The Basket Counts

by Matt Christopher, Karen Meyer Swearingen

On-court hostility threatens Mel's place on the team Mel Jensen is new to the Titans basketball team, but he knows he could be a vital part of the starting lineup-if only two other players would give him a chance to show his stuff. But Caskie and Stoney seem bent on ignoring him, and Mel knows it's because he's black. Should Mel fight fire with fire, or should he try to get along, if only for the sake of the team?

Genres: Sports, Realistic Fiction, Fiction

125 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1991

About the author

Matt 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.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this when I was twelve. A good story that teaches young adults the ugliness of racism but also how it can be overcome at the same time.

[Timon Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like how in this book it shows the competition that athletes go through within there own team. It made this book interesting In a short fun way. Also readers of all ages can enjoy this book.

[Alicja Pietkun · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the Basket Counts, Matt Christopher gave so much information about the game. The plays,dribbling and shots. He makes you feel like you're on the court with the team. It tells a story of Mel Jenson, who is talented, but also the new kid on the Hillcrest Titans Basketball Team.When you read this book, you realize the author just dont talk about sports, he includes otherlife topics which are easy to understand. In this book there are racial issues and how it's hurtful and how teamwork can fail when people aren’t accepting one another. This book contains apowerful lesson about how to be a good teammate and a good person no matter what.

For many years, the main problem is still alive today. It's the story of the new kid trying to fit into a new neighborhood, school and team and fit in and earn the respect of his peers. In today's world, a lot of kids can relate to this problem. Mel Jenson, quickly feels that some of his teammates, like Caskie and Stony won’t pass the ball to him just because of his race.

The Basket Counts gives a valuable lesson about accepting people for who they are without passing judgement on how they look. At the end of book the boys do come together as a team. Winning the the Championship game. I think this book has a lot to offer.

[Nanik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever thought that you could be a really important part of a team or activity but there is other people that you have to compete against? This is what Mel Jensen feels like when he is competing for a starting position on the titans basketball team. Two other players on the team won´t give Mel a chance to shine and show what he has. Mel believes that this is all because of his race. So Mel is given the choice to play angry and play for himself and not the team or he could just suck it up and try and get along with his new teammates. If you read this book you'll see what Mel decides while on his journey of trying to make the Titans basketball team starting lineup. I liked this book because I can relate to this story in some ways. In 7th grade I wanted to play for the 8th grade basketball team and I thought that I would be a valuable part of that team if I was on it. I understand why Mel got frustrated while trying to play with other players who dont pass the ball too. I recommended this book to any big basketball fans or people that like sports in general.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Matt Christopher is one of the best writers of adolescent sports fiction when measured by both quantity and quality. Yet, this is not one of his better efforts. The black Jensen family has recently moved into a nearly all-white community and Mel is on the Titans basketball team. While many of the white members of the community and in the school have welcomed the Jensen’s to the neighborhood, there are a few that have not.
This animosity appears on the basketball court, where a few of the better players simply refuse to pass the ball to the two black players. Tension boils over to the point where team play suffers. Yet, Mel perseveres and through some off-court events, manages to win his antagonists over and the team succeeds at the end.
Generally predictable and lacking in tension, this book is a dull read relative to most of Christopher’s other books.

[Zoey]

It is Mel Jensens first year on the Titans basketball team. He knows he could be an important part of the starting lineup. If only 2 other players on the team would give him a chance to show them he’s good. Stoney and Cassie keep on ignoring him. Also they wont pass the ball to him during the games. Mel knows it is because he is black.


This book is a good book. The genre of the book is fiction. It is a short book. Somebody who likes basketball will probably like this book. Also if you like fiction books this would be a good book good read.

[Marcus Gulley · Rating 5 out of 5]

On-court hostility threatens Mel's place on the team Mel Jensen is new to the Titans basketball team, but he knows he could be a vital part of the starting lineup-if only two other players would give him a chance to show his stuff. But Caskie and Stoney seem bent on ignoring him, and Mel knows it's because he's black.

