Hoop Genius

Taking over a rowdy gym class right before winter vacation is not something James Naismith wants to do at all.

The last two teachers of this class quit in frustration. The students—a bunch of energetic young men—are bored with all the regular games and activities. Naismith needs something new, exciting, and fast to keep the class happy—or someone's going to get hurt. Saving this class is going to take a genius.

Discover the true story of how Naismith invented basketball in 1891 at a school in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Short-listed for North Carolina Children's Book Award (Picture Book) 2015
Short-listed for Virginia Readers Choice Award (Elementary) 2016
Short-listed for South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award (Picture Book) 2015
Short-listed for Monarch Award 2016
Short-listed for Black-Eyed Susan Award (Picture Book) 2014
Short-listed for Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award 2015
Short-listed for Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award (Grades 3-5) 2016
Short-listed for Star of the North Picture Book Award 2014

“"This thrilling account of the birth of basketball is more a biography of the game itself than of its creators. The story begins with one James Naismith taking over an unruly gym class that had already run off two predecessors. He tries playing favorite sports indoors, but by the time they get to lacrosse not a player remains without some form of bandage. He needs a game where 'accuracy was more valuable than force.' And so, in a Massachusetts gymnasium, basketball is concocted.Coy understands the power of detail--only one point was scored in the very first game--and his tight focus on the game's initial season is immediately engrossing. Spare, precise language reflects the game's welcome sense of order as well as its athletic appeal. Morse's kinetic paintings, at once dynamic and controlled, fill the spreads, capturing the game's combination of power and finesse. And the stylized figures and restrained palette of blue, brown, purple, and gray fix the proceedings in the nineteenth century. Naismith's abiding respect for his students' irrepressible energy plays an important role in the invention of the game, and the book credits the entire crew ('James Naismith and that rowdy class') with the creation, adding a nuanced understanding of the value of sports and teamwork. An author's note and selected bibliography offer additional information, and a you-are-there facsimile reproduction of the original thirteen rules of basketball adorns the endpapers." --starred, The Horn Book Magazine”

"Coy understands the power of detail . . . and his tight focus on the game's initial season is immediately engrossing. Spare, precise language reflects the game's welcome sense of order as well as its athletic appeal. Morse's kinetic paintings, at once dynamic and controlled, fill the spreads, capturing the game's combination of power and finesse."—starred, The Horn Book Magazine

John Coy is the author of young adult novels, the 4 for 4 middle-grade series, and nonfiction and fiction picture books including Hoop Genius, Game Changer, Their Great Gift, Dads, If We Were Gone, and Where We Come From. He has received numerous awards for his work including a Marion Vannett Ridgway Award, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor, a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year, and the Burr/Warzalla Award for Distinguished Achievement in Children's Literature. John lives by the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. Joe Morse is an award-winning illustrator and artist. His work has graced everything from billboards in England to coins in Canada. He directs the Illustration Degree program at Sheridan Institute outside of Toronto. Joe lives in Toronto with his wife, the illustrator/designer Lorraine Tuson, and their 2 children.

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