The Basket Ball

July 11, 2011
Lulu is living proof that one can be both girly and athletic. "Lulu messed with makeup./ Lulu played with dolls./ But most of all, our Lulu liked to shoot her basketballs." Her male schoolyard peers won't let her play, so Lulu takes matters into her own hands, inviting "go-to girls with game" from around the world to a fete where they celebrate, compete, and end up forming their own league. Plecas's (Pretend) sweet watercolor illustrations effortlessly capture the global cast and exude an authentic eagerness, but she's saddled with a story that doesn't make much sense. Codell's (Fairly Fairy Tales) paean to self- and collective-actualization feels like it's about a generation or so late to the party: nowadays, athletic girls have plenty of feminine role models, and even young girls can find basketball leagues that are happy to have them. Finally, the idea that aspiring, dedicated athletes like the ones Lulu invites would show up to play a game they love in skirts and "high top heels" is more demeaning than it is funny or touching. Ages 4â8.

August 15, 2011

Girl power on the b-ball court.

Lulu is what you might call a girly-girl. You know—complete with tea sets, stuffed animals, makeup and unicorn pictures on her bedroom wall. But there's something else about Lulu: Her absolute most favorite thing to do is shoot hoops. Unfortunately, in Lulu's world, basketball is for boys, and they will not allow Lulu to play on their team. Whenever she asked, " 'Girls cannot play, the guard would say, / Asserting his offensive. / 'We'd knock you down, and doctor's bills / Are dreadfully expensive.' " Undaunted, Lulu decides to create her own team, sending out invitations to girls far and wide for an event she terms the "Basket Ball." Girls bound in from around the globe and astound Lulu with their basketball skills. The girls decide to form a league and appoint Lulu captain of one of the teams. The lively illustrations, done in ink, watercolor and gouache on watercolor paper, showcase an ethnically diverse group of strong, active girls who, sporting purses, dresses and jewelry, are clearly still girly-girls too.

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

September 1, 2011

PreS-Gr 2-Lulu's passion is shooting hoops. She tears up the court, but the boys won't allow her on their team. Undeterred, Lulu invites sporty girls from around the world to attend a Basket Ball. Plecas's affable ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations feature a multicultural team of sports enthusiasts who arrive in a basketball-shaped carriage wearing sequined jerseys, "high-top heels," and "hair wrapped in nothing but net." Many basketball phrases are woven into the rhyming text, with sometimes clunky results: "'Girls cannot play, ' the guard would say, /Asserting his offensive .... Lulu did not quibble./She offered up a hanky for the captain's double dribble." The empowerment theme has appeal, but it is restricted by the extensive wordplay.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2011
Preschool-G When tiara-wearing, doll-playing, tea-serving, basketball-dribbling Lulu is excluded from the all-boy schoolyard basketball team, she organizes a Basket Ball, inviting girls from around the world to attend. The guests are kindred spirits: The girls arrived with coaches, / Jerseys sequined for the fete. / Their high-top heels glowed like fireflies, / Their hair wrapped in nothing but net. Hoping to put a team together but finding way too much talent, a league is established with Lulu as captain. Plecas' ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations, some of which show the girls playing basketball in a variety of party dresses, are done in with plenty of pink and purple highlights and strive to make the point of the storythat it is possible to combine femininity and athleticism. Codell's rhymes are awkward at times but ably manage to convey the story's interesting concept.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)