Making the Team

Writing with her husband, Derrick, a former pro football player, Perry Moore (Payton Skky series; profiled on p. 36) kicks off the Alec London series for middle-grade boys. Fourth-grader Alec is having a hard time. His mother has left the family to check out an acting job in Los Angeles; his father is the new assistant principal; his martinet grandmother moves in to keep house; and when Alec earns a starting position on the school football team, his older brother becomes jealous. Alec has a tangle of strong feelings he learns to deal with. The book also includes an appendix that sneaks in English and math exercises. The group the story is for and about, middle-grade African-American boys, is vastly underserved, so this book fills a need. The resolution includes a strong Christian component, which defines the book's audience. Perry Moore has a good ear for dialogue, and Derrick Moore certainly lends football authenticity to the tale. Ages 8%E2%80%9312. (Sept.)