Outside Shot

Written by Fred Bowen

Swish goes the net, time after time for Richie Mallon.  Because when he moved into a new neighborhood at eight years old, the basketball hoop in the driveway was his best friend. It took a lot of practice with the regulation ten-foot basket to get many baskets, but he practiced and practiced a lot. Soon even the neighbor noticed how good he was and called him, “the shooter.”

Unfortunately, his middle school basketball team needs a good all-around player, not just a shooter to win games. Richie was slow to pick up on the necessity of a complete skill set, but once he figured it out, the whole team won.

This realistic new addition to Fred Bowen’s Sports Series is well-written and accessible to readers across many age levels. Players and fans alike will enjoy their trip through the season cheering for Richie. Parents, teachers and librarians can use the non-fiction section in the back as a comparison with the fictional front section in teaching reading skills. Math skills are strengthened by the score keeping techniques and percentages of baskets referred to in this story as well as in real basketball. Students may decide to keep their own stats after reading this book.

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  • Outside Shot.jpgTitle:   Outside Shot
  • Author:   Fred Bowen
  • Publisher:  Peachtree Publishing, 2017
  • Reviewer: Elizabeth Swartz
  • Format:  Hardcover, 144 pages
  • Genre:  Sports Fiction
  • Grade Level: 3 to 7
  • ISBN:  978-1561459568
  • Extras: “The Real Story: Great Shooters” includes several non-fiction pages briefly describing the invention of basketball, particularly the development of the jump shot.  Select famous shooters are discussed. Players from the 2015-16 are include

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