(3) K-3 Illustrated by Huynh Kim Liên & Phùng Nguyên Quang. Composed mostly of questions, this picture-book biography traces Jeremy Lin's uphill battle as the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA. Moving from his youth to his breakout 2012 game with the New York Knicks, the book shows how faith, diligence, and tenacity helped Lin weather taunts, setbacks, privation, and an agonizing NBA draft wait. The digital illustrations employ spot art to depict Lin's off-court life, while full bleeds portray on-court action and the media craze ("linsanity") surrounding his meteoric rise from obscurity. Ho prompts children to reflect on their own experiences contending with naysayers, find role models who look like them, embrace who they are, and defy stereotypes. Back matter fleshes out Lin's life story and includes an author's note and bibliography.

Reviewer: Summer Edward

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Nguyen Quang & Kim Lien. Young Prasit Hemmin and his friends loved soccer. But because their small island home of Koh Panyee, off the coast in Thailand, had so little land (the homes were built on stilts over the ocean), there was no room for even a small field. The boys played on sandbars at low tide, but as soon as the tide came in, the game was over. Set in 1986, this inspiring true story of determination and teamwork tells of Prasit and his friends' wild plan to use scrap lumber to build a floating soccer field. Not only did the young people succeed, but practicing on this small, unsteady, nail-and-splinter-filled field floating off the docks helped build the players' quickness and footwork. They entered a local tournament--and, playing their own way, came in third. In the ­colorful pen and digital illustrations, soccer scenes are especially lively and expressive, filled with happy smiles and strong kicks. An appended note tells more about the real-life players and about the Panyee Football Club, which is still in existence. A bibliography, further reading, "Words You Might Hear on the Floating Field" in English and Thai (with a pronunciation guide), and a first-person "Prasit's Perspective" section are appended. A splendid nonfiction picture book to pair with Baptiste Paul's fictional The Field (rev. 5/18).

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021