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Overview
Pedro Morales loves playing basketball, but he's more of a team guy than a star - that would be Ned Hancock, the best player in their entire town. The two boys get along well, but their friendship is threatened when Pedro decides to run against Ned for class president. The election starts to affect their team, and Pedro learns who his real friends are and the best way to work together on and off the court.
Synopsis
Pedro Morales has always been content helping others look great. The epitome of a point guard, he plays the game to set up his teammates—Ned, in particular, the star forward on the receiving end of Pedro's pinpoint passes. Pedro wants to make his father proud, and so he runs for class president. Yet doing so means going one-on-one against Ned, easily the most popular boy in school. And Pedro learns the hard way that being a good teammate doesn't mean that others will return the favor. Now Pedro wants to win more than ever—but this time, it's for himself.
School Library Journal
Gr 3-6—Pedro Morales loves to play basketball, and as the point guard on his schools team, he knows that being successful on the court means being a good teammate. However, when Pedro decides to run for class president against the most popular boy in his grade, who also happens to be the school's star basketball player, he has to learn the hard way that not everyone is a team player. Drawing on his knowledge of the sport, Mike Lupica's novel ((Philomel, 2008) sends kids a message about the importance of cooperation and teamwork both on and off the court, without being preachy and didactic. Keith Nobbs's narration engages listeners and brings the characters to life. For fans of the series as well as reluctant readers.—Amy Joslyn, Fairport Public Library, NY