I read the book Basketball’s new wave, Kobe Bryant. The author is Mark Stewart. The genre is African-American literature, and the copyright date is 2000.

I would recommend this book to middle school students for many reasons. One reason is that it is a book about hard work paying off. Another reason is that many middle school students are into athletics and would find this book interesting. Third, this book is about current sports stars, not athletes of the past that our parents once looked up to. Finally, this book teaches kids techniques on what to do and what not to do to achieve you goal.

In the book hard work pays off for Kobe Bryant in the following ways: one way is that he played street ball in the city of Philadelphia often, even though he was told not to because he could obtain a career-ending injury (28). Kobe Bryant would constantly challenge his professional basketball-playing father’s teammates to a game of one-on-one (11). This resulted in confidence-building for Kobe even though the professionals would let him win. When Kobe’s dad had practice he would shoot by himself in the corner of the gym. Kobe would see his dad’s hard work and try to copy his moves (11). This persistence paid off, resulting in wealth from the sport and endorsements from various companies. “A month before the 1996 NBA draft, Kobe already had a sneaker deal with Adidas” (25). He has also gained a huge fan base through his success.

Middle school students who are into athletics will enjoy the book as well. An entire chapter is devoted to when Kobe played basketball in high school as a teenager. Kobe attended Lower Marion High School (15). There he played basketball for the schools team and instantly became a star. He maintained a solid average while working hard on the court. Like other teenage athletes who admired sports stars Kobe admired Magic Johnson (15). Middle school boys would find it interesting to know that Kobe had numerous growth spurts of 2-3 inches every year during high school (16).

I believe it is more enjoyable for students to read about athletes who are currently competing rather than an athlete of the past, like Larry Bird. Kobe Bryant is a current basketball star that I think students can relate to. This is because he is closer to us in age. He also went to a public high school, like we will. Finally, many things were different about school and school sports when our parents and grandparents were our age. Kids don’t usually mention former sports stars like Magic Johnson or Kareem Abdul-Jabar when they are talking to their friends. They talk about today’s athletes like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. They are our sports role models. In fact, a popular magazine like Sports Illustrated Kids shows this point.

My last recommendation refers to the things you do and don’t do to achieve your goals. By learning from his mistakes, Kobe made it to where he is today. Kobe made a few mistakes on his way up to the top. One mistake he made was playing street ball after he made it to the NBA. He fractured his left wrist in one game, but was lucky it was not a serious injury. Another mistake he made was being a little selfish during an All-Star game. He wanted the entire spotlight to be on him. Karl Malone, a teammate of Kobe’s “set a screen” (a type of play) for him, but Kobe motioned for him to get out of the way. “It was the height of selfishness and disrespect” (32). Kobe also did many things correctly to achieve his goals. He adjusted his game after his opponents figured out his offensive maneuvers. He strategized about technique after playing by instinct most of his early life. Finally, he dedicated himself to practicing his sport and becoming the best he could be.

In conclusion, I believe this is an entertaining book for middle school students. I found the book interesting and I looked forward to reading it. It is nice to be able to put yourself in someone “else’s shoes” and understand them as a young person.