Taken from Goodreads.com (Goodreads, Inc., n.d.)
Genre: Travel team by Mike Lupica is considered realistic fiction because it is a story that could realistically happen and centers around real themes and issues. The book could also fall under sports fiction as well as sub-genres of realistic fiction such as contemporary realistic because of the issues of divorce and alcoholism and a coming of age/ emotional realism based on Danny’s struggles with figuring out who he is.
Book Summary:
The protagonist in the story, Danny Walker, is a 12-year-old boy who is small for his age and does not make the 8th grade travel baseball team because the coaches are trying to make a ‘bigger team’ so they can win the championship. Danny’s father was also smaller than most boys but was a legend in their town for helping his team go all the way when he was Danny’s age, despite his smaller size. The manager of the team that cuts Danny happens to also he his dad’s rival from when they were young which makes matters worse. Danny’s dad made it to the NBA and played for the warriors but was in a drunk driving accident that injured him and took him out of the game forever. Danny’s mom has tried to hide his dad’s drinking from him, but when Danny gets cut from the 8th grade travel team his dad comes back to town and starts a new team with Danny as the star. Through this journey Danny learns a lot more about his dad and also how to be a leader despite his size.
APA Reference of Book:
Lupica, M. (2004). Travel team. New York: Philomel Books.
Impressions:
I am a mom of three boys, two of which are very reluctant readers and would much rather be outside playing basketball, football, or baseball than inside reading a book. Realistic sports fiction has been one of the best things for these two boys because they can relate to the characters. Additionally, something I loved about this book and many other like it, is that sports is simply the vehicle the author uses to tell a story that is about so much more than sports. For example, in Travel team, the main character, Danny Walker, is being raised by a single mom because his dad chose alcohol over his family and can’t seam to hold down any real job after he is injured in a drunk driving career and looses his spot on the Warriors basketball team in the NBA. Danny’s dad continues to drink and feels so guilty that he only really comes around to see Danny on holidays and special occasions. Danny’s mom works hard to take care of Danny and even though she can’t give him everything, she tries her best to be a good mom. Danny loves his dad and doesn’t know that his dad is an alcoholic early in the story and all he wants is for his parents to get back together so he can have a family, yet he realizes that probably won’t happen. Him in his dad are not all that close and basketball is really the only way they communicate and bond early in the story. Readers, whether they play basketball or not, can relate to many of these issues presented in the story and will be able to empathize and understand all the feelings Danny has throughout the story. A second element is the coming of age story as Danny struggles with being smaller than most the other kids, even the girl who is his best friend and love interest. Every kid, especially in middle school, has something about themselves that is different or makes them insecure and they will see that as Danny goes through his 8th grade year hoping to grow at least another inch. Lupica simply used basketball as a backdrop to address tackle many of the harsh realities of life as a middle school boy in today’s world, which will help the reader to either realize they are not alone or to help them better understand friends and classmates who may be in situations similar to Danny’s.
Professional Review:
Taken from Kirkus Reviews, Pub Date: Oct. 1st, 2004, Review Posted Online: May 20th, 2010, Kirkus Reviews originally published in print: Oct. 1st, 2004
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. (Fiction. 10+)
APA Reference of Professional Review:
Kirkus Media, LLC. (2010, May 20). Travel team. Retrieved March 2, 2018, from Kirkus: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mike-lupica/travel-team/
Library Uses:
In my opinion, this book is one that I would honestly recommend for reading for some of my more reluctant readers who are still trying to figure out what books and genres they like and don’t like, and I would want them to read it for enjoyment not for a classroom assignment. That being said, I would use this book and other sports themed books to create a prominent display at the beginning of a busy sports season such as late fall, early spring when schools have basketball, volleyball, soccer, track, tennis, and golf all in full swing (no pun intended). This would help highlight how many FANTASTIC books there are for kids with all different types of interest and would help highlight some of the fantastic authors who use sports as a tool to tackle real-life issues and situations.
Readalikes:
Last year at the Texas Library Association Annual conference I sat in on an author panel about sports in literature with Tim Green, Miranda Keanneally, and Carl Deuker and I was amazed at how passionate they are about addressing real issues kids today face using sports to get them to pick up the book. Sports may be the setting of the story, but rarely is it the primary theme. Additionally, in no way should the sport or gender of the main character dictate who reads the book because often times the situation or conflict faced in the story is one that everyone can relate to in some way.
Football season in a small southern town means Friday Night Lights and author Abbi Glines has used the setting for the Field Party series which includes Until Friday night, Under the lights, and After the game. The story features everything that you expect in a small southern town; Friday night football, girls, boys, pickup trucks, and of course post game parties that stir up drama. Coupled with this, Glines throws in an all-American football star whose father is dying of cancer and a girl who just moved to town two years after her father murdered her mother.
I have to throw in my youngest son’s favorite Tim Green book, Unstoppable,because he talked about this book for months and cried when he told me about the story. The book follows Harrison, a foster child who is in an awful foster home and knows that his dreams of playing in the NFL probably will not happen. Harrison ends up being removed from the home and placed in a loving foster home and is finally able to chase his football dreams when he is injured and ends up with a diagnosis that stops his dreams in their tracks.
A slightly older book that might even be considered a classic at this point is the Newbery Award winning book by Jerry Spinelli, Maniac Magee. Jeffrey Lionel picks up the name “Maniac Magee” after a freak accident leaves him an orphan and he takes up running to escape the realities of his life. Maniac Magee became a legend in because of his incredible running speeds, but that’s not the most important thing he did. This book tackles racial divides in a small town, prejudice, death of parents, loss, kindness, and friendship.
Checkout my Goodreads list of children and youth literature I read during the Spring 2018 Semester at UNT.
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