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Toby Wheeler, eighth-grade benchwarmer -
Thatcher Heldring.
New York : Delacorte Press, c2007.
213 p. ; 22 cm.
Annotations:
- When Toby finally decides to join the middle school basketball team, he does not anticipate the changes that will occur in his relationship with his best friend JJ, who is the team's star player, as well as in other areas of his life.
Best Books:
- Best Children's Books of the Year, 2008 ; Bank Street College of Education; United States
State and Provincial Reading Lists:
- Indian Paintbrush Book Award, 2008-2009 ; Nominee; Grades 4-6; Wyoming
South Carolina Junior Book Award, 2009-2010 ; Nominee; South Carolina
Horn Book Guide:
- Spring 2008 Intermediate Fiction Rating 3, Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.
Reading Measurement Programs:
Accelerated Reader
Interest Level Middle Grade
Book Level 4.2
Accelerated Reader Points 6
Lexile, MetaMetrics, Inc.
Lexile Measure 680
Reading Counts-Scholastic
Interest Level 6-8
Reading Level 4
Title Point Value 11
Lexile Measure 680
Reviews:
- Ilene Cooper (Booklist, Sep. 1, 2007 (Vol. 104, No. 1))
Eighth-grader Toby Wheeler is happy being a “gym-rat” playing pickup basketball games with his friends, so when the newly hired coach suggests he try out for the team, Toby is tempted. For one thing, it might bring him closer to his best friend, JJ, who is already a star. Lately, JJ has been ignoring Toby and treating him like a little kid. So Toby signs up, but the experience is not quite what he had in mind. Instead of being a player, he’s the twelfth man, the benchwarmer. Moreover, his budding relationship with recent arrival Megan becomes bumpy when he finds out the coach is Megan’s dad. This debut novel hits most of the right notes. Only the subplot about Toby’s parents and the conflict between his job in the lumber industry and hers as a conservationist seems unwieldy; otherwise, there’s plenty of basketball and the requisite amount of girl-boy interaction. With so much written about the friction between girl friends, it’s good to have a book that acknowledges that left-out feeling happens to boys, too. Grades 5-8Mary Ashcliffe (Children's Literature)
Here is a fun book worth reading. Think of it as a more complex, less formulaic, Matt Christopher for the older middle school sports-mad set. This book is perfect, too, for the middle school girl who finds herself in a relationship with a basketball nerd, but does not know anything about the game herself. The story will give her not only a flavor for the game, but some insights into “boy” dynamics. The same can be said for parents who may feel clueless about their sports-mad youngster. This book has the added advantage of showing said parents that boys this age can feel left out. Some educators may feel that this book is predictable, but the average middle school reader will not find that to be a problem. In fact, this is a good book to give to reluctant, sports-minded readers. Toby, Megan, and JJ could be recurring characters in future books by the same author. 2007, Delacorte Press, $14.99. Ages 9 to 12.Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2008)
Having evolved from a "gym rat" playing pickup basketball at the neighborhood rec center to a member of his middle school team, Toby works to get off the bench and impress his archrival from another school. This engaging sports story gains depth from subplots involving Toby's tricky relationships with his former best friend and with the coach's daughter. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2007, Delacorte, 211pp, 14.99, 17.99. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.Ginny Hoskins (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 20, No. 4))
This is a great read for both boys and girls who enjoy basketball. Toby is a great kid, with all the usual challenges faced by boys his age, including dealing with girls, bullies, and maturing at a different rate than his best friend. There’s lots of basketball action and a good message about how, with hard work and the right attitude, a “loser” benchwarmer can become a winner--even if it’s not exactly in the way he expected. Fiction, Highly Recommended. Grades 6-8. 2007, Delacorte, 213p., $14.99. Ages 11 to 14. Subjects:
- Basketball Fiction.
Friendship Fiction.
Interpersonal relations Fiction.
| Language | Call Number | LCCN | Dewey Decimal | ISBN/ISSN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English (eng) | PZ7.H3734 To 2007 |
2006036824 |
[Fic] |
9780385733908 (hc) 9780385904056 (glb) 0385733909 0385904053 |