Crystal Hubbard’s GAME, SET, MATCH, CHAMPION ARTHUR ASHE, illustrated by Kevin Belford, is a tribute to one of the most amazing athletes of the twentieth century. Not only was Arthur Ashe a remarkable championship tennis player, but he was also a life-long advocate for human rights, at home and abroad. This unlikely champion earned a place in history when he became the first African American man to win the Grand Slam Tournament.
As a young girl, Marcenia Lyle dreamed of playing professional ball. Determination got her there. CATCHING THE MOON: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream chronicles the beginnings of that long journey and the spunky young girl who found a way to earn a position on the St. Louis Cardinal’s sponsored summer camp team.
I was born in St. Louis, Missouri. My mother was a teacher, and she raised me and my five sisters with help from my Grandma Hazel, who lived in one of the two apartments above ours. My Grandma was the best cook and she was very strong. When I was little, she used to hold me upside-down by my ankles and swing me, and I LOVED that!
My mother loved to read, and every week in the summer, she would send me to the library to get books for her. I loved to go because I loved to read, too, and the head librarian, Isabel Duncan, introduced me to so many authors—Mark Twain, Harper Lee, Ambrose Bierce, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas—I was never bored in the summer because my days were filled with stories.
When I was ten, I decided I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to tell stories just like the authors I adored. So I wrote a play. It was called “Disco Cleopatra,” and it was about a 17-year-old Cleopatra and her adventures trying to get a pair of Nike Disco Roller Skates, the kind with the white swoosh and the neon-orange urethane wheels. She needed those skates to catch the eye of Marc Antony. Cleopatra and Marc Antony were real historical figures, but I put them in a completely fictional setting in my play.
When I was in seventh grade, I wrote a long, sprawling soap opera that I’d charge kids 10 cents a page to read at recess. The story only had three characters, but I had them falling off cliffs in canoes, wrestling pythons in jungles, being tied to fire ant hills and all kinds of horrible adventures. The story ended only because the school year did!
In high school, I used to write stories in spiral notebooks, but one day, my notebooks disappeared from a bookrack for three days. I was in a panic because I didn’t want anyone reading my stories! My notebooks magically reappeared, but after that, I never let anyone read anything I wrote. I was too self-conscious.
I was working as a sports copy editor at the Boston Herald when I met a woman named Jen Safrey. She worked at the newspaper too, but she was also a romance novelist. I worked up the courage to show her a book I’d written, and she encouraged me to send it to a publisher. That’s when I decided to pursue publication, and in 2005, my first adult novel and my first picture book debuted within three months of one another.
I had so many weird habits as a child, most of which remain with me now. When I eat plums, I have to eat all the skin first, and then eat the flesh. I can only eat scrambled eggs if they’re covered in syrup. I have to sleep in an oversized T-shirt, and I never, ever walk around barefoot. When I write, I always have to use a black, fine-point pen, and I always write my first drafts longhand in spiral notebooks. And I never sleep barefoot. I always wear socks.
Any defining moments (good or bad) that shaped you as a child?
I grew up without a father. My mother was a girly girl, so she never mowed the lawn or fixed the car. My Grandma Hazel was a beautiful woman, but she was also wicked tough. She’s the one who taught me how to change the filter in a furnace, start a charcoal fire that could burn for days, and how to use a pencil to choke a carburetor. She’s also the person who taught me about baseball, and instilled a love of the sport in me. I can’t say that growing up without a father was bad, but it wasn’t good either. I think I’d be a far different person than who I am if my father had helped raise me.
One of the best moments of my childhood was spending my sixth-grade year in the class of a teacher named Gloria Griffero. Mrs. Griffero encouraged creative writing and she really encouraged me to write whatever I wanted.
Did you ever do something brave when you were young?
My sister Joelle was drowning in a public pool, and I pulled her out, but I don’t think of that as a brave thing to do. It was instinctive. The bravest thing I ever did as a child was to face the kids who used to tease me, spit on me and throw rocks at me when I walked from my house to the library. My family was the only family of color in our neighborhood, and some of our neighbors didn’t like us. My love of reading outweighed my fear of mean kids, so I would make that walk just about every day even though I knew it was scary.
Did you ever get into trouble at home or school?
Yes! I was always in trouble in high school—for slipping grades and for skipping classes. My behavior improved when my drama teacher, John Faust, and the school headmaster, Edward Cissel, showed an interest in my future. They genuinely cared about me, and that made all the difference.
What advice do you have for aspiring young readers and writers?
My advice to aspiring young writers is to write. Simply write whatever you want, and don’t ever throw something away just because you don’t like it. You never know when you might want to revisit that story, and chances are good that it’s not as bad as you think it is. Just write. That’s the best advice for any writer.
Do you have any children or pets and have you ever used them in a book?
I have four children. A son, who’s fourteen, and three daughters. They’re nine, six and four. I also have a dog, a miniature poodle mix named Maggie; two cornsnakes named Candy Beaverhausen and Snakey; three bearded dragons named Peyton, Alex and Chris; and two African dwarf frogs named Legs and Rocket.
Quick Picks:
Soup or salad?
I’m a salad fanatic! My favorite is romaine lettuce with artichoke hearts, olives and a sweet Italian dressing.
Dog, Cat, Bird, or Fish?
My snake, Candy Beaverhausen, is my favorite animal.
Favorite or least favorite vegetable?
Brussels sprouts are my favorite vegetable. Carrots are my least favorite.
Longhand or computer?
Longhand. I like the feel of the words coming out of my pen.
Early Bird Writer or Night Owl?
I’m an early bird writer and a night owl. I usually write late at night into the early morning hours.
Download a copy of Crystal’s Story to share with students HERE.
Read, “Your Friend, Crystal Hubbard (A Letter to Readers)” HERE.
When I was eight-years-old, I met a professional tennis player named Arthur Ashe. He was a very nice man who didn’t look like an athlete. He was tall and skinny and wore big glasses. I thought he looked like a teacher, not the number-one tennis player in the world!
Mr. Ashe was very nice to me. In the course of his career in tennis, he was very kind to a lot of people. He wanted people to behave nicely toward each other, and to help each other. He was a hero on the tennis court and off of it.
When my children’s book editor asked me if I wanted to write a book about Arthur Ashe, I said YES! Game, Set, Match, Champion Arthur Ashe is the story of Arthur Ashe’s life, from his childhood in segregated Richmond, Virginia to his death at the age of 49. I wrote the book because I wanted everyone to know about a remarkable man who used his tennis fame to help end racial segregation in South Africa and to raise awareness and research funds for AIDS.
Arthur Ashe met athletes, world leaders, and celebrities all over the world. But when I met him a second time in my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, he remembered me. Me! A funny-looking kid in pigtails! He also remembered the names of all my sisters.
In reading Game, Set, Match, Champion Arthur Ashe, I’ve tried to show young readers the man, the champion, who tried to make the world a better place.
Rodeo, a sport? Yes, indeed. Rodeo is the United States only “home-grown” sport. Interest and participation in rodeo competition has been soaring. RODEO by Robin Johnson will bring readers right into the arena where the dust is swirling and cowboys and cowgirls are getting ready to ride a rearing-kicking bronco or a twisting, spinning Brahma bull. Young readers will thrill to read about the speed and spins of barrel racers in this exciting book.
COWGIRL by Murray Tinkelman, (Out of Print) is a classic look at this “made in America” sport.
“Let’s have a big round of applause for our first cowgirl competitor at this rodeo,” the announcer booms. And out she races! Readers will follow the action from the grooming of a rider’s horse to the winning of a barrel-racing event as rodeo cowgirls compete in COWGIRL or in RODEO DAY(Out of Print) by JoNelle Toriseva, illustrated by Robert Casilla. Put on your chaps and spurs, shove back your broad-brimmed hat and get ready to ride.
Not your usual picture book, but a delightful, cowpoke dialogue between champion bull-riding Dad and his “waiting-to-be” bull-riding kid.
“Are ya’ scared, Dad?” the child asks the dad, Curly, the toughest bull rider east or west of the Mississippi.
“Nope.” Dad answers with his usual one-word reply. We follow them both as they straighten chaps, tighten boots and push back broad-brimmed hats getting ready to ride the meanest, toughest bull in the West – White Dynamite.
Bull riding, some say, is the most dangerous sport….Yep. Could be.
Schilling is an enrolled member of the St. Regis, Mohawk Tribe and an athlete who runs, bikes, skis, swims – and writes! 7th This collection of stories highlights the achievements of thirteen champion American Indian athletes: Jordin Tootoo, Inuit, hockey; Cheri Becerra-Madsen, Omaha, wheelchair racer; Alwyn Morris, Mohawk, kayaking; Stephanie Murata, Osage, wrestler; Cory Witherill, Navajo, Indy Race Car driver; and Delby Powless, Mohawk, lacrosse. Each story shares the excitement of the sport and the importance of the choices individuals made to become champions.
It’s always a treat to find books that I’m thrilled to pass along to students – both boys and girls – and KICKERS is one such series. The stories move quickly, the action is fast-paced, and each book delivers a realistic view of team sports and the challenges individual players must overcome in order to have fun and be the best athletes they can be.
In Book #1, THE BALL HOGS, nine-year-old Ben has just joined his first soccer team and it’s obvious Ben and his fellow Bobcat teammates have a lot to learn. Not only is Mark, one of the members on the team, a ball hog, but Ben soon discovers that he is, too.
The game is new for most of the players, but coach Patty sees their potential and from one week to the next, the team begins to pull together.
