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Synopsis
Our school teams always lost. It didn't matter what sport-basketball, soccer, baseball, volleyball or hockey -we sucked at them all. I'd been on all our school teams every year since grade six and we'd never had a winning team. Forget winning team, we'd hardly ever had a win. Sam Campbell's school team, the Laggan Lairds, always loses. When someone suggests that their name be the Laggan Lard Butts, Sam thinks the team should change its name. What is a Laird anyway? The basketball coach agrees, and soon the whole school is involved in an election for a new team name. Sam and his friends nominate the name Lard Butts. When the basketball team starts winning games after a warm-up cheer of "Go Lard Butts!" it seems the Lard Butt campaign might actually win the election. Eric Walters is the bestselling author of many books for juveniles and young adults including the Orca Soundings: Grind, Juice and Overdrive.
Children's Literature
Eighth-grader Sam Campbell's Laggan public school basketball team rarely wins. During a game, Sam bristles at an opponent's taunt that Sam's inept team should be called the Lard Butts instead of their formal name, the Lairds, meaning lords and sounding similar to the word "lard." When Sam remarks that a different name might boost team morale, Coach Davidson, who teaches social studies, suggests holding a school-wide election to select a different name as part of a lesson examining democracy. Sam and his antagonist, former girlfriend Sarah, lead rival efforts, creatively campaigning for their names to be chosen among several proposed by classmates. Embracing the provocative name "Lard Butts," Sam and twin players, Tanner and Taylor, vie against Sarah and her friends who push for the more respectable name "Leopards". Their conversations with principal McGregor, particularly regarding inventive campaign tactics, and Sam's witty sense of humor add to this novel's comic tone. With good natured, Sam encourages his teammates, emphasizing their athletic strengths and refusing to give up on them. Their teamwork and perseverance are rewarded with a playoff berth in the finals. Speaking at an assembly prior to voting, Sam stresses that although Laggan players usually lose, they never quit. Pair with Betty Hicks' novel, I Smell Like Ham (2002). A book in the "Orca Currents" series, appealing to reluctant readers.