[Joe Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about a high school boy who gets bullied by his teammates because of his skin color. He is usually calm and collective when they do this, but they have a few fights. His teammates eventually ease out of bullying and become friends.

[Jocelyn Singer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book, The Basket Counts, is an intriguing book. Mel Jackson, one of the main characters, is a basketball for the Titan's. Some kids on the team aren't very fond of him. Stoney is one of those kids. Whenever Stoney has the ball in a game and Mel is open; he will not pass it to him. Then Thanksgiving came; Mel had dinner with hi mom, dad, his brother Robby, and his two sisters Cindy and Ruth. There was one thing, Mel could not stop thinking about the past game. Also he couldn't stop thinking about how he was treated by Stoney. In class Monday morning after Thanksgiving it was still bugging him. The idea of how Stoney treated him wouldn't leave his mind. His teacher had asked him a question about something the class had to study. When he answered the question he got it wrong. He felt embarrassed. Later that day they played their first league game. The Titans won 48 to 47. It was a close game! Then one night his dad came home and was not acting the same. Then Mel and some other people went out ice skating. The power went out, and they had to wait a half an hour to start skating again. The next day they played a game against the Candor Bees in the Hillcrest school gym.

Caskie is another kid that is mean to Mel on the court. He kept yelling at Mel throughout the game. December 6th the Titans played against the Addison Son Stripes. There was a kid on the other team that was super tall and great at basketball. Some people on the Titans felt intimidated. But the Titans managed to win 51 to 50. It was a close game. Later that evening Mel got a letter in the mail. It said, "The Titans beat the Beetles 48 to 41. Why don't you stay home more often?" The note bothered him a lot. He then thought Caskie was the one who did it. Later they then played the Polars. The Titans were on a role. They were winning so many games! At school one day (later in the year) Mel decided to greet Stoney in the hall. Stoney wasn't mean, instead he stopped and smiled a little. They weren't best friends but they were friendly to each other now. The Titans won their last game against the Polars!

If you like basketball, this is a book to read. It is short and sweet with a good story line. I feel like this story is for younger teens (10-16). I think they would enjoy it the most. I personally think this story grabs you and pulls you in when you read it. There is a lot of tension between Mel and some of the other characters (including Caskie and Stoney). This book is apart of the #1 sports series for kids. The Basket Counts is an easy read in my opinion. So in conclusion, this book is easy to read but intriguing at the same time.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read a lot of Matt Christopher books as a kid in the late 60s and early 70s. I'm reading (and re-reading) some now to check them out for my 8 year old son. I came into this recalling that the stories and writing are relatively simple, and that each book uses a sports setting to teach life lesson(s). In general, I'd say these books succeed reasonably well as vehicles for both engaging kids in reading (assuming they're interested in sports) and getting them to consider how to respond in difficult situations. However, some succeed more than others. I've just read The Basket Counts, Soccer Hero and Nothin' But Net, and I'd put The Basket Counts comfortably at the bottom of that group. Most unsatisfying is that the racial conflict is resolved (I guess) with little rhyme or reason. A black kid participates in pulling one of his white antagonists from a pond after the latter falls through the ice ... and then everybody's friends. Even for a book at this level more could've and should've been done with resolution of the conflict. (I think the other two books treat their conflicts more richly.) In fact, the whole story is a bit dated now (though the original 1968 publication was updated a bit in 1991 - if nothing else, to add references to Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson and, I suspect, to update "Negro" or "black" to "African American"). The writing seems more juvenile than that in the other two books, a consequence, I imagine, of the time in which it was written (the other two were published in 2003 and 2007). It's not a bad book, but I think there are better books within the Matt Christopher oeuvre.

[Ryan Mcdaniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Basket Counts by Matt Christopher is the story of Mel Johnson who moves to an all white neighborhood and joins the basketball team, the Hill Crest Titans. Even though he is new to the team, he believes he is good enough to be in the starting line up. Two kids on the team, Caskie and Stony, ignore Mel and he believes this is because he is black. Most of the players on the team won’t even pass the ball to Mel. The turning point in the story is when one of Mel’s teammates falls through some ice. Mel saves his life and things start to turn around on the basketball court. The boys who ignored Mel start to pass him the ball and they end up winning every game in the second half of the season.