Book #2, FAKE OUT: Ben’s working on some new moves that he hopes will pull his team out of its slump. But things aren’t going exactly as Ben had planned. Is Ben in over his head and out of his league?
In the third book, BENCHED, Ben discovers that being an excellent soccer player takes more than skill and natural athletic ability. This time, Ben’s temper is getting in the way and when he finds himself thrown out of the game, Ben must come to terms with the difficulties of learning how to control his emotions.
Watching from the sidelines, Ben begins to understand that teamwork and self-control take practice and by the time the Bobcats play the Sharks for a spot in the playoffs, Ben’s learned a lot about what it means to play by the rules, be in control, and enjoy the thrill of an earned win.
GAME DAY JITTERS, Book #4, follows Ben and his teammates to their biggest challenge yet. The playoffs! As if the pressure weren’t already more than enough, Shayna’s ankle is sore and Coach Patty decides to give her a break and put Ben in as team goalie, even though he’s only played the position a few times all season. Will Ben and his teammates be successful in pulling off the semi-final win that will take them to the championship game?
Owen Foote has been playing soccer on the playground at Chesterfield School since kindergarten, but this year he’s in second grade. This year, kids join the town league where they get to play on a real soccer field. Owen can’t wait! In fact, he loves soccer so much, that he’s spent the whole summer convincing his best friend, Joseph, to play. “All you have to do is run and kick,” Owen had said. “Great,” Joseph had answered. “The two things I can’t do.”
In spite of all that, the boys are excited when they end up on the same team. But when Dave, the coach, decides to split the team up into Aliens I and Aliens II and one of the bigger kids starts to make fun of Joseph, calling him the Chesterfield Klutz, Owen suddenly realizes soccer’s going to be a lot more complicated than it’s ever been.
Readers will love the humor throughout and the way Owen works through these unexpected challenges to find a way to honor his friendship with his best buddy, Joseph.
Soccer – or football, as it’s known in most countries – is a game played and enjoyed by children and adults the world over. Goal! is about the power of small things and the joy and freedom Ajani and his friends experience when they play with Ajani’s new federation-size football in the often, unsafe streets of a South African township. Bullies patrol the streets, but the boys have a plan and when they play, “the sound of our kicks on the ball is music.”
Claire Boucher loves her home in Mojimuk Falls, skating on the frozen cow pond, and helping her family on their maple farm. She’s perfectly happy going to school, working as a junior coach for the Northern Lights Skating Club, and hanging out with her best friend, Natalie. But all that changes after Claire is offered a scholarship to train at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, too good to pass up.
But once the training begins, Claire discovers it’s not so easy finding her balance in a competitive arena full of mean-girl skaters. Will she manage to keep her scholarship and her commitment to see things through to a satisfactory end?
Like all the Elephant and Piggie books, Watch Me Throw the Ball!, features best friends, Gerald, the cautious and careful elephant, and fun-loving Piggie. As far as Gerald is concerned, ball-throwing is serious business. But Piggie has a special move that brings all that seriousness into question. What Mo Willems achieves through a few small changes of expression on Elephant and Piggie’s faces is priceless.
Charles Atlas, born Angelo Siciliano, grew up on the streets of New York over a hundred years ago. His small size made it hard to stand up for himself in the face of those who were bigger and stronger. When Angelo notices a statue of Hercules at a local museum, he dreams of being as muscular and strong as the Greek god. Amazingly, hours watching the animals in the zoo led Angelo to discover the fitness routine that would eventually lead him to earn the title of “The World’s Most Perfectly Developed Man.”
Engaging illustrations, a compact story-line, and endnotes, including four “Try It Yourself” exercises for kids make this an excellent nonfiction read.
Running, jumping, throwing. Swinging, springing, somersaulting. Prelustsky’s poems paired with Raschka’s exhuberant watercolors bring good sporty fun to the page.
This Tool Box post features a Readers’ Theatre script dramatizing a scene in which cool, seventh grade Clyde teaches Owen the nuances of sportsmanlike conduct and standing up for oneself.
You’re a smart kid, Owen, and you’re a nice kid, too. But sometimes, being a nice kid is tough on a guy, you know what I mean? (51)
Crystal Hubbard’s GAME, SET, MATCH, CHAMPION ARTHUR ASHE, illustrated by Kevin Belford, is a tribute to one of the most amazing athletes of the twentieth century. Not only was Arthur Ashe a remarkable championship tennis player, but he was also a life-long advocate for human rights, at home and abroad. This unlikely champion earned a place in history when he became the first African American man to win the Grand Slam Tournament. 
As a young girl, Marcenia Lyle dreamed of playing professional ball. Determination got her there. CATCHING THE MOON: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream chronicles the beginnings of that long journey and the spunky young girl who found a way to earn a position on the St. Louis Cardinal’s sponsored summer camp team.
