Jump Ball by Mel Glenn
ISBN: 0-525-67554-X
Glenn, M. (1997). Jump Ball. New York: Dutton Children’s Books.
Plot Summary
The Tower High School Tigers are a basketball team to be proud of. Garrett James is the star player, destined for a future in the NBA, and the rest of the team is playing well. In the four quarters (chapters) of the basketball season, players are introduced, their friends and family, and other fans and interested persons. Teachers offer different perspectives on some of the star players. Players discuss their playing tactics as well as their thoughts on school and teammates. They are proud, boastful, respectful, hardworking, and arrogant. Parents speak of their children, how proud they are that their sons will be winning championships and heading off to college. Siblings either admire their brothers on the team, or are jealous of the fame and their own invisibility. As the season comes to a close, the players, coaches, and fans all board the team bus heading towards their next game during a winter storm.
Critical Evaluation
This unusual book combines poetry with sports. The division of poems using basketball language, such as First Quarter, is especially effective. There is the sense of beginning the game, all the playing that comes in the middle, and then, ultimately, the end. Each poem, written in first person, relays the emotions of its author. The verse form allows readers to connect more intimately with the characters despite the short length. Verse structures have a more private feel, and the different narrators provide access to a much larger range of emotions and thoughts than a regular novel. Through verse, readers understand some are playing basketball as an escape from a hard life with hopes of college, while others play for the status and admiration it brings to them. The large cast of characters is followed throughout the season and although the cast is large, the characters’ voices are unique. In the final quarter the team and others are traveling by bus to a championship game. Careful readers will note and remember the report of a tragic and fatal auto accident in the prologue, which has foreshadowed the fate of the bus the team is traveling in. The hospital report on the final page updates the status of each patient – “dead on arrival”, “treated and released,” etc. is especially effective after the reader has empathized with each. No specific information is provided, and readers are left wondering about the aftermath.
Reader’s Annotation
A story told in poems about a basketball team’s playing season, and their successes and trials.
About the Author
Mel Glenn started writing professionally in 1980 partly on a dare. A fellow teacher showed Glenn a manuscript he was working on. Glenn’s wife thought he could do better and said so, and so he tried writing a book of poems. His first book of poetry won the Society of Children’s Book Writers Golden Kite Award, and was named an ALA Best Book for 1970-1982. Since his first book was such a success, Glenn decided to keep writing, and he has.
Mel Glenn was born in 1943 in Zurich, Switzerland, but moved to the United States when he was three. He attended New York University and graduated in 1964 with an English degree. After graduation Glenn joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Africa for two years to teach English and history. Glenn returned to the United States and earned a Masters degree from Yeshiva University and then took more classes at New York University. He then decided to teach junior high for a few years, and then spent 31 years teaching English at Abraham Lincoln High School. Glenn married his wife in 1970 and they have two grown sons.
Genre
Poetry/Sports
Curriculum Ties
School Sports
Booktalking
Are basketball stars deserving of their popularity?
Reading Level/Interest Level
RL: 5th grade
IL: 9th grade and up
Challenge Issues
Possible challenge issues may include the homeless player and the death toll at the end of the novel.
In my defense file, I would include the following:
1) Library Mission Statement
2) Library Selection Policy approved by any or all of the following individuals—principal, school board, district librarian OR library manager, city council, mayor.
3) Library Bill of Rights adapted from CSLA Bill of Rights, AASL Bill of Rights and/or ALA Bill of Rights
4) Reviews, both positive and critical, from respected sources such as School Library Journal, VOYA, Booklist
5) Rationale for book inclusion for titles anticipated to be controversial, frequently challenged, or created when a book is challenged including: summary, audience, purpose, controversial issues and how they are handled
6) How the book fits within Common Core Standards or State Standards
7) Reconsideration form for challenger to complete—include a section asking which part was of particular concern, if the entire book was read, and what other similar titles are suggested instead
8) Student reviews from those who have read the book and either enjoyed or disliked the book and why.
Why Included
My mother recommended this book as an interesting one that combines both poetry and sports, not usually a combination I would think about.
