Review of Basketball King: The Jeremy Whitham Story

[Diana Lowery]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Basketball King: The Jeremy Whitham Story" by Rebecca Ballew Dockum.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Basketball King: The Jeremy Whitham Story by Rebecca Ballew Dockum is a children's biography. The attractive cover has a background of different kinds of balls. The story describes the life of Jeremy, a boy born with special needs. This is a photo book that chronicles not only Jeremy's physical growth but also his growth in confidence.

There are 23 full-page spreads. An actual photograph appears on the left, and the text is on the right. The author, who has dyslexia, created the format for readability. Since Jeremy was born in 1984, many of the pictures are low resolution, but they do support the story well.

Jeremy discovered his first basketball in his grandmother's barn, and she gifted the ball to him. His interest in the object grew, and now, at age 39, his nickname is Basketball King. He created a museum in Missouri that holds his collection of 1,000 basketballs. There is no mention of Jeremy actually playing the sport, but his love for basketballs is obvious.

I especially liked the citation pages at the end of the book with information on autism, sign language, and the author. This book would be a good introductory book for elementary students learning to do research papers. Jeremy's struggles with autism and how he learned to live with it are an inspiration. He hopes to show people that even though he has a disability, he can do anything.

Although I was expecting to read about a basketball player, I was not disappointed to learn about a unique individual who gained confidence from owning a basketball. My rating is five out of five stars. The poor quality of the photographs was not enough of a negative to deduct a star. This is listed as a Hi-Lo book which means it is geared toward tweens in grades four through eight.

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Basketball King: The Jeremy Whitham Story
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[Catherine Radford]

Interesting, without any real knowledge of basketball I had assumed the author was a famous basketball player not a collector of basketballs!

[Marina Flisvou]

Your review provides valuable insights for potential readers. You've effectively encapsulated the essence of the book, detailing its format, style, and the main story elements. By pointing out the attractive cover, the photo layout, and the author's unique approach, you've painted a vivid picture of what readers can expect and making it useful for anyone considering purchasing or reading it.

[Diana Lowery]

Interesting, without any real knowledge of basketball I had assumed the author was a famous basketball player not a collector of basketballs!

Yes, I had the same experience. Thank you for your comment.

[Diana Lowery]

Your review provides valuable insights for potential readers. You've effectively encapsulated the essence of the book, detailing its format, style, and the main story elements. By pointing out the attractive cover, the photo layout, and the author's unique approach, you've painted a vivid picture of what readers can expect and making it useful for anyone considering purchasing or reading it.

I appreciate your feedback. Thank you!

[Cheshta Sharma]

I think this a great book for children to read. It's short and enjoyable and can spark an interest in reading for children.