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Slam Dunk
When a new school year starts, and thirteen-year-old basketball star Julian feels a lot of pressure as he realizes he is the only remaining player from last year's winning team, a friend's health crisis helps him regain perspective.
128 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2004
8 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Matt Christopher
437 books141 followersMatt Christopher is the writer young readers turn to when they're looking for fast-paced, action-packed sports novels. He is the best-selling author of more than one hundred sports books for young readers.
Matt Christopher is America's bestselling sports writer for children, with more than 100 books and sales approaching six million copies. In 1992, Matt Christopher talked about being a children's book author.
"I became interested in writing when I was 14, a freshman in high school. I was selling magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, and Liberty, and I would read the stories, particularly the adventure and mystery stories, and think how wonderful it would be to be able to write stories and make a living at it. I also read detective, horror, aviation, and sports stories and decided I would try writing them myself.
Determined to sell, I wrote a detective story a week for 40 weeks, finding the time to marry, work, and play baseball and basketball before I sold my first story in 1941, "The Missing Finger Points," for $50 to Detective Story magazine.
After writing and selling children's sports stories to magazines, I decided to write a baseball book for children. I was living in Syracuse, New York at the time, working at General Electric. I spoke about my idea to the branch librarian. She was immediately interested and told me that they needed sports stories badly. So I came up with my first children's book, The Lucky Baseball Bat. I submitted it to Little, Brown, and the book was published in 1954.
I'm sure that playing sandlot baseball and then semiprofessional baseball with a Class C club in the Canadian-American League influenced my writing. I had my own personal experiences, and I saw how other players reacted to plays, to teammates' and fans' remarks and innuendoes, to managers' orders, etc. All these had a great influence on my writing. My love of the game helped a lot, too, of course.
Out of all the books I've written, my favorite is The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. It's a fantasy, but the main character in it could be real. There are a lot of boys who would love to play baseball but, for some reason, cannot. The only difference between a real-life boy and Sylvester Coddmyer III is the appearance of a character named George Baruth, whom only Sylvester can see and who helps Sylvester become a good ballplayer.
I've written many short stories and books for both children and adults, and find that writing for children is really my niche. Being the eldest of nine children (seven boys and two girls), I've lived through a lot of problems many children live through, and I find these problems excellent examples to include in my books.
Sports have made it possible for me to meet many people with all sorts of life stories, on and off the field, and these are grist for this writer's mill. I'm far beyond playing age now, but I manage to go to both kids' and adult games just to keep up with them, and keep them fresh in my mind.Very few things make me happier than receiving fan letters from boys and girls who write that they had never cared for reading until they started to read my books. That is just about the ultimate in writing for children. I would never trade it for another profession."
Matt Christopher died on September 27, 1997. His legacy is now being carried on by his sons, Duane and Dale Christopher.
Matt Christopher is America's bestselling sports writer for children, with more than 100 books and sales approaching six million copies. In 1992, Matt Christopher talked about being a children's book author.
"I became interested in writing when I was 14, a freshman in high school. I was selling magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post, Country Gentleman, and Liberty, and I would read the stories, particularly the adventure and mystery stories, and think how wonderful it would be to be able to write stories and make a living at it. I also read detective, horror, aviation, and sports stories and decided I would try writing them myself.
Determined to sell, I wrote a detective story a week for 40 weeks, finding the time to marry, work, and play baseball and basketball before I sold my first story in 1941, "The Missing Finger Points," for $50 to Detective Story magazine.
After writing and selling children's sports stories to magazines, I decided to write a baseball book for children. I was living in Syracuse, New York at the time, working at General Electric. I spoke about my idea to the branch librarian. She was immediately interested and told me that they needed sports stories badly. So I came up with my first children's book, The Lucky Baseball Bat. I submitted it to Little, Brown, and the book was published in 1954.
I'm sure that playing sandlot baseball and then semiprofessional baseball with a Class C club in the Canadian-American League influenced my writing. I had my own personal experiences, and I saw how other players reacted to plays, to teammates' and fans' remarks and innuendoes, to managers' orders, etc. All these had a great influence on my writing. My love of the game helped a lot, too, of course.
Out of all the books I've written, my favorite is The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. It's a fantasy, but the main character in it could be real. There are a lot of boys who would love to play baseball but, for some reason, cannot. The only difference between a real-life boy and Sylvester Coddmyer III is the appearance of a character named George Baruth, whom only Sylvester can see and who helps Sylvester become a good ballplayer.
I've written many short stories and books for both children and adults, and find that writing for children is really my niche. Being the eldest of nine children (seven boys and two girls), I've lived through a lot of problems many children live through, and I find these problems excellent examples to include in my books.
Sports have made it possible for me to meet many people with all sorts of life stories, on and off the field, and these are grist for this writer's mill. I'm far beyond playing age now, but I manage to go to both kids' and adult games just to keep up with them, and keep them fresh in my mind.Very few things make me happier than receiving fan letters from boys and girls who write that they had never cared for reading until they started to read my books. That is just about the ultimate in writing for children. I would never trade it for another profession."
