Paul Volponi's Blog - Posts Tagged "reluctant-readers"
Totally proud of my new book. After 12 novels, it's my first non-fiction title.
It took my nearly 15 years to write That's My Team: The History, Science and Fun behind Sports Teams' Names. This totally original idea for a text is finally here, and for me, it was worth the wait and research that went into it.
That's My Team will be published in mid-August (Rowman and Littlefield). I believe readers from 6th to 12th grade will devour its pages. The book tells you how all of our sports teams--pro and college, in every sport--received their nicknames. In doing so, the text teaches a wide range of subjects such as literature, history, science and other cultures. The August Issue of VOYA Magazine will feature a 3,500 word article about the book and its genesis.
Below is a synopsis from the book jacket (And I was so pleased to get Chris Cruther, Hall of Fame basketball player Ann Myers, ESPN's Bob Ryan and author Paul Griffin to supply testimonial blurbs for it).
How did author Edgar Allen Poe influence the naming of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens? What major historical events inspired the naming of the Philadelphia 76ers, San Francisco 49ers, and Oklahoma Sooners? And what caused the NBA's Washington Bullets to change their name to the Wizards? In That's My Team! The History, Science, and Fun behind Sports Teams' Names, Paul Volponi shares the answers to these questions and more. Leading readers on a fast-paced journey through different parts of the United States and the world, Volponi reveals fascinating pieces of information on pop culture, history, science, literature, and a slew of other subjects through the lens of sports. While examining how teams from a variety of sports received their names, he also includes segments on Native Americans, minorities overcoming prejudice, and the growth of women's sports. That's My Team! features fifteen challenges that test the knowledge readers have gained through the chapters, while three "timeouts" provide readers with opportunities to create meaningful names for their own brand new sports teams. Both reluctant and sports-crazed readers, teens and preteens alike, will find this book an exciting way to learn about a variety of subjects through their favorite sports teams.
I hope you will take the time to read it and share it with your teens and pre-teens. It will also be a great addition to any school or public library.--Paul
That's My Team will be published in mid-August (Rowman and Littlefield). I believe readers from 6th to 12th grade will devour its pages. The book tells you how all of our sports teams--pro and college, in every sport--received their nicknames. In doing so, the text teaches a wide range of subjects such as literature, history, science and other cultures. The August Issue of VOYA Magazine will feature a 3,500 word article about the book and its genesis.
Below is a synopsis from the book jacket (And I was so pleased to get Chris Cruther, Hall of Fame basketball player Ann Myers, ESPN's Bob Ryan and author Paul Griffin to supply testimonial blurbs for it).
How did author Edgar Allen Poe influence the naming of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens? What major historical events inspired the naming of the Philadelphia 76ers, San Francisco 49ers, and Oklahoma Sooners? And what caused the NBA's Washington Bullets to change their name to the Wizards? In That's My Team! The History, Science, and Fun behind Sports Teams' Names, Paul Volponi shares the answers to these questions and more. Leading readers on a fast-paced journey through different parts of the United States and the world, Volponi reveals fascinating pieces of information on pop culture, history, science, literature, and a slew of other subjects through the lens of sports. While examining how teams from a variety of sports received their names, he also includes segments on Native Americans, minorities overcoming prejudice, and the growth of women's sports. That's My Team! features fifteen challenges that test the knowledge readers have gained through the chapters, while three "timeouts" provide readers with opportunities to create meaningful names for their own brand new sports teams. Both reluctant and sports-crazed readers, teens and preteens alike, will find this book an exciting way to learn about a variety of subjects through their favorite sports teams.
I hope you will take the time to read it and share it with your teens and pre-teens. It will also be a great addition to any school or public library.--Paul
New Book--Streetball is Life
I'm really pleased to have this memoir of my summer as a 17-year-old, committed to becoming a NYC streetballer. besides the non-fiction narrative, it teaches athletes that all they learn from playing any sport will help them later on in life. I look back at the skills I honed on a basketball court--communication, independence, conflict-resolution and I know every second spent on the asphalt was worth it. Here's a summary of the book. I believe your reluctant readers will especially be glued to its pages. --Paul
From award-winning young adult author Paul Volponi comes the true story of his unforgettable summer spent proving himself as a legitimate New York City streetballer, only later discovering that he had gained a set of skills that would enhance his life off the court, as well.
During the sweltering summer of seventeen-year-old Paul Volponi’s life, he had only one goal—he wanted, no, needed to become a legitimate and respected New York City street basketball player. It was a passion that consumed him night and day, and at times even isolated him from his friends and family. So he entered through the gates of the Proving Ground, the roughest streetball yard in the city. It was a place where the fouls resembled felonies, and the atmosphere mirrored that of the Roman Coliseum more than Madison Square Garden. It was where teens and adults contested pickup games with a ferocity seemingly greater than that of the NBA Finals. The Proving Ground was a difficult place to cultivate friendships and an easy environment to make enemies.
This is the story of Paul’s summer-long initiation at the Proving Ground. It is truly a streetball testament of a teenager who wanted more than anything else to earn his stripes in streetball society. Only what he didn’t understand at the time was that this experience would deliver to him, as it does today for so many young adults, a set of skills that would enhance his life far beyond the boundaries of a basketball court.
From award-winning young adult author Paul Volponi comes the true story of his unforgettable summer spent proving himself as a legitimate New York City streetballer, only later discovering that he had gained a set of skills that would enhance his life off the court, as well.
During the sweltering summer of seventeen-year-old Paul Volponi’s life, he had only one goal—he wanted, no, needed to become a legitimate and respected New York City street basketball player. It was a passion that consumed him night and day, and at times even isolated him from his friends and family. So he entered through the gates of the Proving Ground, the roughest streetball yard in the city. It was a place where the fouls resembled felonies, and the atmosphere mirrored that of the Roman Coliseum more than Madison Square Garden. It was where teens and adults contested pickup games with a ferocity seemingly greater than that of the NBA Finals. The Proving Ground was a difficult place to cultivate friendships and an easy environment to make enemies.
This is the story of Paul’s summer-long initiation at the Proving Ground. It is truly a streetball testament of a teenager who wanted more than anything else to earn his stripes in streetball society. Only what he didn’t understand at the time was that this experience would deliver to him, as it does today for so many young adults, a set of skills that would enhance his life far beyond the boundaries of a basketball court.
