The Basket Ball

 by Esme Raji Codell

Summary: After the boys won't let her join in their basketball game, Lulu decides to host a Basket Ball, where girls from all over come to participate and, with Lulu as captain, end up forming a special team.

This is fantastic book for discussing gender roles. I admire Lulu’s personality. I am happy that authors, such as Codell, have recently tackled stereotypical gender roles by showing that some girls and boys like a little bit of “girlish” AND “boyish” activities. As a child, I felt we were taught that some girls do boyish things and some girls do boyish things. Teachers told us that this is okay and we were to accept that. No one discussed that a girl, like Lulu, can be a basketball star and enjoy sequins. This story is in rhyme with many cute puns and is an ideal read aloud. However, I do not recommend reading this book to very young children because of the text’s advanced basketball vocabulary. There is a glossary at the end of the book with such terms that may be helpful to elementary children that read this book independently.

Interest Level: grades k-3
Reading Level: grade 3