Tween Tuesday Review: Slam Dunk

Lists of 10 covering a variety of things in basketball from skills to shoes to hairstyles.

The Good:
Lots of great pictures
Interesting List Topics: Clutch players, sixth man, fans, triple-double threats, game winning shots, and much more. 
Lots of Facts and Stats within the lists
Easy to pick up and put down because of the format

The Bad:
There's ONE two list that features WNBA players and one woman's mentioned in a list of basketball families. But that's it.
I know the WNBA is no where near as popular as the NBA, but still I felt like more women should have been included.

Overall: A great book that with have basketball fans checking out and arguing over the lists. Perfect for conversation starters. Perfect for fans of the game. Great for reluctant readers. I think this one will circulate like hotcakes in a library 

* Source: Sent for Review

Mini Review: All Access

Tagline from Publisher: Your Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Coolest People, Places and Things!

Set-Up: This book's divided into three categories: People, Places, and Things.

The Good:
I Love the Lift and Look Pages
Great facts (fascinating, gross, and weird) 
Love the variety
Loved the history blended with the currently world

The Bad:
I wish it was longer!

Overall: Seriously cool book that any reader would enjoy.

*Sent for Review

Nonfiction Review: Football then to Wow!

I fully confess that I don't know much about football. I watch it occasionally and usually with a book in my hand. I know the basics of the game and how it's played, but I don't know the history of the sport. I'm not one to memorize STATs of the players, but I appreciate a good player.

I found this book fascinating. I liked learning more about the history of the sport, although probably the set-up of the book helped too. The timelines were great - not overcrowded with too much information, illustrations to help make the points, and humor.  The book talked about the rules, how the ball's changed, the different type of equipment used over the years, the Stadiums, the fans, the salaries of players, and the STATs. Important players through the decades were highlighted and the book talked about how the positions have changed over the years as the game grew. They talked about coaching styles and if offense or defense won more Super Bowl championships. I enjoyed the part of how technology changed the game, especially Draft Day.

A remarkable book for football fans of every age or for anyone wanting to learn more about the sport. Great book for libraries!

Review: What are the Chances?

Rare plays in sports history

The Set-Up:
The stats are split up into four categories: Rare, Really Rare,
Super Rare, Almost Impossible, and Never Happened

Rare talks about the number of home runs in a season or touchdowns in one game or assists in a basketball game or blocked shots in basketball or goals in a hockey season.

Really Rare mentions passing yards in an NFL game, goals in a NHL season, steals in a NBA game, teams ranked #1 for an entire NCAA season, or no-hitters thrown by rookies in an MBL game..

Super Rare shows off comebacks from 3-1 in an NBA playoff series, 1,000 assists at the NCAA level, passing yards for a NFL season, and the number of aces in one tennis match.

Almost Impossible showcases a Women's and Men's team both the NCAA basketball champions, strikeouts in one game, goals in a World Cup soccer game, and points scored in a NBA game.

Never Happened I like the inclusion of this chapter- stats that almost happened, but never did.

The Good: Great stats, fantastic pictures, interesting trivia, and set-up in straight forward, easy to read chapters that are perfect for sports fans.

The Bad: Again, there are only a handful of examples for women's sports. Are they not rare enough? If I found them with a few moments of searching, should more be included??
What about these:
Mia Hamm played for a national team at the age of 15
Lisa Leslie was the first WNBA player to win the regular season MVP, the All-Star Game MVP and the playoff MVP in the same season (2001)
Candace Parker was the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament
Did Babe Didrickson not have any rare moments in sports history?

Overall:  Besides the lack of women mentioned, I really enjoyed reading this one, so I can see how easily readers will flock to this book and love it for the stats and the photos and they will enjoy talking about the numbers with others

* This book was sent for review

Tween Tuesday Review: Robots

For anyone who is interested in the history of robots, robots of today, and what the future might hold. A great overview for anyone who finds robots fascinating. 

Set-Up:

The book's divided into sections - Robots that Work, Robots that Protect, Robots that Explore, Robots that Fly, Robots that Help, Robots that Play, and Robots that kids made.

History of Robotics dating back to early automatons.

Break-out Points are in bright colors

What I Like:

1. The examples of college students' work in the field. 
2. The photographs are wonderful
3. Informative and Entertaining but not too text heavy
4. Reading Robots
5. Mini Robots shown to size
6. LEGO Robots
7. Websites for more info
8. The creativeness behind the robots build for kids

A fabulous introduction to robots in an easy to read format with excellent photographs/illustrations