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The Playmakers - by Chad Morris & Shelly Brown (Hardcover)

The Playmakers - by  Chad Morris & Shelly Brown (Hardcover) - 1 of 1
$18.69 sale price when purchased online
$18.99 list price
Target Online store #3991

About this item

Highlights

  • An entertaining, funny, and empathy-building story about underdogs who will stop at nothing to prove they're remarkable too.
  • 8-10 Years
  • 8.3" x 5.6" Hardcover
  • 235 Pages
  • Juvenile Fiction, Social Themes

Description



About the Book



After being cut from the middle school basketball team, twelve-year-old Jax forms his own team with an unlikely group of students to prove themselves to the whole school.



Book Synopsis



An entertaining, funny, and empathy-building story about underdogs who will stop at nothing to prove they're remarkable too.

Jax has something to prove. After trying out for the basketball team, he and his friend Nic don't make the final cut. Sure, Jax might be the shortest kid in the seventh grade, and Nic might not have a lot of confidence, but they've got skills.

Luke is the tallest kid in the seventh grade. He's not bad at basketball, but he didn't even try out for the team. Instead, Luke's an aspiring actor and auditioned for the school play. Unfortunately, he didn't get cast.

Jax and Luke decide to take matters into their own hands. They have a wacky, wild, outrageous idea, a plan that is sure to fail--unless it doesn't.

Jax decides to form his own basketball team and challenge the school team. Luke agrees to join the team, on the condition that Jax and his friends help Luke compete in a regional drama competition.

Miley, probably the smartest kid at school, agrees to help both Jax and Luke. She's been reading up on sports science and thinks she might have found a way for her friends to win through math.

Can a team of underdogs prove to the whole school that they have what it takes to be noticed, or will it all go horribly wrong?



Review Quotes




"Morris and Brown have crafted a heartfelt story, full of relatable characters and experiences, with unbreakable friendship ties that will leave readers rooting for these underdogs."

-- "School Library Journal" (4/14/2025 12:00:00 AM)



About the Author



Shelly Brown has done a lot of acting and adores the craft of it. Sometimes she's in the lead, and sometimes she doesn't make the cast list. It's a roller coaster of emotion. She played church basketball all through junior high and high school but got cut from her junior high school team in the first round. She was also the shortest person there. She has mixed feelings about math and stats. They're cool, but it's complicated--literally. She's happily married to Chad Morris (despite what the last names might make people think), and they have five kids, who are basically adults nowadays.

Chad Morris, like Jax, loves basketball and was extremely short growing up. Extremely. Like the shortest boy in his junior high. And yeah, he had a little fire and didn't make the final cut of his junior high basketball team. He did not do some of the amazing things Jax did, though he wishes he would have had ideas like that. He hasn't been in plays like Luke (okay, he's been in one, but he's not sure it counts), but he has performed sketch comedy for years. A few of his and Shelly's kids, however, have gone to state for pantomime.

Dimensions (Overall): 8.3 Inches (H) x 5.6 Inches (W) x 1.1 Inches (D)
Weight: .8 Pounds
Suggested Age: 8-10 Years
Number of Pages: 235
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Sub-Genre: Social Themes
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Theme: Emotions & Feelings
Format: Hardcover
Author: Chad Morris & Shelly Brown
Language: English
Street Date: April 1, 2025
TCIN: 94269650
UPC: 9781639933839
Item Number (DPCI): 247-45-1586
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
If the item details above aren’t accurate or complete, we want to know about it.

Shipping details

Estimated ship dimensions: 1.1 inches length x 5.6 inches width x 8.3 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 0.8 pounds
We regret that this item cannot be shipped to PO Boxes.
This item cannot be shipped to the following locations: American Samoa (see also separate entry under AS), Guam (see also separate entry under GU), Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico (see also separate entry under PR), United States Minor Outlying Islands, Virgin Islands, U.S., APO/FPO

Return details

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