Well-written facts and history accompanied by bright and engaging illustrations make this a book to get lost in.

From the very first thoughts of founding a professional basketball team, these pages follow the history of basketball from it's first moments onwards. Hitting upon the development of the game by a gym teacher with peach baskets, various important moments, personalities, problems and successes of the sport over time are presented and explained. The book is divided into 'quarters' and various chapters under those. At the end of the book, there are several lists of teams, individuals and such, which are great for those who like more exact numbers and details.

I enjoyed the comprehensive view these pages take on the history of the NBA, since it reaches further than just the famous individuals and feats surrounding the league, but includes the history which affected it. It centers around the struggles and intriguing solutions, which kept the dream of basketball alive and brought the NBA to where it is today. This includes organization beyond the NBA and shows how the efforts of those not directly involved in the organization did influence the NBA and did help to keep it alive, directly or indirectly. It definitely gave me a deeper respect for the people behind the sport, and portrays the clever twists and turns used to keep spectators interested in the game...because it wasn't always clear the sport would go on.

The illustrations are very well done and allow the energy of the court to come across clearly. The faces of the individuals mentioned are recognizable and, yet, there's a nice artistic flair, too. But it's the text, which makes this one shine, since it brings across the facts in an interesting fashion...and that in an appropriate as well as easy to understand fashion for the intended age group. It never talks down to the reader, but actually, is one even some adults will enjoy picking up and flipping through. I received an ARC copy and was surprised how well done this book is...since it even drew me, a non-sports fans, in.

I'm a HUGE Fred Bowen fan, and I always learn something about sports from any book of his I read. I'm still trying to process that there is an American Basketball Association in addition to the NBA, and the fact that there is apparently a real team called the New Orleans Pelicans. Reading Hardcourt made me realize that I know even less about basketball than I know about football!

Like Mr. Bowen's Gridion, this is a beautifully illustrated, larger format (11"x 11") book that would look great on a coffee table, or displayed on a shelf next to trophies. It's also hugely informative, laying out the history of the game of basketball and chronicles the changes made in it over the years. Starting with James' Naismith's creation of the game, we see how time and social changes contribute to the way the game is structured today. I hadn't realized that while the game has been around since the late 1800s, it didn't really take off until well after World War II, and had a hard time getting fans during a time when baseball was the preferred sport.

While the majority of the players today are Black (almost 75%), when the National Basketball Association started out in 1946, it was entirely white. There were many teams in other leagues that were all Black. By 1950, the Boston Celtics drafted Chuck Cooper, and Earl Lloyd and Sweetwater Cliftion also signed on. There was relatively little controversy over this move, perhaps because basketball was not as much in the limelight as baseball.

The book is divided into four quarters, and discusses the various changes made over the years, including things about points and clocks that I didn't even try to understand, but which my students will avidly discuss. Major players during the ascendancy of basketball's popularity in the 1970s and 80s, such as Wilt Chamberlain (1936-1999), Majic Johnson, and Larry Bird, are familiar names to me, while players since 2000 will resonate more with my students. The 1992 Olympic "Dream Team" is also discussed at length, although I still want to know why pros were allowed in the Olympics.

There's a bit about the American Basketball Association, which was active for around a decade in the 1960s and 70s and made a comeback in the 2000s. It's apparent a semi-professional league, but I have no idea what this means, and still don't quite believe it exists. The list of the founding year of the NBA teams at the end of the book is very helpful, but I also have my doubts about the existance of the New Orlean Pelicans. My brother watched football when I was growing up, but apparently basketball has not entered my consciousness at all, because I'm even a bit doubtful about the Denver Nuggets, whom the book says have existed since 1976.

Ransome's illustrations are colorful and vibrant, and the book design showcases these nicely against the easy to read text. Both this and Gridiron would be excellent gifts for a young sports fan, and throwing in a couple of Bowen's fiction books would make an excellent package! (Ooh. Or a gift basket, with a ball. Keep that in mind for school auctions.)

If your sports knowledge is roughly equivalent to mine and you work with young sports enthusiasts, it's imperative that you read Hardcourt and buy it for any elementary or middle school library in your charge. If you haven't looked into Bowen's fiction, this is my occasional reminder that you need to gradually replace all of your crumbling Matt Christopher titles with Bowen's work.