of this book taught me a valuable lesson ....it pays to stick through the end ....my very own personal growth along with Mason Irving.
"Success is measured by not what you have achieved but by the obstacles that you have overcome." A quote from the story and a quote that buried itself deep in my heart.
Every once in a while, a book comes along , the reading of which in itself is a lesson. When I started reading this book, I started out feeling bored. I'm not an avid follower of basketball and the first couple of chapters and quite a subsequent number of pages have been dedicated to a play by play description of the game. That being said, a die hard fan of the game would love those descriptions and probably could even imagine what's exactly going on ...as that's how good, the descriptions in this book are. The protagonist, Mason Irving, also known as RIP, is a fifth grader and a basketball player who along with the rest of his fifth grader friends is looking forward to his graduation party. What they are not looking forward to is a standardised test that is going to take place in the last week of their fifth grade school year. So, as RIP prepares to play with his favorite basketball group who are called the Hoops Machine, a bunch of his friends plan to boycott the test. RIP faces a dilemma ...if he joins his friends in the boycott, then he risks losing a game of a lifetime, not to mention the job of their favorite teacher, Mr.Acevedo, who believes in the children's right to assert themselves. On the other hand, if he chooses to give the test, he goes against his friends as well as his own core belief. What I liked the most about this book was the important role that the grown ups play in this book. Whether it is their favorite teacher Mr.Acevedo, who shows them video clips of star war movies and gets them to think about how experiences help in the growth of characters, or the protagonist's mother who might have contrary views to her son and yet wants to support him in his initiative, their roles have been etched out to perfection. Whether the adults are right or wrong, they definitely have a strong influence on the children and stand by them through thick or thin ...just like any of us would do for our child. As I said before ...just as the characters in this book learnt and grew by the end of the story, the reading of this book taught me a valuable lesson ....it pays to stick through the end ....my very own personal growth along with Mason Irving.
August 13, 2018
Best Friends Rip and Red are excited about finally graduating 5th grade and going onto middle school, but before they get there they have one more week of school left and some exciting graduation activities that will happen. There will be graduation, a gala party, and a trick basketball demonstration by some of Rip’s heroes- The Hoops Machine. When the school board insists that the 5th graders take one more standardized test without giving a good reason for it, the students call for and stage their own protest and opt out from taking it. They use lessons they have learned all school year from their “cool” teacher, Mr. Acevedo, but are they mature enough to hand the consequences?
This high interest novel which is the 4th book in the Rip and Red series will appeal to middle grade readers with its message and the fast paced basketball related story. Readers new to Rip and Red will be able to follow the story as it stands alone, but may want to go back and read all of their adventures. Phil Bildner builds a diverse cast of central and supplemental characters as for example Red is on the spectrum and one of their basketball loving classmates is in a wheelchair, but sometimes these diverse inclusion slide into didactic or stereotypes, like the Hoops Machine player who speaks street with a “you be” street slang vocabulary even though her mother is a teacher and the big parent storm meeting becomes a little predictable when the school board goes too far into their punishment. Overall, though a fine contemporary fiction choice that will be popular with middle grade readers and with its mentions of real books, games and movies that kids might want to check out. I would recommend for any school or public library collection.
This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.
This high interest novel which is the 4th book in the Rip and Red series will appeal to middle grade readers with its message and the fast paced basketball related story. Readers new to Rip and Red will be able to follow the story as it stands alone, but may want to go back and read all of their adventures. Phil Bildner builds a diverse cast of central and supplemental characters as for example Red is on the spectrum and one of their basketball loving classmates is in a wheelchair, but sometimes these diverse inclusion slide into didactic or stereotypes, like the Hoops Machine player who speaks street with a “you be” street slang vocabulary even though her mother is a teacher and the big parent storm meeting becomes a little predictable when the school board goes too far into their punishment. Overall, though a fine contemporary fiction choice that will be popular with middle grade readers and with its mentions of real books, games and movies that kids might want to check out. I would recommend for any school or public library collection.
This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.
December 2, 2018
I’ve really enjoyed all the Rip and Red books, the writing style is very kid-oriented without being dumb or lapsing into fart jokes, etc. It also has great details related to basketball that are very realistic and not preachy. Diverse characters include different races, nationalities and disabilities that are described thoughtfully but as part of normal life. I wish these took off more and were more popular, so I’ll keep promoting at my school and district.
September 11, 2018
Love this series, sorry to see it end. Every kid should have teachers like Mr. Acevedo at least know in their school careers. Rip asks if his future middle school teacher would read aloud like Mr. Acevedo, or if middle school teacher would read aloud at all. So sad that Rip has to ask that, so sad that he probably will be disappointed with the answer. Also love the shout outs to kid kit greats.
November 24, 2018
My daughter and I have loved every one of this Rip and Red series and this one was no exception. The normalization of difference, the lessons about using your voice, and the anticipation of how the story will transpire make this one of my favorite books I’ve read to my daughter. She says...
I can’t believe that Rip and Lesley Irving were playing 🏀 and guess who won...
I can’t believe that Rip and Lesley Irving were playing 🏀 and guess who won...
June 11, 2018
The fourth book in the Rip and Red series, Most Valuable Players is my favorite in the series so far. Phil Bildner once again highlights the power of our young men and women to make a difference through kindness and working together. My students are going to be so excited!
February 28, 2022
The author gets a little too message-y in this Rip and Red series about his thoughts on education but otherwise this book and all the others are very good. Funny, very appealing characters, exciting events.
July 17, 2018
Wonderful way to end Rip and Red’s 5th grade year! Entertaining and inspiring.
February 4, 2019
A great conclusion about a group of students that learn how to stand up for themselves and the amazing impact onset teacher can have.
June 25, 2019
This book concludes the popular Rip and Red series and I will be sorry to see it go. It's been a fun year in Mr. Acevedo's room and watching Rip and Red grow as characters.
In this last book Rip has some grown up decisions to make. His classmates have decided to opt out of the upcoming state academic tests. However, that decision comes with consequences and Rip has a lot on the line. Rip has been hiding a surprise from his classmates. They know that Hoops Machine (think Harlem Globetrotters) will be performing at an upcoming school event, what they don't know is Rip has been practicing with them and will be a surprise guest at the event. Will Rip be able to jeopardize his big performance to stand for something else he also believes in?
In this last book Rip has some grown up decisions to make. His classmates have decided to opt out of the upcoming state academic tests. However, that decision comes with consequences and Rip has a lot on the line. Rip has been hiding a surprise from his classmates. They know that Hoops Machine (think Harlem Globetrotters) will be performing at an upcoming school event, what they don't know is Rip has been practicing with them and will be a surprise guest at the event. Will Rip be able to jeopardize his big performance to stand for something else he also believes in?
August 16, 2018
It was one of the best books I’ve ever read
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews