Review by Booklist Review
Written by National Football League stars Tiki and Ronde Barber with Robert Burleigh, this large-format picture book is the third installment in a series about the brothers as boys. After their team loses a game, Tiki feels bad about fumbling the ball. Their coach points out that mistakes happen less often to players who spend their practice sessions performing techniques the right way over and over, rather than just repeating their bad habits. The twins begin an early-morning practice routine that improves Tiki's ball handling, leading to an ending that is believable as well as happy. Any young sports player could benefit from the coach's good advice, but the Barbers' subsequent successes may give it added weight in the minds of football fans. Best of all, the story shows one brother quietly supporting the other in a practical way. Warmed with autumn golds, Root's vibrant watercolor-and-gouache paintings kick the story over the goalposts. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2006 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In their third collaboration, the twin Barber brothers continue to explore their early experiences on the football field in Teammates by Tiki and Ronde Barber with Robert Burleigh, illus. by Barry Root. Here the action takes place off as much as on the field, as the brothers practice their moves in preparation for the big game against their rivals. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-4-The Barbers, both NFL players, present a follow-up to By My Brother's Side (2004) and Game Day (2005, both S & S). When young Tiki fumbles the football in a preseason practice game, his teammates begin to question his ability as a ball carrier. Coach Mike shows him a better way to hold it and reminds him that "Practice makes perfect." Ronde creates a secret "Morning Practice Club" so his twin can perfect his technique during tackles. When the boys' team plays its archrivals, Tiki holds on to the ball in a pileup, bringing the Vikings to victory. While the text is a little long, there is enough action to keep the plot moving along. Tiki and Ronde have a warm, supportive relationship, rare in tales featuring siblings. Root's watercolor-and-gouache full-page paintings in autumn tones, while stiff in some of the action scenes, are warm and accessible. Sports fans will welcome this addition.-Rachel G. Payne, Brooklyn Public Library, NY (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 Kirkus Book Review
Sincerity and veracity are the hallmarks of the Barbers' books. Both are top-flight, professional football players, so they know their topic and base their stories on their own experiences as boys. Here their issue is teamwork and practice as Tiki practices the right way to hang on to the ball and they work together to perfect their schoolboy game. But it's the everyday atmosphere of kids involved in football--and, by extension, any sport--at which the Barbers excel. Given a strong supporting hand by Root's artwork, with its sense of late summer drifting into early autumn and the changing of the leaves, the Barbers create a world of Saturday morning pick-up practices, poring over record books and dreaming of glory. If the big game does drag on somewhat, it also helps in understanding that's how the players are experiencing it: Can't this game just end now (while we're ahead, and before there is another chance to fumble the ball)? A lesson of building self-confidence through steadfast pursuit of a goal that's easy to believe and enjoyable to attain. (Picture book. 6-10) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
