Basketball Disasters

November 15, 2011
Fourth grader Mason Dixon, in his third series outing, earnestly stumbles from one potential disaster to another, many involving his total basketball ineptitude. First, best friend Brody convinces him to join a basketball team at the Y, fine for athletic and scrappy Brody but not so great for the more clumsy, "I'm not what you would call a sports person" Mason. Then his father becomes the coach of the team--a situation rife with unlimited embarrassment potential. The class bully, the very athletic Dunk, joins another Y team, meaning they'll have to play against each other. And finally, a lady who hates dogs moves in right next door, and Mason and Brody have to deal with her constant vigilance as she tries to catch them letting three-legged Dog into her yard. Mason encounters believable situations enhanced by a fast-paced third-person narration that effectively captures his grade-school perspective. Non-athletic kids will recognize his concerns and fully sympathize with his plight. Other characters are sufficiently sketched to add a little depth. If most of the numerous, rather superficial issues are resolved ever-so-readily, and just the way readers would wish, well, who doesn't love a happy ending? Altogether, this is an amusing if undemanding account of the typical fourth-grade problems the athletically ungifted face as they make their way through school. (Fiction. 8-11)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 1, 2012
Grades 3-6 Fourth-grader Mason Dixon (yes, he's heard about the Mason-Dixon Line) has a three-legged dog named Dog, a best friend, Brody, with whom he shares said Dog, and an aversion to trying anything new. Brody, on the other hand, loves trying out new things, and joining the basketball teamand getting Mason to join with himis right up his alley. Predictably but amusingly, things go from bad to worse once Mason becomes a member of the Fighting Bulldogs. The team is a bunch of losers (like 438 losers), and what's worse, his father is the coach. Then there's the next-door neighbor, the dog-hating Mrs. Taylor, who's making life tough. And don't forget his nemesis, Dunk, who has no problem pointing out all of Mason's weaknesses. Mills has the fourth-grade world (boy version) down nicely as she moves Mason from problems to realizations. The messages, though, are fairly well tucked-in, so kids can just enjoy the read.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2012
In this third story about the fourth-grader, Mason joins the basketball team (coached by his dad). The team works together to climatically win the big game and best the class bully. Themes of teamwork and sportsmanship are a little forced, but Mason and his best friend Brody are satisfyingly complementary as the two recognize their own strengths and weaknesses.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)