Hardcourt by Fred Bowen and James E. Ransome - OPTIONAL

Hardcourt by Fred Bowen, illustrated by James E. Ransome, 112 pages. NON-FICTION. Margaret K. McElderry Books, Inc. (Simon & Schuster), 2022. $20. 9781534460430

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3) – OPTIONAL; EL, MS - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

Sixteen stories from throughout the 75 years of the National Basketball Association are the basis of this 90 page picture book. Brightly colored, hand painted illustrations fill the entirety of almost every page.  

Third grade students were excited about this book from their first look at the cover art. The illustrations are truly beautiful in a sporty, eye-catching, colorful way. Even without reading the text (the stories are VERY wordy), the reader can glean a lot of information from the vibrant pictures that cover nearly every page. Both the pictures and the story about how basketball came to be were crowd favorites, as was the picture and story of Air Jordan. 

Mrs. V and her third-grade students.