Others in the Series
N/A
References
Glenn, M. (n.d. ). About Me. Retrieved from http://www.melglenn.com/
ISBN: 0-525-67554-X
Glenn, M. (1997). Jump Ball. New York: Dutton Children’s Books.
Plot Summary
The Tower High School Tigers are a basketball team to be proud of. Garrett James is the star player, destined for a future in the NBA, and the rest of the team is playing well. In the four quarters (chapters) of the basketball season, players are introduced, their friends and family, and other fans and interested persons. Teachers offer different perspectives on some of the star players. Players discuss their playing tactics as well as their thoughts on school and teammates. They are proud, boastful, respectful, hardworking, and arrogant. Parents speak of their children, how proud they are that their sons will be winning championships and heading off to college. Siblings either admire their brothers on the team, or are jealous of the fame and their own invisibility. As the season comes to a close, the players, coaches, and fans all board the team bus heading towards their next game during a winter storm.
Critical Evaluation
This unusual book combines poetry with sports. The division of poems using basketball language, such as First Quarter, is especially effective. There is the sense of beginning the game, all the playing that comes in the middle, and then, ultimately, the end. Each poem, written in first person, relays the emotions of its author. The verse form allows readers to connect more intimately with the characters despite the short length. Verse structures have a more private feel, and the different narrators provide access to a much larger range of emotions and thoughts than a regular novel. Through verse, readers understand some are playing basketball as an escape from a hard life with hopes of college, while others play for the status and admiration it brings to them. The large cast of characters is followed throughout the season and although the cast is large, the characters’ voices are unique. In the final quarter the team and others are traveling by bus to a championship game. Careful readers will note and remember the report of a tragic and fatal auto accident in the prologue, which has foreshadowed the fate of the bus the team is traveling in. The hospital report on the final page updates the status of each patient – “dead on arrival”, “treated and released,” etc. is especially effective after the reader has empathized with each. No specific information is provided, and readers are left wondering about the aftermath.
Reader’s Annotation
A story told in poems about a basketball team’s playing season, and their successes and trials.
About the Author
Mel Glenn started writing professionally in 1980 partly on a dare. A fellow teacher showed Glenn a manuscript he was working on. Glenn’s wife thought he could do better and said so, and so he tried writing a book of poems. His first book of poetry won the Society of Children’s Book Writers Golden Kite Award, and was named an ALA Best Book for 1970-1982. Since his first book was such a success, Glenn decided to keep writing, and he has.
Mel Glenn was born in 1943 in Zurich, Switzerland, but moved to the United States when he was three. He attended New York University and graduated in 1964 with an English degree. After graduation Glenn joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Africa for two years to teach English and history. Glenn returned to the United States and earned a Masters degree from Yeshiva University and then took more classes at New York University. He then decided to teach junior high for a few years, and then spent 31 years teaching English at Abraham Lincoln High School. Glenn married his wife in 1970 and they have two grown sons.
Genre
Poetry/Sports
Curriculum Ties
School Sports
Booktalking
Are basketball stars deserving of their popularity?
Reading Level/Interest Level
RL: 5th grade
IL: 9th grade and up
Challenge Issues
Possible challenge issues may include the homeless player and the death toll at the end of the novel.
In my defense file, I would include the following:
1) Library Mission Statement
2) Library Selection Policy approved by any or all of the following individuals—principal, school board, district librarian OR library manager, city council, mayor.
3) Library Bill of Rights adapted from CSLA Bill of Rights, AASL Bill of Rights and/or ALA Bill of Rights
4) Reviews, both positive and critical, from respected sources such as School Library Journal, VOYA, Booklist
5) Rationale for book inclusion for titles anticipated to be controversial, frequently challenged, or created when a book is challenged including: summary, audience, purpose, controversial issues and how they are handled
6) How the book fits within Common Core Standards or State Standards
7) Reconsideration form for challenger to complete—include a section asking which part was of particular concern, if the entire book was read, and what other similar titles are suggested instead
8) Student reviews from those who have read the book and either enjoyed or disliked the book and why.
Why Included
My mother recommended this book as an interesting one that combines both poetry and sports, not usually a combination I would think about.
Others in the Series
N/A
References
Glenn, M. (n.d. ). About Me. Retrieved from http://www.melglenn.com/
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