Hoop Queens 2

by Charles R. Smith Jr.

Overview

Charles R. Smith Jr. brings his high-energy verse to praise a new generation of WNBA basketball stars, paired with dynamic photos of the players in action.

Are your moves as smooth as A’ja Wilson’s? Do you make the game look effortless like Sue Bird? Are you a complete player like Candace Parker? A scoring machine like Diana Taurasi? Whether it’s the towering Brittney Griner, or Elena Delle Donne doing her thing, or Breanna Stewart with her big bag of tricks, Charles R. Smith’s indomitable wordplay revels in the superb talents of thirteen of the best female players in basketball. Matched with kinetic, stylized photos of the players, these upbeat poems capture the elite agility and skills the professionals bring to the game. End notes delve into how the author uses a variety of poetic forms and language to spotlight each athlete.

Featuring the players:
Sue Bird
Liz Cambage
Elena Delle Donne
Skylar Diggins-Smith
Brittney Griner
Jonquel Jones
Nneka & Chiney Ogwumike
Candace Parker
Breanna Stewart
Diana Taurasi
Courtney Vandersloot
A’Ja Wilson

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536225341
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	05/07/2024
Series:	Sports Royalty
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 12.12(h) x 0.35(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Charles R. Smith Jr. is the author of Hoop Queens and its companions, Hoop Kings and Hoop Kings 2: New Royalty, as well as Soccer Queens, Chameleon, Pick-Up Game with Marc Aronson, and the Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali, illustrated by Bryan Collier. He is also the recipient of a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for his photographs in My People, an adaptation of the Langston Hughes poem. Charles R. Smith Jr. lives in New York.

Editorial Reviews

This collection offers a winning mix of wordplay, alliteration, and rhythms. Fans will relish Smith’s inventive tribute to a fresh group of stellar athletes. . . Accessible and appealing short poetry and wordplay, paired with exciting photographs, will draw a wide audience. Librarians and language arts teachers will also appreciate the read-aloud qualities and potential to inspire creative writing units.
—School Library Journal

Thirteen WNBA stars of the present get fast-break tributes in this follow-up to 2003’s Hoop Queens. . . . A surefire fan pleaser.
—Kirkus Reviews

A companion of sorts to Smith’s Hoop Queens (2003), this latest celebrates 12 additional WNBA stars in poetry, each poem being different in form and type but having in common the energy that language brings to the page. This is reinforced by the accompanying photographic portraits that capture each star in action. . . . A choice pick for classroom users and independent readers alike.
—Booklist

From the Publisher

01/01/2024

Gr 4 Up—This follow-up to Hoop Queens again offers short poems paired with action photographs to pay tribute to 13 of the sport's best players. These range from veterans Sue Bird and "Scoring Machine" Diana Taurasi to younger stars Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart. Smith plays on the latter's name, using alliteration to craft a catchy refrain: "Breanna be ballin'." In "Smooth Like What," Smith sums up A'ja Wilson's masterful skills: "Dribble drive smooth like/ a fresh donut's glaze./ Making it look easy/ in so many ways." Crisp, staccato rhymes and double-page photographs conjure the sights and sounds of the fast-paced game. Brittney Griner's photo finds the 6'9" center jumping high, arms spread to block her opponent's shot, showcasing her intensity and dominance. The text for "S-S-S-Skylar" (Diggins-Smith) curves playfully across the page, as Smith enumerates her strengths: "sly/ skittery/ slithery/ snaking/ sneaking/ slippery/ sidewinding/ smoothly/ shifting." Though a few poems fall flat, overall this collection offers a winning mix of wordplay, alliteration, and rhythms. Fans will relish Smith's inventive tribute to a fresh group of stellar athletes. VERDICT Accessible and appealing short poetry and wordplay, paired with exciting photographs, will draw a wide audience. Librarians and language arts teachers will also appreciate the read-aloud qualities and potential to inspire creative writing units.—Marilyn Taniguchi

School Library Journal

2024-02-17
Thirteen WNBA stars of the present get fast-break tributes in this follow-up to 2003’s Hoop Queens.

Going for speed with short lines and staccato rhythms—“See / Courtney off the curl. / See / Courtney catch and shoot. / Must-see CV: / see / Courtney Vandersloot!”—Smith offers jargony takes on each player’s distinctive feats or style of play paired with monochrome action shots that have been processed so that only the balls and each subject’s uniform (and, when visible, shoes) are tinted. The cast runs to veterans, from Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi (“Power her up / start her up / DT3, Scoring Machine”) to sisters Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike to A’ja Wilson: “Dribble drive smooth like / a fresh donut’s glaze. / Making it look easy / in so many ways, / A’ja got smoooooth / game for days.” The elder Ogwumike’s ragged acrostic entry—“Nigeria / Stanford / mother is great / blockparty / and 1”—isn’t the only example of the author growing a bit too fond of his literary conceits, but he does provide befuddled readers with explanatory notes at the end that shed light on everything from Brittney Griner’s multifaceted abilities on the court to Australian player Liz Cambage, who has scored more points in a WNBA game than anyone else.

A surefire fan pleaser. (Picture book/poetry. 7-9)

Kirkus Reviews