04/21/2023
Gr 6–8—Set in 1975, this graphic novel finds Wilkins High senior Judi setting aside her cheer captain pom-poms to follow her dreams of being a basketball player. Judi tries out in secret, afraid of her best friend's opinion. However, with only eight girls showing up to tryouts, they all make the team. This new team is enthusiastic despite barriers: they have to practice in the elementary school gym and use an RV camper to travel; the head coach reports there wasn't money in the school's budget to support the team equally. Still, the Lady Bears (which one character correctly points out as sexist) rack up victory after victory, advancing to the state championships. By the end of the story, as the Bears travel to play their final winning game, family, friends, and community members have taken notice and support the team. Tavares based this story on the real players of the 1976 Warsaw High School girls' basketball team. Title IX passed into law nearly four years prior, prompting a slow rollout of girls' athletic programs across the U.S. This graphic interpretation of Tavares's research, including interviews with team members, makes for an outstanding historical fiction depiction of this very real struggle. These obstacles could feel like problems of the past if it were not for Tavares's well-constructed dialogue, attention to character dimension, and well-paced storytelling. Tavares draws 1970's denim bellbottoms, feathered hair, and rotary phones with finesse. It is heartening that readers are finally getting more high-quality girl-centered stories from that era. VERDICT This graphic novel depicts Title IX history in a fun and relatable way, giving modern readers a lot to recognize from their current teen experiences.—Jennie Law
I really, really love Hoops! It’s such a great story, and I’m glad the world will get to know Judi and her teammates.
—Victoria Jamieson, New York Times best-selling creator of When Stars Are Scattered and Roller Girl
Poignant and fresh. Sure to have readers of all ages wanting to shoot hoops!
—Jennifer L. Holm, cocreator of the New York Times best-selling Sunny and Babymouse series
An inspiring and heartwarming story about a small-town high school basketball team that will be adored by readers of all ages.
—Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat
A fast-break story of stout hearts, raw talent, and the will to stand up for what’s right. Hip-hoop-hooray for Hoops!
—Scott Magoon, New York Times best-selling illustrator
Holy smokes—my mind was blown. . . . Hoops is a must-read.
—Colby Sharp, cofounder of Nerdy Book Club
Tavares' debut graphic novel is a historical fiction inspired by true events, following a girls' highschool basketball team in Wilkins, Indiana, as they defy expectations on their way to a state championship. . . . The story is delivered with a wonderfully light touch, mirrored by Tavares' soft, inviting illustrations. . . Although it's technically set in high school, grade-school readers will have no problem connecting to the friendship drama or rooting for Judi, her dream, and her epic ’70s bowl cut. Highly recommended.
—Booklist
Basing his debut graphic novel on a true story, Tavares follows a small group of enthusiasts and their resourceful art teacher who moonlights as the girls’ basketball coach, from tryouts that are shuffled off to the elementary school’s gym through dogged practices and hard-fought games all the way to the 1976 state championship. . . A winning tale, all the more exhilarating for its links to history.
—Kirkus Reviews
Set against snowy, ambient Midwestern backgrounds peopled by friendly faced characters portrayed with varying skin tones, Tavares (Dasher) gently relays lessons about equality and activism alongside themes of friendship and fitting in, offering an approachable, motivational entry point into Title IX’s effect on sports history.
—Publishers Weekly
This graphic interpretation of Tavares’s research, including interviews with team members, makes for an outstanding historical fiction depiction of this very real struggle. These obstacles could feel like problems of the past if it were not for Tavares’s well-constructed dialogue, attention to character dimension, and well-paced storytelling. Tavares draws 1970’s denim bellbottoms, feathered hair, and rotary phones with finesse. . . . This graphic novel depicts Title IX history in a fun and relatable way, giving modern readers a lot to recognize from their current teen experiences.
—School Library Journal
This is a timely exploration of the pre–Title IX United States; and a cinematic, well-paced, feel-good sports story. . . The classic championship-game climax is rousing, while the appended author’s note brings more nuance to the ongoing fight against sexism and discrimination and tells more about the history-making Warsaw High School team, Judi Warren, and Title IX.
—The Horn Book
A work of fiction inspired by a true story about the 1976 Warsaw High School girls’ basketball team, this graphic novel has an easy-to-follow accessibility, with captions highlighting the impact of gender inequality. . . Consistent paneling effectively expresses the girls’ growing influence in their community game after game. Sports fans will adore the wholesome and empowering friendships and learn how to shoot for a historic victory to make a difference in today’s high school sports.
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Based on a true story, this engaging graphic novel follows the eight girls of the Wilkins Regional High School girls basketball team in 1975 during their rookie season. . . . full of heart and will appeal to reluctant readers, basketball fans, and of course your realistic fiction graphic novel readers.
—School Library Connection
Author-illustrator Matt Tavares offers an eye-opening look back at the early years of Title IX and the fight for equity in girls' sports in this excellent graphic novel based on the true story of Judi Warren and the 1976 Warsaw (Indiana) High School girls' basketball team that won the state's first girls' championship. . . . The girls' fight to win respect and the exciting action on the court are brought to life in gorgeous color panels.
—The Buffalo News
This middle grade graphic novel is an engaging and essential portrayal of the early fight for gender equality in sports, which still hasn’t been reached. . . . The ’70s-style illustrations are vibrant and colorful and the story inspiring and fascinating.
—Book Riot
Illustrating the ongoing battle of women striving for equality in sports, this story is filled with honesty, bravery, and heart. It would make a great addition for any Women’s History collection.
—Good Comics for Kids
2022-11-29
Girls’ basketball gets off to a rocky start at an Indiana high school in the wake of Title IX.
Basing his debut graphic novel on a true story, Tavares follows a small group of enthusiasts and their resourceful art teacher who moonlights as the girls’ basketball coach, from tryouts that are shuffled off to the elementary school’s gym through dogged practices and hard-fought games all the way to the 1976 state championship. Both the art and the plot are spare and cleanly drawn—the former featuring spacious compositions and easy-to-follow action both on and off the boards. The latter focuses on the friendship that develops between Judi and her teammate Lisa as the Lady Bears (“Why is it always Lady Bears?” a teammate complains, “nobody ever calls the boys’ team the Gentleman Bears”), lacking even jerseys until late in the season and riding to away games in their coach’s uncle’s RV because no bus has been authorized, gradually build a following. They ultimately earn a public apology from the dismissive athletic director and, reuniting during a college break three years later, have the satisfaction of seeing the bleachers in their old high school well filled for a girls’ game. Like the overtly sexist attitudes, which get light but firmly visible exposure, the artist suggests his cast’s racial diversity rather than highlighting it through differences in skin tone and hair texture.
A winning tale, all the more exhilarating for its links to history. (author’s note) (Graphic fiction. 8-12)
