End Zone Thunder

by Scott Ciencin, Gerardo Sandoval (Illustrator)

Hank "Thunder" Wilde and Jonas "Lightning" Fine are total opposites. Jonas is flashy, while Hank lets his booming hits do the talking. However, both teens have one thing in common -- their competition to become team captain is hurting the Cyclones' run at the state championship. Will "Thunder" and "Lightning" rip the Cyclones apart, or will the two wide receivers come together to create the perfect offensive storm?

Genres: Graphic Novels, Sports

56 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

Scott Ciencin was a New York Times best-selling novelist of 90+ books. He wrote adult and children's fiction and worked in a variety of mediums including comic books. He created programs for Scholastic Books, designed trading cards, consulted on video games, directed and produced audio programs & TV commercials, and wrote in the medical field about neurosurgery and neurology. He first worked in TV production as a writer, producer and director. He lived in Sarasota, Florida with his wife (and sometimes co-author) Denise.

(Also wrote under the pseudonyms Nick Baron and L.J. Oliver)

Reviews

[Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was good

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book has been professionally drawn and styled and it shows. Done in a style typical of comics and superhero cartoons with angular faces and jawlines and manga-type hairstyles. This is definitely a high-low reader, with a reading level of 1.7 and interest level up to 14 yo. The two receivers on the team are competitive with each other to such a degree that the other players are beginning to find it detrimental to the team, even though both are the best players on the team. When the captain of the team moves away suddenly they both vie for the position of the new captain and the coach puts them both through an intense regime to see who really wants it most. But what exactly is the coach looking for? My only problem with this book is my own personal fault in that I don't understand a thing about football! And this book talks football. But that aside, the teens are presented very well, speaking and acting just like real-life teens (keeping in mind that Stone Arch only prints family friendly material). I recommend this book and having read Avalanche Freestyle previously I find the whole series is worthy of recommendation.

[Laurie Trout]

RL: 3.4
Lexile: 625
Fountas & Pinnell: O

Hank "Thunder" Wilde and teammate Jonas "Lightening" Fine are out to see who the next captain of the football team will be. They both want the job and the coach isn't sure which to choose. The two wide receivers have to prove they are worthy of the position. From fierce competition to actual team cooperation, this story is told from Thunder's point of view.

Classroom Use:
Healthy Competition: The coach runs the 2 captain candidates through some drills. Competition can be good. Do the boys take it too far?
Multiple Crisis Points: The story has the crisis of a new team captain and also the personal crisis of the competition between Thunder and Lightening.

Mentor Writing Traits:
Conventions: Good example of the use of ... to carry a sentence into a new frame.
Organization: True graphic novel style with pictures overlapping other pictures.
Presentation: Nice use of a wide variety of font styles and size. Speech bubbles vary to show intensity of text.
Voice: Can hear Thunder's frustration, doubts, and opinions easily.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hank and Jonas both want to be the next team captain of their school football team, but their coach needs to see something special in the captain he selects. It takes the last play in the final game to show who is the best choice.

A very short (49 pages) book with minimal text and stylized drawings provides a simple plot with a satisfying conclusion. The news report style introduction and conclusion offer readers background information necessary for comprehension.

Recommended: 8 - 12

Subject/Theme: Football, Realistic fiction
Curriculum: Character Education, Special Education/ELL
Series: Sports Illustrated Kids Graphic Novels

Www.capstonekids.com

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not brilliant literature or groundbreaking graphically, it's a good graphic novel that will appeal to readers of things like the Matt Christopher sports novels for kids.
The basic theme of teamwork over individual goals in a team sport is well handled. The competition between the two main characters is good. The coach is a little over the top...using live people as tackling dummies is moderately dangerous and a bit stupid in the context given...risking two of his best players to prove what wasn't even a clear point.

[Mustang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book because Hank Wilde(Thunder) and Jonas Fine(Lightning) had a competition on who would be the Cyclones new team captain.-JF

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seriously AWESOME for reluctant readers.

[Jack]

it was good