Summer Ball :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Another Danny Walker hit!

2008-08-09
Danny Walker returns this time with even more baggage and more adventures. The majority of the book takes place at Josh Cameron's Right Way camp. The usual gang is back with Ty Ross, Will Stoddard, and yes even Tess. A few more characters come into this book as well and you will be excited to read it. This book will have you turning pages through and through until the very exciting end. Any sports loving kid will love this book and you know what those ones who don't like sports will love it too.

another winner

2008-08-02
As a middle school literacy teacher, I am always looking for books my students will want to read. Mike Lupica's never disappoint. My boys, in particular, love them, and I am impressed with the way Lupica deals with the dilemmas his characters face. This is another great story.

Summer Ball

2008-03-04
Have you ever been too small for something and had someone not pick you, let you go on a ride, etc. This is what Danny Walker deals with all the time with basketball. This book is called Summer Ball by Mike Lupica.

After being cut from his 8th grade basketball team because he was to small Danny makes his own team, which ends up winning the National Championship. He now is going to a basketball camp called Right Way. This camp is run by Josh Cameron and made up of the best ballers in the U.S.A. There is only one problem Danny is really short for his age. Don't get me wrong he is the best passer and dribbler you have ever seen, but he will be playing guys who are 6 foot 4 inches. When he gets to camp he is accidentally put in the 11 and 12-year-old dorm. But he also meets a kid named Zach who is also very much like Danny in many was. His coach is extra hard on Danny and very strict. This book has a great ending and, is the sequel of Travel Team. This book fits under the fiction genre. I would recommend this book to any middle school student. This book has a great ending, and it is extremely influential.

Tied With First Book

2007-12-24
The beginning made me unsure but once he got to camp (or met Tarik) I knew it would be good. I was worried that Danny would walk over everyone, but between Rasheed (at first) Lamar ( He doesn't deserve to be Named after Lamar Odom) and Coach "My Way" Powers I had plenty of people to hate (Teddy was absent because Richie told the mafia to get him). Powers was tied with Lamar and Teddy for biggest jerk in history, his quotes, (after Danny wins the game by using his own play) "You used your own play didn't you? No more secrets Mr. walker. Are you ever going to learn?" (after Danny asks to be traded to another team) " Mr. Walker let me give you to think about. Soccer. It's full of fast little guys like you." He destroys anyone with creativity and run an run mindedness (If he coached the Phoenix Suns Nash, Barbosa, Marion and Amare would be chewed out nightly and get 5 minutes of play each)

A SLAM DUNK of good reading!!!

2007-10-27
Hey! I'm a 15 year old guy that loves sports and plays them with passion. This book, Summer Ball, brings back loads of memories from sports camps that I've attended, especially those competitive ones.

In this book, the main character is again Danny Walker just like it was in Mike Lupica's other basketball book, Travel Team. This book highlights many things that a teenage boy would definitely want to do. That includes sneaking out to meet girls, playing sports, and hanging with friends.

This book almost comes to life as the characters seem like real people -- kids that you would want to hang out with. That is how good of a job Mike Lupica did on this book.

In this story, Danny Walker is a 5'3 mini-baller, but Coach Ed Powers from the competitive "Right Way" basketball camp doesn't think he has what it takes to be a top-notch baller. Coach Powers thinks Danny is one of those small, scrawny fast kids that should play soccer. This book incorporates lots of emotions that teens have to deal with when they are put down or put into a position of making a team. Danny's attitude is great in this story, and it helps him to become a key player of his camp Celtics team. It is a great lesson learned and it shows that a teenage boy that is very determined can definitely get the job done.

Therefore, if you like sports and you liked the book Travel Team, and then this Mike Lupica book is for you! When you pick it up, be sure to follow each and every drive to the dish with Danny and friends for a SLAM DUNK of good reading!!!

Summer Ball by Mike Lupica

2007-07-23
The sequel to the #1 New York Times bestseller Travel Team!

When you ’re the smallest kid playing a big man’s game, the challenges never stop—especially when your name is Danny Walker. Leading your travel team to the national championship may seem like a dream come true, but for Danny, being at the top just means the competition tries that much harder to knock him off. Now Danny’s heading to Right Way basketball camp for the summer, and he knows that with the country’s best players in attendance, he’s going to need to take his game up a notch if he wants to match up. But it won’t be easy. Old rivals and new battles leave Danny wondering if he really does have what it takes to stand tall.

My 13 Yr Old Son Actually Read A Book & Liked It! 2007-06-26
My 13 year old son does not like to immerse himself in books of any kind. The school he attends had an time a couple of times a week set aside where everybody in the school had to read. He hated it, but after reading this book, said he wished he had more reading time! I haven't read the book, but can't wait to do so.

Sequel lives up to the high expectations of Travel Team 2007-06-16
This sequel to Travel Team sees Danny ready to take on new challenges. As he prepares to enter his freshman year of high school, Danny goes to the prestigious "Right Way" basketball camp. While at the camp Danny has to come to grip with the fact that he will soon be playing against people much taller than him and whether or not he will be able to compete with those players. His coach at camp, doesn't think so, only confirming Danny's fears. Readers will be pleased with the ending which does not suffer from the all is suddenly better syndrome of Heat.

This book features all of Lupica's trademarks including authentic dialog & riveting sports sequences. Fans of Travel Team will enjoy reading about the new adventures of their favorite characters and like the new characters who are introduced. While the book can not replicate the all of the charm of the first novel, this is one to read for any sports fan.

'Slammin'' story for the class! 2007-05-29
I just read Summer Ball to my class, and let me tell you it was phenominal! My class was so excited to read this story every day. I started out reading a chapter a day but my class could not get enough! One day during a rainy recess my student's requested that we read the story as our activity for recess. The story is of a 13 year old boy who goes to a basketball summer camp. He has the stigma of being short, however it seems to have gone away by when he mentors a younger camper. Lupica captures the nerves of leaving home and the desire to be the best. Reading this to my homeroom has been a Slam Dunk!

Danny Walker's Biggest Fan 2007-05-24
I am an 12 year old boy and I have read all of Mike Lupica's books. I couldn't wait until this one came out because Travel Team was my favorite and I knew that this was another book about Danny Walker. Mr. Lupica makes you feel as though the characters are real people and people you wish you could hang with. The stories make you want to keep reading until you find out how it all works out. I loved Summer Ball and wish I hadn't read it so fast.