Tim Davis (Children's Literature)
Twelve year old Danny Walker, a talented basketball player, fails to make the cut for his seventh grade all-star travel team--the same suburban Middletown team that Danny’s father had once led to the championship--and Danny’s world begins to fall apart. Making matters worse, Danny has stopped growing at fifty-five inches tall. And who ever heard of a successful fifty-five inch basketball player? Things couldn’t possibly get worse. But Danny’s life is about to improve in ways that he could not possibly have foreseen. Richie Walker has not been involved in his son Danny’s life for a few years, but he suddenly returns to Middletown. As a former professional basketball star, Richie has been struggling with estrangement from Danny and ex-wife Alison, with alcohol abuse, and with disability resulting from an accident years earlier. Richie, however, is now determined to make a positive difference in Danny’s life, so Richie decides to organize and coach a new travel team with Danny and a few other talented players. With this as the premise, Lupica’s commendable novel takes off at a fast-break pace and includes plenty of exciting twists and turns. Danny, his parents, his friends, and the folks in Middletown all learn something wonderful about friendship, family relationships, teamwork, and respect. Teachers, librarians, and parents should note, however, that profanities which may offend some readers occasionally intrude into the dialogue. 2004, Philomel/Penguin Young Readers Group, $16.99. Ages 9 to 12.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 19))
For a small man, Richie Walker casts a large shadow over his son's life. Danny Walker would like nothing more than to follow in his father's footsteps. When 12, Richie, a 5'10" point guard phenom, led his ragtag Middletown Vikings from Eastern Long Island to the national finals of the Little League Basketball World Series and became the darling of sportswriters around the country. Problem is Danny didn't make his travel team. Too small. But, in a story every bit as exciting and tear-jerking as any novel or movie in its genre--Hoosiers, Mighty Ducks, The Bad News Bears--Danny gets his chance at glory. Lupica, a sportswriter at the New York Daily News, has the knowledge of the game and the lean prose to make this a taut, realistic story not just about the game but about heart, character, and family. A winner. 2004, Philomel, 384p, $15.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 10 up. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Claire Rosser (KLIATT Review, September 2004 (Vol. 38, No. 5))
This is Lupica's first YA novel; he is well known for his sports novels for adults and as a sports writer for The New York Daily News. He has four children and has coached youth basketball, so writing about a team of talented basketball players and their struggling season is not a big reach for him. The main character is 12-year-old Danny, small for his age, a smart, fast basketball player who understands the game better than most. He is the child of a successful basketball player (not so successful as a husband and father), whose career was cut short by an accident; Danny's father is staying around this season to coach Danny's team. So the story of basketball games, players' problems and injuries, family tensions, is also about fathers and sons, friendship, and competition. Fathers who use their sons to satisfy and fulfill their own dreams is a theme throughout. Lupica has great respect for the boys struggling to deal with their own skills, their fathers, their teammates, and their coaches. It's a fairly long story for a YA novel, but all the details of basketball games and practices will be welcome to true basketball fans. It's such a relief to have a sports tale written by someone who truly understands the game--and Lupica knows how to create believable characters as well. An excellent sports story. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: J--Recommended for junior high school students. 2004, Penguin, Philomel, 274p., $16.99. Ages 12 to 15.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November 2004 (Vol. 58, No. 3))
Danny Walker, who has played on the prestigious local basketball travel team for two years running, has been cut from the seventh-grade team because he's just too short. Never mind that he's a speed demon and an acute strategist--height is what counts. Or at least that's the semi-official reason. More likely it's because Coach Ross has it in for Danny's dad, an absentee father whose own stellar hoops career was snuffed out years ago in a car accident. Mr. Walker's a physical wreck and not much of a father, but he's not about to let Danny's talent be squandered, so he puts together a travel team of outcasts, wannabes, and a gifted tall-girl ringer, and the rest, of course, is middle-school sports fantasy come true. All the clichés are firmly in place--the ragged practice sessions, the coaches who won't let kids be kids, the alcoholic father who makes good, the best friend who walks out on his league-leading team to join the spirited misfits, and, needless to say, the come-from-behind victory. Sure, it's hokey, but it's also effective, and just about any kid who wishes he could communicate with his parents, catch the eye of the class beauty, or prove his mettle as a player on the court and as a coach on the sidelines can tuck this title under his pillow for the sweetest of hoop dreams. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2004, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, Philomel, 288p, $16.99. Grades 5-8.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2005)
When talented but short Danny doesn't make the prestigious seventh-grade travel team, he and his dad, a former NBA player, form their own travel team. Danny's relationships with his teammates, opponents, and divorced parents all ring true. Lupica's mix of rich characterization and authentic basketball details blend to create an engaging, enjoyable story. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2004, Philomel, 277pp, 16.99. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Mary Cryan (The Kutztown University Book Review, Fall 2005)
Danny Walker may be the smallest kid on the basketball court, but don’t tell him that. His world shatters when he is cut from the local travel basketball team, the same team his father lead to a championship victory when he was a kid. Turns out the Danny is not the only kid cut from this team and for all the wrong reasons. Danny’s father steps in and is about to give them all a second chance, something he himself could use. A GREAT BOOK!! One of the best books that I read and reviewed; it was slightly hard to follow all the basketball jargon, but still a wonderful read. If you have a student who is a sports nut, but perhaps has outgrown Matt Christopher, this is a recommended read. Great plot, great believable characters; just a great read!! Category: . 2004, Philomel Books, $16.99. Ages 11 to 18.

Rollie Welch (VOYA, December 2004 (Vol. 27, No. 5))
Twelve years old and fifty-five inches tall, Danny Walker attempts to fill his basketball-legend father's shoes. Years ago in the small city of Middletown, Richie Walker became a media darling by leading his seventh-grade travel team to the national championship, but his promising NBA career was cut short by a car accident that left him crippled both physically and mentally. Withdrawn, listless, and divorced from Danny's mother, Richie occasionally shows up, half-heartedly fulfilling his parental duties. On the eve of this year's basketball season, Danny becomes a victim of political maneuvering and desperately needs his father's support. Unfairly evaluated during tryouts, Danny is cut from the travel team, but he knows that his fate was predetermined because of his small size and because Coach Jeff Ross wants only tall players. Ty Ross, Karl Malone to Danny's John Stockton, hates playing for his domineering dad, and the two seventh-graders dream of competing as teammates. Richie steps up and recruits a squad of misfits-including Middletown's best female player-to challenge Coach Ross's hand-picked team, and in the tradition of all great sports stories, the final game comes down to Middletown versus Middletown, underdog versus Goliath. Although some characters give the impression of being more mature than typical twelve-year-olds, this middle school novel has more credibility than other "tiny-player-with-a-big-heart-overcoming-all-odds" type of stories. It contains realistic basketball scenes and builds a bridge to more mature young adult sports fiction such as Rich Wallace's Playing Without the Ball (Knopf, 2000/VOYA October 2000). VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2004, Philomel, 384p., $15.99. Ages 11 to 15.