Poetry Month -- Basketball

Hoop Kings
by Charles R. Smith
Candlewick Press, 2004








Hoop Queens
by Charles R. Smith
Candlewick Press, 2003








I don't know much about basketball, but I do know that these two books pass the test with the sports fans (mostly boys) in my classroom. They are pulled in by the famous players, the bold colors, and the action photography. Once they're hooked, they find poems of many forms, including rhyming, free verse, acrostic, and rap.

Here's part of Sheryl Swoopes' poem, "All That:"

The Point Leader
Stat Line Feeder,
last-second
shot-making
OT Buzzer-Beater.
The Board Snatcher
Bullet Pass Catcher,
charging hard
through-the-lane
coming-right-at-ya.
The Lane Spinner
championship Winner,
coast to coast
off-the-glass
finger-roll finisher.