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For weeks and weeks before try-outs, Zayd Saleem practiced
his shots, dribbles, and lay-ups for a better chance at
joining the best fourth-grade basketball team in the whole
entire league. No kid was happier than Zayd when he finally
made it – and the bonus was that his best friend, Adam, was
on the team, too.
And that was great – it gave Zayd more time to hang out with
Adam, and it allowed them more time to play ball. But then
the basketball team started doing poorly, losing games by a
lot of points. Adam was the team captain, but he began
hanging out with some other, older boys who preferred
football.
Zayd was afraid that his best friend had lost interest in
hoops, especially when Adam skipped basketball practice a
couple of times, and that made Zayd sad. He figured the team
was as good as done, but then Coach dropped a bombshell:
Adam was out for awhile and Zayd was on point!
But how could that be? Zayd wasn’t sure how to tell Coach
that he wasn’t ready! He wasn’t aggressive enough, or fast
enough to move the ball along in play. He wasn’t nearly as
good as Adam but with Adam gone, what were the choices?
Practice, practice, practice. That was the only option, and
as Zayd thought about an upcoming game, he also thought
about his beloved Jamal Mamoo’s predicament: Jamal Mamoo had
recently gotten engaged but everybody had an opinion about
the wedding. Zayd could tell that Jamal Mamoo and Nadia
Aunty were not happy about their ceremony becoming something
they didn’t want. He practiced and thought, until the answer
was finally clear. Was it possible that the solution for
both of them was the same?
Here’s the first thought about On Point: though it’s
based in basketball, your child doesn’t have to be a
basketball fan to like it.
Indeed, author Hena Khan is careful to use correct terms in
this hoops-book, but they (and other words) are quietly
explained within the story itself, usually by its main
character. Readers unfamiliar with b-ball are even schooled
on the title’s meaning, but not in a manner that’s
off-putting to kids who already know.
That’s perhaps what’s going to put this book in a
youngster’s hands. What will keep it there is the story
itself, which is one of tradition, confidence, and learning
to lead, but it’s not a preachy message.
All around, that makes On Point a truly appealing
book, both for kids and for parents who want subtle lessons
learned. If that’s true for your seven-to-10-year-old, then
this book should do it.
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