Full Court Fever

Ready for some basketball? Check out this action-packed Sports Story Series book from Washington Post KidsPost columnist and author Fred Bowen - perfect for fans of Mike Lupica and Tim Green. Michael Mancino's seventh-grade basketball team is what you might call "vertically challenged." They have the skills, but what they lack in height has cost them the first two games of the season. So when Michael and his team meet Dikembe Obiku, a new student from Nigeria, they are sure they've found their saving grace. Dikembe is athletic and taller than most of the teachers, but there's one problem: He's never played basketball before!Their chances of making the ultimate comeback seem impossible. That is, until Michael discovers an old issue of Sports Illustrated about the similarly vertically challenged UCLA Bruins who won the 1964 NCAA Championship with an aggressive and hard-to-beat full-court zone press. Can their team learn a thing or two from these Davids and take down their own Goliaths in the next game? Or will they come up short again?Author Fred Bowen continues his Sports Story Series with full court, play-by-play action that's sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats. In the afterword, readers can learn more about the 1964 UCLA Bruins. Discussion Guide available.