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This summer, DC Public Library and the Washington Mystics are teaming up with D.C. residents like you to read and learn all summer long. Check out some great titles about women's basketball with your library card and don't forget to visit your neighborhood library to register for Discover Summer!
Children Ages Birth - 5
My First Book Of Basketball, Beth Burger
My First Book of Basketball coaches young kids through the game of basketball with a visual retelling of a professional basketball game--from the jump ball to the game-winning basket! Dribbling, passing, traveling, shooting, dunks, and more are all explained using a fun mix of Sports Illustrated action photography, simple text, a full glossary of terms, and awesome graphics. Illustrated "Rookie" characters--a girl, Gabby, and a boy, Sprat--appear on every page, providing fun facts and simple explanations to help kids better understand the game. Perfect for emerging readers from preschool up, My First Book of Basketball is meant to be a shared reading experience between parents and their little rookies before, during, and after the game.
Children Ages 6-12
Nikki On The Line, Barbara Carroll Roberts
Nikki wants to be a basketball star . . . but between school stress, friend drama, and babysitting woes, will she be able to make it on her new team? Judy Blume meets Mike Lupica in this pitch-perfect, action-packed, and funny novel.
Thirteen-year-old Nikki Doyle's dreams of becoming a basketball great feel within reach when she's selected to play on an elite-level club team. But in a league with taller, stronger, and faster girls, Nikki suddenly isn't the best point guard. In fact, she's no longer a point guard at all , which leaves her struggling to figure out who she is and how she fits in.
The stress piles on as Nikki's best friend spends more and more time with another girl on the team, and when her science teacher assigns a family tree project that will be impossible to complete unless Nikki reveals her most embarrassing secret. As if that's not enough to deal with, to cover the costs of her new team, Nikki has agreed to take care of her annoying younger brother after school to save money on childcare.
As the stakes rise on the basketball court, at school, and at home, Nikki's confidence plummets. Can she learn to compete at this new, higher level? And how hard is she willing to work to find out?
Teens Ages 13 - 19
My Shot, Elena Delle Donne
Elena Delle Donne, 2015 WNBA MVP and 2016 Olympic gold medalist, shares her inspirational story of being a young basketball prodigy who gave up an impressive basketball scholarship for family and self-discovery.
Elena Delle Donne has always forged her own path. During her first year of college, she walked away from a scholarship and chance to play for Geno Aurriema at UConn--the most prestigious women's college basketball program--so she could stay in her home state of Delaware and be close to her older sister, Lizzie, who has several disabilities and can only communicate through hand-over-hand signing.
Burned out and questioning her passion for basketball, she attended the University of Delaware and took up volleyball for a year. Eventually she found her way back to her first love, playing basketball for the Blue Hens, ultimately leading them, a mid-major team, to the Sweet Sixteen. She went on to become the second overall selection during the 2013 WNBA draft and the WNBA's 2015 MVP.
Elena Delle Donne delivers a powerful and motivational story of overcoming the challenges of competitive sports through balancing hard work and the support of a loving family.
Adults
Shattering the Glass, Pamela Grundy and Susan Shackelford
Over the past decade, women's basketball has exploded onto the national sports scene. WNBA and NCAA television ratings have skyrocketed; movies, magazines, and clothing lines showcase female players. But as the authors of Shattering the Glass show, women's basketball has a much longer history, reaching back over a century of struggle, liberation, and gutsy play.
Shattering the Glass offers a sweeping chronicle of women's basketball in the United States, from its invention in the late nineteenth century to its dominant position in sports today. Offering vivid portraits of forgotten heroes and contemporary stars, it also provides a broader perspective on the history of the sport, exploring its relationship to changing ideas of womanhood, efforts to expand women's economic and political rights, and definitions of sexual equality.
Based on original interviews with players, coaches, administrators, broadcasters, and extensively illustrated, Shattering the Glass provides a moving, gritty view of the game on and off the court, and an empowering story of the generations of women who have shaped women's basketball.