Matt Christopher died on September 27, 1997. His legacy is now being carried on by his sons, Duane and Dale Christopher.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 8, 2014
I read the book "Slam Dunk" by Matt Christopher. I liked the book mostly because I can relate to the main character. I didn't like the start of the book though. It was bland and not very interesting.
The plot was very good. It was about a 13 year old boy who is the leader of a basketball team. His team went undefeated and won the championship last year. This year, all of his teammates left or got hurt. He is now the only leader of the team. One of his teammates moved and can't play with him. The other, got injured in a car accident and also can't play. He has to play with all the bench players and live up to the expectations on last season. He gets into a fight with his teammates about hogging the ball to much and makes the team lose some games. The teammate who got hurt, helped them get together and play as a team. In the end, they get back together as friends and play the final game. They lost the game, but they tried they're hardest and made everyone proud.
I would strongly recommend this book to every male basketball player. A younger audience would probably like this book better. It shows good teamwork and overcoming adversity to try your best.
The plot was very good. It was about a 13 year old boy who is the leader of a basketball team. His team went undefeated and won the championship last year. This year, all of his teammates left or got hurt. He is now the only leader of the team. One of his teammates moved and can't play with him. The other, got injured in a car accident and also can't play. He has to play with all the bench players and live up to the expectations on last season. He gets into a fight with his teammates about hogging the ball to much and makes the team lose some games. The teammate who got hurt, helped them get together and play as a team. In the end, they get back together as friends and play the final game. They lost the game, but they tried they're hardest and made everyone proud.
I would strongly recommend this book to every male basketball player. A younger audience would probably like this book better. It shows good teamwork and overcoming adversity to try your best.
November 23, 2017
The Book I'm reviewing is Called Slam Dunk which is a fast paced sports book written by Matthew Christopher. Slam Dunk is based around the protagonist Julien and the supporting characters Julien's best friends Barry,Grady and his Coach. The book is set in Julien's 6th year of primary school with his basketball team the Tornadoes, it is mainly set in the Basketball Courts but is also set in Julians school.
Slam dunk is based around the protagonist and his journey throughout the book, Julien is a talented basketball player who was the teams star centre and led his team along with Barry and Grady to last Seasons Victory, But as Julien Shows up for his first Team practice to his astonishment he realises he is the only other star player left as his friends have sustained injuries, Instead Julien finds himself surrounded by new comers and bench players from last year, Julien struggles to build a relationship with them all and starts to argue with some of the players. I can relate to this as i have once had team where I was just constantly arguing with them so i know what it feels like.
Slam Dunk has important themes that can relate to everyone, for example determination, determination is what drives this book, without determination Julien would have just quit, another big theme in this book is friendship, the friendship between these three boys is phenomenal, Julien even visited Barry in the hospital to ask for advice on his situation.
My favourite character is Barry as he is competitive and athletic yet sweet and considerate, he helps Julian and gives him advice on what do, Barry has a massive impact on Julien and the decisions he makes.
My favourite part of the book was when Julien played in a Basketball tournament against other really good teams such as the Falcons, what i liked about this Scene is the Majority Julien showed through the tournament as the opposition team were smashing his team at half time, he could of just gave up and quit, but Julien showed the resilience to keep on going to keep on pushing and he took the game to a draw, with extra time, Julien showed a great amount of majority and courage, to go from a whiney little child at the beginning of the season till now showing great leadership and persistence it shows how much he grew throughout the book, Julien also started relationships with the other players as Brad quotes “ We'll get 'em next time” as they walk away.
Although there are some things i like about the book there are some things i dont like, for example i dont like how the Author focused most of his attention to the teams trainings, The Author should've been for creative and could've wrote more about the games, the book also mainly focused on Julien when i think it should've showed the growth of the relationships between the players and how they grew as a team, it was difficult to care or relate to these other characters as they were hardly mentioned. I also think the author could've been more clever with the ending as the book ended on a loss when i think it should've ended on a win so it doesn't feel like all their hard work was for nothing. Overall i thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and advice to 8-17 year old boys or girls who enjoy playing basketball or who are competitive, i rate this book a 4/5.
Luca Levy
590 Words
Slam dunk is based around the protagonist and his journey throughout the book, Julien is a talented basketball player who was the teams star centre and led his team along with Barry and Grady to last Seasons Victory, But as Julien Shows up for his first Team practice to his astonishment he realises he is the only other star player left as his friends have sustained injuries, Instead Julien finds himself surrounded by new comers and bench players from last year, Julien struggles to build a relationship with them all and starts to argue with some of the players. I can relate to this as i have once had team where I was just constantly arguing with them so i know what it feels like.
Slam Dunk has important themes that can relate to everyone, for example determination, determination is what drives this book, without determination Julien would have just quit, another big theme in this book is friendship, the friendship between these three boys is phenomenal, Julien even visited Barry in the hospital to ask for advice on his situation.
My favourite character is Barry as he is competitive and athletic yet sweet and considerate, he helps Julian and gives him advice on what do, Barry has a massive impact on Julien and the decisions he makes.