I would recommend this book to people who are interested in stories about basketball and racism. There is non-stop basketball action in the book. The best part of the book is when the team comes together and ends up winning all of their games because it shows how color doesn’t matter but teamwork does. What I didn’t like about this book was how there wasn’t much to the story and it was very simply written. I would recommend this book to younger readers.(less)

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is difficult because it has a very narrow age range where it would be really appropriate. The themes of racism and persecution it discusses are a bit intense for children under the age of 7, but the reading level and complexity of this book are very low, so it would not be engaging to children over the age of 9. Because of this, I would recommend this book only to certain types of children. First, I would recommend this book to children, most likely boys, who like sports but who are reluctant readers. The author writes the action scenes of the sport very clearly, so it is easy to visualize the game. This would encourage a reluctant reader who is a sports fan to keep reading this book and to like it, giving them a positive experience with reading. Second, I would recommend this book to children, most likely boys, who are good readers but who are also avid sports fans. Even though the reading level of this book might be low for them, these children would thoroughly enjoy the sports scenes because they are so vividly written, so this would still be a good book to recommend.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely a quick read and one that is more targeted to basketball fans. There is enough basketball terminology and plays going on that if you aren't fan they will quickly detract from the story itself.

Furthermore the characters were a bit on the flat side and really didn't have much of a face to present. Every once in a while one of the characters would start to show a more three dimensional face but then would blend back into the story thus not giving you any true purchase.

The writing is short and simple so an easy step-up book for children going from children books to young adult. There is at least one spot in the book that has a mistake where the author didn't catch the change of detail, which irked me a bit.

Altogether it was ok and had a good message to present to younger audiences although in a sense it may be considered a bit outdated.

[Brandon mendez]

i learned that mel liked to play basketball and all his team mates are white.they dont want to play with him cause he is black and the were all raciest on him.they made fun of him and tell him he doesnt work for nothing.intill mel started to play real good sometimes and he would hang out with his friends.then all his team mates understand that its not right for all that to happen.so he joins the titans game and every body starts giving him more respect.

[Lucas H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book. I think that it should win some award.He did an amazing job explaining the basketball games. You can practically feel like you are at the games. You can understand all of the book. Mel and Caskie don’t like each other I don’t know why. They never even talk to each other. Mel finds a cat takes in his house and realized whose cat it is. Its Caskie’s, after that, they become great friends.

[HERBERT]

The titans are a great team, the only that can beat them is themselves. Mel is cuaght in a predicament when two of his teammates wont pass him the ball to him or his friend just because they are black. mel later prooves he is the bigger man and saves one of the boys from falling in the ice and drowning. soon after this he relises that him and the former racist are becoming friends and they win a championship.

[Isaiah Bady · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think The Basket Counts by matt Christopher is a great book it's filled with lots of action. And is over all just a great book.

[Colin E.c. · Rating 4 out of 5]

MC: What is unique about this book?

CC: This book is unique because it's about earning team trust. The white people on the team were disrespecting him.

MC: What did he do?

CC: He played better basketball and tried not to get mad.

MC: What strategies did he use not to get annoyed with people?

CC: He talked to his friend, Daryl, because Daryl was always calm.

[Alexandra]

only adding to check out because my reluctant reader student likes basketball.

[WSL Library]

X2

[Bridger Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good sports book. All fifth grade boys who like sports will like it. It is easy to read.

[Mason Koons · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was okay, it wasent the best book I read it seemed different then what I thought

[Leeanna Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about how Mel Jensen moves to a new school and tries to fit in with the basketball team. He does really well, except for one problem- two of the boys ignore him like no other. They act like he isn't there and that bothers Mel. He is conflicted on whether or not to be kind to them or to do the same thing as they are doing to him and ice them out. In the end, it is the basketball team that will always matter.

I liked this book. It is a great book for both boys and girls alike.