The Real Slam Dunk

The Real Slam Dunk #1

by Charisse K. Richardson, Kadir Nelson (Illustrations)

Marcus is excited! His class is about to meet a professional basketball player, just what Marcus plans on being when he grows up. But his hero says some surprising things about school and sports. In this engaging chapter book an African American boy learns to turn his hoop dreams into realistic, achievable ones.

Genres: Sports, Realistic Fiction, Childrens

80 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2002

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son loved this book. It had a good message for kids, "dream more than one dream," and I really liked that.

It didn't really pull me in, so I didn't love it, but it's a great book for reluctant readers or kids who love sports!

[Kayla Yirdaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am searching for books that would be representative of my second grade students and their interests that does not involve animal characters. I picked this one up from the thrift shop for less than $1 and thought it might fit the bill.

Unfortunately, this book was not captivating. The plot is super simple. All of the “action” and anticipation centers around meeting professional basketball player, Jason Carter. I wonder if the book is interesting enough for students to read until the main character meets his idol.

Students could identify a clear beginning, middle, and end. The final chapter lays out the moral simply- you can dream of being a professional athlete but have a other career aspirations too.

Overall, this book just doesn’t have much depth. I’ll hang on to and see whether it gains any traction with my students.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm such a fan of Nadir Nelson's art, that his name on the cover was enough of a recommendation for me. While the black and white drawings are terrific, they don't make up for the simplistic, moralistic story. Some of my students will want to read it just because of the attention-getting cover, but I can't say that it'll be a text that I'll readily recommend.

The back cover tells pretty much the whole story. I have to wonder why Marcus, as the "official greeter" of the pro-basketball player, Jason Carter, is assigned to ask Carter all the questions for his whole class. The other students are present and perfectly capable of asking their own questions. Since the purpose of the story was to teach kids a lesson (don't put all your eggs in the professional sports basket) the author and editor didn't think too carefully about the story itself and so didn't notice this odd plot point. Or notice that there's really no problem, no solution and no real change in the main character, all components of good fiction.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd say this is a cute book, but it's more like a thick pamphlet.

The short of it is, "Have more than one dream, especially if one of those involves sports and/or known dangerous activity, because what happens when you take an arrow to the knee or whatever"?

Slightly longer is "Also be careful of shrinking your lucky jersey like three sizes by washing it the night before, I don't even know how you did that"...

[Kinsley Troutman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Real Slam Dunk is a story about Marcus Robinson who meets his favorite professional basketball player and learns the most important lesson in life. This is an inspiring book for all ages. It is written to show students that they can aspire to be anything they want to be as long as education is also a priority.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. I think it will be a series. It is for sports-minded kids and has a set of twins.

The dialogue is good. I think when the shirt shrinks, it is sort of funny, but sad.

On a field trip they go to visitand watch a practice of a famous basketball star. He talks about loving basketball but also having other inspirations. Having success in many areas should be your goal.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute quick read. I read this to my 3rd grader before bed and he enjoyed it. It could easily be an interesting story for 1-4th graders, with the reading level closer to 3-4th grade. Just a guess there.

[Deandrefields · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok

[Tristin Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read for kids who think they'll be in the NBA with no backup career. 😜

[Kaitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very quick and simple read.

The Note to Parents at the end of the book is spot on. I love the mention of career opportunities within an organization that may typically be overlooked (statistician for a team - incorporates both the love of basketball and math).

Since Marcus has mentioned that his height is an insecurity, I wish there would have been a resolution from Jason Carter regarding this as well.

[Traci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple and good for the sports-loving kid who dreams of meeting their sports hero.

[Erin Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Alex H · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the idea of a book that centers around sports, a black male main character, and the emphasis on education in addition to a live for sports. For that theme alone I give it 3 stars but the book is so short and simple and there is SO much more that could’ve been done with it. In that sense it falls really flat. Still a book I will be reading with my students to start off the year of fourth grade and use as a discussion piece.

[Tyler Easter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great way for students to do an activity where students find the authors purpose and audience for a book.

[ISP · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Anthony M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book the real slam dunk it was a good book.There were twins a girl and a boy and he liked carter that is a basketball player and there were going to met him.Marcus wear the same jersey over and over and his mom washed his jersey one day when they were going on the trip and it get shorter.He was so mad but he had they same shoes has him and Carter was so happy.He went to the stadium and a guy told them a lot.He went on the on the court and he shot a ball.


I think that it was a good because it had twins that are because I wish that I was a twin because it is fun to play with.I liked that he got mad because his shirt shorter because e he got very mad.I like basketball and he liked it to.I wish that we got to met D Rose like they got to meet Carter and it would be fun to watch them practice and shot the ball and that would be cool.I think that this was a good because it had a lot of things that I like.One day my shirt got smaller and I did not get to wear it. I read the book the real slam dunk it was a good book.There were twins a girl and a boy and he liked carter that is a basketball player and there were going to met him.Marcus wear the same jersey over and over and his mom washed his jersey one day when they were going on the trip and it get shorter.He was so mad but he had they same shoes has him and Carter was so happy.He went to the stadium and a guy told them a lot.He went on the on the court and he shot a ball.


I think that it was a good because it had twins that are because I wish that I was a twin because it is fun to play with.I liked that he got mad because his shirt shorter because e he got very mad.I like basketball and he liked it to.I wish that we got to met D Rose like they got to meet Carter and it would be fun to watch them practice and shot the ball and that would be cool.I think that this was a good because it had a lot of things that I like.One day my shirt got smaller and I did not get to wear it.

[Jo Miller]

This book shows that there is more to life than just your one dream of being a professional sports player. After a class meets a professional basketball player he tells them that going to college is important. He goes into a little more by showing how you need math and other subjects for figuring statistics on a game. He even says that he wants to be a chemist and that is what he went to college for.

[Yahya Han · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a more fun about sports reading. After I watched Space Jam,these kinds of cartoons can be encouraged for the students to do sports. I think that this book also another good example to encourage students to play basketball. Nelson's illustration is also little different from others.

[Courtney Hoke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charisse did a fantastic job creating a book that shows children that there is more to life than just dreaming of becoming a professional in a type of sport (basketball in this book). The author made sure to mention that education is very important and that even professional basketball players have college degrees. Though it is perfectly okay to dream of going professional, children need to know that education is very important because many school subjects like math will never escape your life! The illustrations in this short chapter book were black and white and to the point where they were not distracting! I give this book a 5 star because it is very educational, especially to for the children who are hooked on sports! If a professional basketball player tells a child that education is important, then it must be huh?!

[Katlyn Wrobbel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marcus's class is going on a field trip to a professional basketball center. He is finally going to get to meet his hero, Jason Carter. Marcus studies for hours so he wins the contest to greet Jason Carter but soon finds out that professional basketball is not all he thought it was.

Rating: 4 Stars
I gave this book a rating of 4 because I think that the book can be used to teach children that you should always try your hardest at everything you do. This goes for school, sports, and eventually work.