Steve Nash. (NBA Reader). John Hareas. New York, NY: Scholastic (Distributed in Canada by Scholastic Canada), 2008. 32 pp., pbk., $4.99. ISBN 978-0-545-03411-1. Grades 2-4 / Ages 7-9. Review by Dave Jenkinson. *** /4

excerpt:

Meet Steve Nash:

Basketball is not necessarily a game of size and strength. You don't have to be the tallest player or even the biggest to succeed in basketball. How do we know this? Look at Steve Nash, the two-time NBA MVP of the Phoenix Suns.

While the average NBA player is listed at 6-foot-6 and weighs 225 pounds, Steve is 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds. Barely. And Steve is not the fastest player in the NBA. He doesn't have to be. Why? because he is one of the smartest.

In Canada, professional basketball in the form of the National Basketball Association likely ranks well behind NHL hockey, CFL football and even major league baseball in terms of young people's fan support. However, most Canadians of all ages, whether basketball fans or not, are likely aware of Steve Nash, one of the few Canadians to be drafted by the NBA and a back-to-back winner of that league's Most Valuable Player Award.

     Hareas has written a straightforward, brief and laudatory biography of Steve Nash which is aimed at independent readers who are basketball fans (or at least fans of Steve Nash). As is the case with most biographies, Hareas, following an introductory chapter, uses a chronological arrangement for the book's other six short chapters in which he hits the high and low points of Nash's career in basketball through the 2006-07 season. Having reviewed two other biographies of Steve Nash that were aimed at an adult market, I can confirm that Hareas has touched upon the key points in Nash's life to date. To enliven his text, Hareas incorporates direct quotes from Steve Nash and a few other individuals. Steve Nash is generously illustrated with photographs, most game action and in full colour, with many being full page in size. Published in the US, Steve Nash uses imperial rather than metric units of height and weight.

     Older reluctant readers might also be drawn to Steve Nash because of its sports content and its "mature" look.

Recommended.

Dave Jenkinson, CM's editor, lives in Winnipeg, MB.

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