My favourite part of the book was when Julien played in a Basketball tournament against other really good teams such as the Falcons, what i liked about this Scene is the Majority Julien showed through the tournament as the opposition team were smashing his team at half time, he could of just gave up and quit, but Julien showed the resilience to keep on going to keep on pushing and he took the game to a draw, with extra time, Julien showed a great amount of majority and courage, to go from a whiney little child at the beginning of the season till now showing great leadership and persistence it shows how much he grew throughout the book, Julien also started relationships with the other players as Brad quotes “ We'll get 'em next time” as they walk away.
Although there are some things i like about the book there are some things i dont like, for example i dont like how the Author focused most of his attention to the teams trainings, The Author should've been for creative and could've wrote more about the games, the book also mainly focused on Julien when i think it should've showed the growth of the relationships between the players and how they grew as a team, it was difficult to care or relate to these other characters as they were hardly mentioned. I also think the author could've been more clever with the ending as the book ended on a loss when i think it should've ended on a win so it doesn't feel like all their hard work was for nothing. Overall i thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and advice to 8-17 year old boys or girls who enjoy playing basketball or who are competitive, i rate this book a 4/5.
Luca Levy
590 Words
October 30, 2017
Personal response
This was an interesting book because it shows that even if you have a bad team doesn't mean you won't win. It shows how easy it is to get along with new people if you just go and hang out with them. Barry helped Julian give the new players a chance.
Plot
Julian was the star player last year when they won the championship,and today was the first day of practice. He walked in to see that Gary is the only one playing from last year. After practice started, the coach got informed that Barry had got in a car accident and is in the hospital. It turns out that he will need surgery. Julian is mad, and doesn't want to play with the new players while Gary is trying to be friends with him. Gary wants to hang out with the new players and asked Julian. Julian said he was busy which he really wasn't. The next day, the coaches wanted everybody to go and visit Barry in the hospital. Gary asked Julian if he wanted to come with but he said he was busy again. Gary and Julian get into a fight in the lunchroom the next day. Julian visited Barry separate and Barry said he probably won't be able to play again. Barry also said to Julian that he has to give the new players a chance. Julian apologized to Gary in practice and started hanging out with the new players. The first game was coming up and Barry said he will be there to watch. They started out the first half with them down by two. There was one minute left on the clock and they were still down by two. Gary passed it to Lennie and Lennie threw it the Julian with two seconds left but the pass but the pass was to high and they lost in the end.
Characterization
Julian is the star center and is the best player on the team but is selfish. Gary was the point guard this year and he tried his best to get Julian to like the new players. Barry was the power forward but he got hurt in a car accident that made him get surgery.
Recommendations
I would recommend people who enjoy basketball books that has teamwork in them. This book is good for middle school and high school. This book doesn't have a lot of characters to focus on so it is an easier book to read.
This was an interesting book because it shows that even if you have a bad team doesn't mean you won't win. It shows how easy it is to get along with new people if you just go and hang out with them. Barry helped Julian give the new players a chance.
Plot
Julian was the star player last year when they won the championship,and today was the first day of practice. He walked in to see that Gary is the only one playing from last year. After practice started, the coach got informed that Barry had got in a car accident and is in the hospital. It turns out that he will need surgery. Julian is mad, and doesn't want to play with the new players while Gary is trying to be friends with him. Gary wants to hang out with the new players and asked Julian. Julian said he was busy which he really wasn't. The next day, the coaches wanted everybody to go and visit Barry in the hospital. Gary asked Julian if he wanted to come with but he said he was busy again. Gary and Julian get into a fight in the lunchroom the next day. Julian visited Barry separate and Barry said he probably won't be able to play again. Barry also said to Julian that he has to give the new players a chance. Julian apologized to Gary in practice and started hanging out with the new players. The first game was coming up and Barry said he will be there to watch. They started out the first half with them down by two. There was one minute left on the clock and they were still down by two. Gary passed it to Lennie and Lennie threw it the Julian with two seconds left but the pass but the pass was to high and they lost in the end.
Characterization
Julian is the star center and is the best player on the team but is selfish. Gary was the point guard this year and he tried his best to get Julian to like the new players. Barry was the power forward but he got hurt in a car accident that made him get surgery.
Recommendations
I would recommend people who enjoy basketball books that has teamwork in them. This book is good for middle school and high school. This book doesn't have a lot of characters to focus on so it is an easier book to read.
February 22, 2024
Trying to find books my son will like that is not an audiobook. This one had a great message and good characters. Some of the descriptions of the basketball activity were a little too detailed for a book but my son seemed to like it.
I think it’s a little simple for a fifth grader but in the transition from audiobook to traditional book reading it seemed successful at this age with its story, simplicity and length.
I think it’s a little simple for a fifth grader but in the transition from audiobook to traditional book reading it seemed successful at this age with its story, simplicity and length.
February 10, 2025
Loved these books growing up.
August 4, 2009
dis book waz great i loved it i recommend dis book tu bball players
August 30, 2009
I read this book because it as one of the summer reading choices...but I just don't like basketball books. I thought it was pretty boring.
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July 26, 2009I WANT TO READ THIS BOOK
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews