A Whole New Ballgame--A Rip and Red Book

jeffdaboss - This book is really good! If you are a basketball fan(The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson) or a person who loves books about eccentric teachers(Mr. Terupt book series by Rob Buyea), you will love this book's playful combination of both. 5th graders Rip and Red already have their year planned out, and they're still walking to school! Everything changes once they have a new teacher named Mr. Acevedo, the cool tattoo-filled teacher who vows not to give homework or worksheets. Later, they find out that he's the basketball coach. For Red, he's a basketball machine who's really in it to win it. For Rip, he's amazing at free throws and has skills at basketball, but because of his visible traits of autism(traits, not completely autistic), it's best for him to play, but sit on the sidelines during games. Both boys make the team. Then, there's a huge project that Mr. Acevedo assigns that partners Rip with foul- mouthed, wheelchair- stricken Avery. In Rip's school life, Avery isn't so bad, and slowly becomes a friend. In Rip's basketball life, Clifton United hasn't won a single game. In Rip's community, parents are furious that Mr. Acevedo isn't teaching the proper fundamentals to his students, mainly test prep. In the end, everything turns out wonderful. Avery and Rip nail their project presentation and essay. Rip scores a lot of points for Clifton United against the formidable Millwood, and Red wins the last game of the season with two free throws. Mr. Acevedo work ends up helping his students receive exceedingly high scores. This school year definitely was an amazing one for Rip and Red. One reason I can really relate to this story is because I, too, have traits of autism, just not as visible's as Red's. I love how Phil Bildner creates characters that aren't like anyone else. For me, it gives a sense of reality, how there are people with disabilities who can achieve great things.

May 18, 2015
Rip and his best friend Red, who is on the autism spectrum, can’t wait to be on their school’s fifth-grade basketball team. But budget cuts, a focus on test prep, and a new teacher/basketball coach with tattoos, ear piercings, and a wealth of unconventional ideas are shaking things up. Rip isn’t sure that Mr. Avecedo’s methods will work (on or off the court), especially when he has to work on a group project paired with a hostile classmate, Avery, who uses a wheelchair. But through Mr. Avecedo’s guidance, Rip, who some see only as “the black kid who plays basketball,” and his classmates learn to see beyond the labels society places on them. The book’s messages about teamwork, test-prep dependency, and stepping outside one’s comfort zone can be overpowering, but this warm slice-of-life novel from Bildner (the Sluggers series) engages and entertains even so. Probert’s energetic illustrations match the positive exuberance of the story as both test day and the big game approach. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

June 15, 2015
Fifth grade is, as the title indicates, a whole new ballgame for best friends Rip and Red. Mason Irving is called Rip by everyone but his best friend, Blake Daniels, nicknamed Red. Rip is "the black kid with the hair who lives and breathes basketball." Red is the kid on the autistic spectrum who can't really play basketball, except that he's a phenomenal free-throw shooter. The duo is part of a class at Reese Jones Elementary, where students are known by simplistic tags-the kid in the wheelchair, the kid who gets to wear a hat, "the kid who still drools." Rip knows that's how people see them, but he also knows "that's not who we are," and after a year with Mr. Acevedo, "the man with the piercings and tattoos," the class transcends differences and labels and becomes a community of friends. Unlike many school stories for this age, Bildner's is gentle, inspiring, and full of affection for children, born of his own years as a teacher. If the students are inspiring, so is Mr. Acevedo, who risks his job to do such radical things as reading aloud and encouraging free reading. (He's supposed to be preparing the kids to take tests!) Probert's cartoony illustrations lend energy and personality to the likable cast of characters. A school story with heart. (Fiction. 8-12)

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March 1, 2015

Gr 4-6-Red and Rip are best friends just beginning fifth grade. It's the first day of school and everyone appears to know who the teacher will be and how the year will progress-but not so fast...there is a new teacher, a young man with piercings, tattoos, and a whole new way of teaching. Mr. Acevedo loves reading, will not abide test prep or standardized test-taking, and has a love of basketball. Readers will realize early on that Red is on the autism spectrum. Like their new teacher, Red and Rip share a passion for basketball. Narrated by Rip (better known as Mason Irving to Red, who insists on calling his friend by his full name and never his nickname), the book depicts the evolution of a group of fifth graders who learn a lot, grow a lot, and help one another. The relationship between Rip and Avery Goodman (a girl in a wheelchair with anger issues) centers on a class project about gross things and highlights what nasty stuff gets caught on Avery's wheelchair wheels. Though the plot and its conclusion may be somewhat predictable, the charming and diverse characters as well as the engaging voice of Rip more than make up for it. VERDICT Pure fun with a lot of heart.-Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York City

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