Hoop Queens

by Charles R. Smith Jr.

Book Overview

A collection of twelve poems that celebrate contemporary women basketball stars, including Yolanda Griffith, Chamique Holdsclaw, and Natalie Williams.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076361422X
• ISBN13: 9780763614225
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
• Length: 37 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.4" x 12.1"
• Age Range: 8 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 3 and higher

Customer Reviews

It shoots, it scores!

Though published through a children's book publishing house, you cannot say that this is necessarily a book intended for the eyes of kids only. Anyone who has ever loved the WNBA, anyone who has a favorite player that is featured in this book, and anyone who loves poetry OR basketball will enjoy this book. A ribald collection of photographic images and odes to individual WNBA players, Charles R. Smith Jr. has created the ultimate loving tribute to twelve of his favorite muses. First of all, I am not personally a WNBA fan. So in reviewing this book I can't tell you whether or not the twelve women featured in this book are the current top twelve players, the past top twelve players, or just random players that Smith thinks are especially talented. For each woman pictured here, Smith has written a poem. We begin with "Fly Swatter", dedicated to the great height and skill of Margo Dydek. This poem, like all the others, shows a picture of the woman featured in sepia tones doing exactly what the poem says she's doing. So Tina Thompson's poem "T 4 2" shows her scoring a two-pointer while Nykesha Sales's, "The Bomb" shows the ultimate jump shot. The poems are written with a bouncy fast-paced style that's sure to please any burgeoning poet or sports fan. For example, a poem about Ticha Penicheiro says, "Racing and running/and spinning and swerving/ in total control/ while feeding and serving/ delicious assists/ with wrist-flick tricks/ Chef T serves/ dishes with slick/ style and/ skill". They're all like that. Tricky enjoyable little spots of poetry that laud some of Smith's favorite players and talents. In the back of the book Smith has included little bios of each player and the reason he wrote the poem he did for each. If the poems themselves were complimentary, these bios are positively worshipful. Still, I think what Smith has done here is give each person an individual identity. A lesser writer (or fan, for that matter) might be tempted to lump these women into a single group without individual personalities or traits. Smith works hard to display each person with the dignity and talent they so rightly possess. The book's covers are apparently made of cardboard, which struck me as a little odd. Still, despite this bizarre packaging the book's a worthy addition to any sports fan's home. If you've been scouring the shelves for WNBA poetry and have found yourself coming up short, I believe you'll be happy to find this little number ready and waiting for you. It may not contain the most thought provoking poems in the world, but it accomplishes what it set out to do. It praises its subjects fervently and beautifully.