If you have met Mo before, you know he is small in size and huge in his smile and his love of sports. In previous stories this cutie pie with the brown skin and the curly dark hair, has struggled to hit a baseball and warmed the bench with high hopes that he, too, will get in the game and gain some yards and some satisfaction.
This go round tis the season to sink some two-pointers into the basket and Mo, enthusiastic member of the Bees, is ready for action. Sitting in school just a few hours away from basketball practice, Mo is dreaming of shooting hoops. When the teacher calls on him, his answer is a rim shot. Such is the life of the athletic dreamer.
Mo is by far the shortest member on the team. He is also a little short on his passing skills. His coach, Emma, counsels him to go home and practice, practice, practice in the hopes that his hoops will have a little more sting.
Diversity, a female coach, a lad short of stature and a sports story are all-stars here. Where this story falls short for this reader is in the final sentences where his coach tells him he threw a "bad pass." Seems to me we don't need to use the word "bad" to describe the heartfelt efforts of this young fellow. I was disappointed in this word choice.
Wonderful opportunities to practice inference skills and predict what will happen next.
32 pages 978-0425289785 Ages 5-8
Recommended by Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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Mo's latest obsession is basketball. He's determined to learn how to pass, but as the shortest member of the team, he can't seem to launch the ball high enough. Can Mo learn to pass in time to help his team win the big game? This Level 2 reader about a little African-American boy with a big passion for sports is a funny, motivational companion to the winner of the 2016 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award.-from the publisher
