Stephen Curry & #NBAPlayoffs2017: biographies for young readers (ages 6-10)

With NBA basketball playoffs in full swing, you may want to build on young fans' excitement with these biographies of our local favorite star Steph Curry.

When my students choose sports books for themselves, I really encourage them to look inside and see if the text seems right for them. Here are three books that work well for developing readers--shared from easier to more difficult.

Stephen Curry (Pebble Plus Famous Athletes), by Mari Schuh, is a great choice for beginning readers, with simple text and just three or four short sentences per page. Our first graders can read many (but not all) of this, and our second graders are finding it perfect for this time of year. The font is large and the background is plain, helping young readers focus on each word. The information is limited, so readers may leave this wanting to read more. See preview at Google Books.

"Basketball star Stephen Curry was born March 14, 1988. He grew up watching and playing basketball. His dad played in the NBA. Stephen watched his dad's games."

Amazing Athletes is a very popular series with our 2nd & 3rd graders, and they love this Stephen Curry book by Jon Fishman. As you can see in the sample below, this is written with fuller paragraphs. The layout and design make this easy for readers who are developing confidence to tackle. Full color photographs and captions complement the exciting text. This biography focuses more on his early years & college playing than Curry's difficult beginning of his pro career.

"Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors were losing to the Dallas Mavericks on February 4, 2015. Dallas had been hot since the opening tip-off... Golden State coach Steve Kerr didn't panic. He knew that with Stephen on the team, the Warriors would never be too far behind to catch up."

For readers ready to learn more about Curry's career and training style, search out Stephen Curry (Sports All-Stars), by Eric Braun. With more complex sentences and longer paragraphs, this biography works best with confident readers in 3rd or 4th grade. Just look at its opening. The writing is engaging, but definitely more complicated than the other two books.

from Stephen Curry
(Sports All-Stars)

"Maybe when the 2015 National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs began, there were still doubters. Stephen Curry was too small. He wasn't athletic enough. He would never be one of the greats. Curry had heard those doubts all his life."

I especially found it interesting to read about Curry's practice techniques. When he was recovering from multiple injuries, Curry started trying unusual training methods to help him improve his ball handling and focus.

"Many fans have seen Curry dribble two basketballs at once before games. The ritual is about more than improving his skills or giving fans a good show... This kind of practice mimics what a point guard has to do during a game--dribble, watch the defenders, set up a play, and more--all at the same time."

Supporting readers along their road to reading is especially important. This post has been inspired by my friends Alyson Beecher and Michele Knott, whose weekly series #Road2Reading celebrates books for early readers.

The review copies for Sports All-Stars were kindly sent by the publisher, Lerner Books. The review copies of the Pebble Plus and the Amazing Athletes books came from our school library. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books. Thank you for your support.

©2017 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books