Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 2-4. The seventh story about Gus and Grandpa is one of the best. Gus starts basketball, and he's good at it. He makes a basket on the first day of practice, but when it comes to a real game, with his parents watching and everyone shouting what to do, he's so nervous that he messes up. That's when Grandpa helps out: he explains that he always turns off his hearing aid when there's too much noise and tells Gus to try the same on the court. Simple without being condescending, this will have huge appeal for new readers and for reading aloud. The words and watercolor pictures are packed with the noisy excitement of the game. They are also eloquent with quiet affection. --Hazel Rochman
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-In the latest addition to the series, Grandpa helps his grandson overcome an emotional obstacle that many children will relate to-performance anxiety. Gus excels during basketball practice, but he is unable to perform during games. The yelling and screaming render him helpless and unable to use his skills. With a sympathetic ear, Grandpa reminds the boy that the voices he hears during the game can be turned off like a hearing aid, a trick his grandfather uses when he needs to hear himself think. Using this advice, Gus takes the winning shot. As in Gus and Grandpa Ride the Train (1998) and Gus and Grandpa and the Two-Wheeled Bike (2001, both Farrar), the warm relationship between the two is conveyed through the man's loving support for his grandson's interests. Stock's illustrations, which stand alone on certain pages and are integrated with the text on others, have a vintage quality to them; their watercolor and pencil strokes yield earthy browns and soft blues. The gentle tones and emotional truthfulness complement Mills's text impeccably. Filled with fast-paced action and a bit of humor, the story is also rich with lessons in persistence, achievement, and family relationships, and is well suited for reading aloud as well as for beginning readers.-Louie Lahana, New York City Public Schools (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Primary) With her usual adeptness, Mills follows Gus through another modern childhood rite of passage (see Gus and Grandpa and the Two-Wheeled Bike)Ñthis time, team sports. Gus loves basketball practice, but actual games are a different storyÑeveryone seems to be shouting incomprehensible instructions at him, especially GusÕs well-meaning but hard-pushing father (an all-too-familiar figure these days). Leave it to Grandpa to show Gus a way to tune out the noise and focus on the game. As in all the Gus and Grandpa books, Mills portrays their supportive, loving relationship without being the least sentimental. Early independent readers will easily relate to GusÕs situation, especially since Mills does such a superb job of illuminating his emotions and thoughts: ÒGus was nervous before his first game. He couldnÕt eat his lunch, even though it was pizza, his favorite food. What if he missed every basket? What if he threw the ball into the wrong hoop and everybody laughed?Ó Catherine StockÕs expressive illustrations accentuate GusÕs initial panic on the basketball court, his dejection when heÕs benched, and his joy when, thanks to GrandpaÕs help, he makes a basket to win the game. m.v.p. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Distraction is a drag when you have to concentrate, and having Dad in the stands at the basketball game yelling at you to do this and do that can be a major sensory overload. In this seventh title in the Gus and Grandpa series, Gus is introduced to the game of basketball. It's magic out there on the practice court: Gus likes the pace, the coach, and the sweet sound of swish as the ball kisses the net. He continues to play when visiting his Grandpa, who has a beat-up old rim out on the garage. Skipper the dog barks like crazy when Gus plays, to the point where Grandpa turns off his hearing aid "so I can hear myself think." Games, though, are a different matter. Gus can't focus because of the crowd noise and in particular his father calling to him to "get free" and "rebound." Gus is so flustered he never even gets a shot off. The season looks like a disaster until Grandpa shows up at the last game to show Gus a trick on how to turn off the noise-a la Skipper-and erase the competing stimuli. A cagey story, the kind born from the likes of a special relationship shared by Gus and Grandpa, and peacefully, protectively illustrated by Stock's gentle watercolors. (Easy reader. 6-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
