Game Changer: John McLendon and the Secret Game

When they piled into cars and drove through Durham, North Carolina, the members of the Duke University Medical School basketball team only knew that they were going somewhere to play basketball. They didn't know whom they would play against. But when they came face to face with their opponents, they quickly realized this secret game was going to make history.

Discover the true story of how in 1944, Coach John McLendon orchestrated a secret game between the best players from a white college and his team from the North Carolina College of Negroes. At a time of widespread segregation and rampant racism, this illegal gathering changed the sport of basketball forever.

Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year - Outstanding Merit Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award Notable Books for a Global Society Notable Book Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) Choices Junior Library Guild Selection Orbis Pictus Award Recommended Book Bluestem Readers' Choice Award Master List South Carolina Book Award Nominee Sequoyah Book Award Nominee Delaware Diamonds Program

“"With eloquence and grace, this picture book tells the story of how one spring Sunday afternoon in 1944, two basketball teams came together to change the history of the game. The Duke University Medical School basketball team met secretly in a small gym to play against the North Carolina College of Negros in the first ever integrated basketball game. Though rules kept black and white teams from playing each other, John McLendon, coach of the North Carolina College of Negros, 'believed basketball could change people's prejudices.' At first both teams were uncertain, but they soon got into the spirit of things. For their second game, they mixed up the teams so that white and black athletes could play as teammates. Coy doesn't sugarcoat the tension of the period but still makes the story accessible. DuBurke's soft but powerful watercolor illustrations effectively emphasize the importance of inclusivity and overcoming differences. This interesting but little-known story is an important one. VERDICT: A strong work with themes of sports, history, and human kindness."School Library Journal”

"This book offers a slice of history and an inspiring portrait in courage . . . [An] exciting account of a landmark game played ahead of its time."—starred, Booklist

"[A]n account brimming with suspense and emotional tension . . . skillfully highlights both the energy and importance of the game and the dangerous social climate in which it was played."—starred, Publishers Weekly

"It's a great story. . . . [Use] for a readaloud on teams who challenged segregation."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"[T]he kind of story from which 'inspirational' movies are made. . . . This book adds new heroes to the pantheon."—The New York Times Book Review

"Coy's succinct narrative is well paced, compelling, and multilayered. . . . A fascinating story, with appeal far beyond sports and history fans."—The Horn Book Magazine

"This interesting but little-known story is an important one. . . . A strong work with themes of sports, history, and human kindness."—School Library Journal

"[A]rresting illustrations play up the basketball action and the emerging camaraderie that conjured the possibility of defeating Jim Crow....[A] charming read for young basketball fans."―Kirkus Reviews

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. Randy DuBurke has been a professional illustrator for more than thirty years. He has done comic book art, animation, editorial illustration, book covers, and children's books. He lives in Switzerland with his wife and two children.

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