Book Resume
for H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination by Christopher Myers
Professional book information and credentials for H.O.R.S.E..
5 Professional Reviews (1 Starred)
4 Book Awards
Selected for 3 State/Province Lists
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Two African American teens seemingly engaged in a friendly game of H.O.R.S.E. on ...read more
- School Library Journal:
- Grades 3 - 6
- Publisher's Weekly:
- Ages 5 and up
- Kirkus:
- Ages 6 - 10
- TeachingBooks:*
- Grades PK-6
- Lexile Level:
- 650L
- Cultural Experience:
- African American
- Genre:
- Science Fiction / Fantasy
- Sports
- Year Published:
- 2012
8 Subject Headings
The following 8 subject headings were determined by the U.S. Library of Congress and the Book Industry Study Group (BISAC) to reveal themes from the content of this book (H.O.R.S.E.).
5 Full Professional Reviews (1 Starred)
The following unabridged reviews are made available under license from their respective rights holders and publishers. Reviews may be used for educational purposes consistent with the fair use doctrine in your jurisdiction, and may not be reproduced or repurposed without permission from the rights holders.
Note: This section may include reviews for related titles (e.g., same author, series, or related edition).
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Two African American teens seemingly engaged in a friendly game of H.O.R.S.E. on the basketball court are actually engaged in a dazzling contest of imagination and one-upmanship as each comes up with increasingly outrageous ideas for shots. The first suggests he’ll “shoot a perfect layup, with my left … foot” from atop a 437-story building, after calculating the wind speed and direction. The other counters with his “Magellan” shot—one jump around the world. “As I approach the court, somewhere over New Jersey, I’ll raise back, open my mouth, dunk the ball through the basket there, with my tongue!” The first teen’s response: a shot involving a cloud, the moon, and the rings of Saturn. It’s all fun and games in Christopher Myers’s dynamic story, which has wit in both the wordplay and the art. The two characters’ speech is delineated by different colors of text, making the back-and-forth exchange easy to follow. (Ages 5–10)
CCBC Choices 2013 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2013. Used with permission.
From School Library Journal
January 1, 2013
Gr 3-6-Two friends on an urban basketball court begin a game of H.O.R.S.E. For the uninitiated, Myers does a fine job describing how to play the game, which is similar to Ghost: one player shoots any kind of shot (layup, jumper, etc.) and the other player has to duplicate it. If the second player fails to make the shot, he gets one letter and the game continues until someone loses five times and spells the word H.O.R.S.E. It sounds simple enough, until these two players get creative, such as balancing on the top of a 437-story building and shooting a perfect layup with the left foot. As the friends raise the stakes and the braggadocio rises to an inventive pitch, readers will appreciate the grand humor. White or plain background space emphasizes the dramatic shots that are dreamed up. In addition, the text waves up and beyond the skyline just as the ball can soar. This book will encourage all readers to grab a close friend and get out to play a game, matching their athleticism to their imaginations.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
From Horn Book
January 1, 2013
Two boys alternate describing the wildly impossible trick basketball shots they'll take--from the tops of buildings, after circumnavigating the globe, and from outer space. Myers's graceful illustrations employ his signature combination of gouache painting and cut-paper collages using photographs as backgrounds, but there is more painting than collage here, and consequently, more space for the imagination to take flight.
(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
From Publisher's Weekly
Starred review from September 24, 2012
This wonderfully inventive, mordant duel of words offers both an advanced discussion of a particular sport (basketball) and flights of big-talking fancy. The setting is urban; Myers (Looking Like Me) creates collages that combine painting, lots of blank space, and photo images of city buildings. A pair of gangly and competitive boys co-star. “Hey,” says one, “want to play a game of horse?” setting the stage for a war of words in which the boys propose ever more improbable shots, taking the one-upmanship, swagger, and style inherent to the game to delirious extremes. “I will stand on one tiny tiptoe, balance myself on the topmost corner of the 437-story building, and shoot a perfect layup, with my left... foot,” says one boy. “Now you tell me,” protests the other in mock dismay. “What?” “That we could leave the court.” Although the book lands softly after the last crazy idea (“from there, the ball will ricochet through the vacuum of space”), the energetic dialogue and gravity-defying artwork more than compensate. An excellent readaloud for kids who scorn fluffy-bunny books and want to play like the big kids. Ages 5–up.
From Kirkus
September 15, 2012
Two teens on a city basketball court start a game of matching each other's shots. Miss five tries and you are out! The first to spell out H.O.R.S.E. loses, so these two literally shoot for the stars. Easy shots are baby stuff for them. Their conversation goes back and forth as the hoopsters, a guy and a gal, leave the physical confines of the court and let their imaginations take flight. He takes a mighty jump for his "Magellan shot," leaving New York and going "clear around the world." She aims an "outer-space resistant" ball with a "kind of bounce shot" that hits Saturn, mystifies astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson, returns to Earth and slips cleanly through the hoop. "Not bad at all," responds the guy. Myers has great fun with his gravity-defying trash talk and spirited game of one-upmanship. His ballplayers are beautiful, elongated figures painted in brightly textured yellow, blue and brown pastels. Photographic collages of New York City buildings adorn the pages. In his author's note, Myers states that the shots are all fact-based. Who's to argue? An exciting bragging-rights adventure on the basketball court, around and beyond planet Earth and back again. (author's note) (Picture book. 6-10)
COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
4 Book Awards & Distinctions
H.O.R.S.E. was recognized by committees of professional librarians and educators for the following book awards and distinctions.
3 Selections for State & Provincial Recommended Reading Lists
H.O.R.S.E. was selected by educational and library professionals to be included on the following state/provincial reading lists.
United States Lists (3)
Michigan
- Great Lakes Great Books Award, 2013-2014, Grades 2-3
Wisconsin
- 2014-2015 Read On Wisconsin Book Club, Grades 3-5
- 2014-2015 Read On Wisconsin Book Club, Grades PK-12
Primary Source Statement on Creating H.O.R.S.E.
Christopher Myers on creating H.O.R.S.E.:
This primary source recording with Christopher Myers was created to provide readers insights directly from the book's creator into the backstory and making of this book.
Listen to this recording on TeachingBooks
Citation: Myers, Christopher. "Meet-the-Author Recording | H.O.R.S.E.." TeachingBooks, https://library.teachingbooks.net/bookResume/t/33452. Accessed 31 January, 2025.
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This Book Resume for H.O.R.S.E. is compiled from TeachingBooks, a library of professional resources about children's and young adult books. This page may be shared for educational purposes and must include copyright information. Reviews are made available under license from their respective rights holders and publishers.
*Grade levels are determined by certified librarians utilizing editorial reviews and additional materials. Relevant age ranges vary depending on the learner, the setting, and the intended purpose of a book.
Retrieved from TeachingBooks on January 30, 2025. © 2001-2025 TeachingBooks.net, LLC. All rights reserved by rights holders.