What do Blake Griffin and Tim Duncan have in common? They’re both star power forwards in the NBA. Power forwards have the strength and skills needed to prevent other teams from scoring and making big plays to help their team score. These strong basketball players are known for their big dunks and defensive plays. Readers discover these facts and many more about power forwards through engaging main text and fun fact boxes. Full-color photographs of power forwards in action show readers how the strategies they’re learning with each turn of the page can lead to success on the basketball court.

HIGH-INTEREST, LOW-LEVEL: Reluctant readers will be engaged from beginning to end as they explore the responsibilities and skills of the power forward in this 32-page nonfiction book. Side-by-side English and Spanish text and vivid, exciting photos show readers what it takes to fill this key position in basketball. SPORTS BOOK FOR KIDS: Power forwards know how to throw their weight around on the basketball court. These players catch rebounds and block shots. Learn what it takes to be a great power forward and what these players do to lead their team to victory! INCLUDES: Readers will be hooked from beginning to end with facts and photos about some of the key positions in sports. Comprehension questions and activities support students, teachers, and parents. BENEFITS: This bilingual series supports reluctant readers with side-by-side English and Spanish text. Each book features stand-alone spreads, so readers can flip pages and read in any order. Glossary words are defined on the page where they appear, boosting reader comprehension. WHY ROURKE: Since 1980, we’ve been committed to bringing out the best non-fiction books to help you bring out the best in your young learners. Our carefully crafted topics encourage all students who are “learning to read” and “reading to learn"!

Every path to adulthood is strewn with missteps, epiphanies, and hard-earned lessons. Only Reggie Love’s, however, went through the White House by way of Duke University’s Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mentored by both Coach Krzyzewski and President Obama, Love shares universal insights learned in unique circumstances, an education in how sports, politics, and life can define who you are, what you believe in, and what it takes to make a difference. Power Forward tells the story of the five years Love worked as a personal assistant to Senator Obama as a candidate for president, and President Obama, and it is a professional coming of age story like no other. What the public knows was well put by Time magazine in 2008: “[Love’s] official duties don’t come close to capturing Reggie’s close bond with Obama, who plays a role that is part boss and part big brother.” What the public doesn’t know are the innumerable private moments during which that bond was forged and the President mentored a malleable young man. Accountability and serving with pride and honor were learned during unsought moments: from co-coaching grade school girls basketball with the president; lending Obama his tie ahead of a presidential debate; managing a personal life when no hour is truly his own; being tasked with getting the candidate up in the morning on time for long days of campaigning. From his first interview with Senator Obama, to his near-decision not to follow the president-elect to the White House, to eventually bringing LeBron, Melo, D-Wade, and Kobe to play with the President on his forty-ninth birthday, Love drew on Coach K’s teachings as he learned to navigate Washington. But it was while owning up to losing (briefly) the President’s briefcase, figuring out how to compete effectively in pick-up games in New Hampshire during the primary to secure support and votes, babysitting the children of visiting heads of state, and keeping the President company at every major turning point of his historic first campaign and administration, that Love learned how persistence and passion can lead not only to success, but to a broader concept of responsibility.

What is a triple-double? What happens at the foul line? How does a basketball player execute a fade-away jumper? These are all important questions to ask if you want to be a successful small forward, and readers will find the answers waiting for them to discover. Fun facts about the strategy and skills needed to be a great small forward are presented through engaging main text and eye-catching fact boxes. Readers learn both the offensive and defensive responsibilities involved in playing this important position. They’ll also find vibrant, full-color photographs of small forwards in action on every page.

In basketball, play “in the paint” is quick and hard-hitting. That’s why power forwards are often the toughest players on the court. With their backs to the basket, power forwards protect the free-throw lane on defense and help their teammates score points on offense. They’re also ferocious rebounders. This rousing guidebook is sure to impress basketball fans with its stunning shots of the sport’s greatest historic and current power forwards in action.

From the critically acclaimed author of Amina’s Voice comes the first book in an exciting new middle grade series about a fourth-grader with big dreams of basketball stardom. Fourth grader Zayd Saleem has some serious hoop dreams. He’s not just going to be a professional basketball player. He’s going to be a star. A legend. The first Pakistani-American kid to make it to the NBA. He knows this deep in his soul. It’s his destiny. There are only a few small things in his way. For starters, Zayd’s only on the D-team. (D stands for developmental, but to Zayd it’s always felt like a bad grade or something.) Not to mention, he’s a bit on the scrawny side, even for the fourth grade team. But his best friend Adam is on the Gold Team, and it’s Zayd’s dream for the two of them to play together. His mom and dad don’t get it. They want him to practice his violin way more than his jump shot. When he gets caught blowing off his violin lessons to practice, Zayd’s parents lay down the ultimate punishment: he has to hang up his high tops and isn’t allowed to play basketball anymore. As tryouts for the Gold Team approach, Zayd has to find the courage to stand up for himself and chase his dream.

Your game plan for career success—from International Basketball Pro Dre BaldwinNo one knows how to turn unrelenting self-belief into hard-and-fast career results better than Dre Baldwin. When everyone and everything was telling him to give up on his goal of playing pro basketball, he got focused on his future, and met the challenge head on. In the end, Baldwin succeeded—making a living playing basketball in leagues around the world—and in these pages, he shares all his secrets.Whether you’re just starting out in business or looking to take your career to the next level, Work On Your Game provides the strategy you need to succeed from the inside-out. Dre Baldwin, or “DreAllDay,” as his fans know him, delivers an easy-to-understand four-part model for achieving any goal. It’s based on discipline, confidence, mental toughness, and personal initiative—and it’s proven effective. Baldwin takes you through the steps of identifying what’s expected of you, preparing for what's coming, and conditioning your body and mind for the competitive world of business—and everything is a business.Baldwin’s personal story of beating the odds is both inspiring and instructional. You’ll learn how to play the mental game in a way that launches you towards unparalleled achievement.