Hoops

Although this book has a very American flavour, it will resonate with girls everywhere.

It tells the true story of a fledgling high school girls’ American basketball team in the 1970s that struggled to be taken seriously by both their own school and by the sporting community. The girls had to contend with a total lack of funding, so had no transport or uniforms, and initially had nowhere to practice and no coach, but through their own determination and self-belief, they managed to succeed and gain the respect of the whole community, as well as a large fan-base.

This book is especially relevant in Aotearoa New Zealand today as in 2023 we are co-hosting the FIFA Women's World Cup, which has often been seen as the poor relation of the men’s event, but has proved itself to be hugely popular and a great spectacle.

Hoops is a graphic novel with a clutter-free layout. The illustrations are simple and bold, the speech bubbles use large, clear font, and the conversation is direct and entirely relevant to the story-line.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially girls, from 8yrs old upwards.