School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-Each book provides background on its respective sport, highlights 10 teams with a description of a stellar season, and includes "History Boxes" and biographical sidebars of exceptional players. While all three titles give a lot of good information, especially in the history they include, there are flaws. While Basketball and Baseball include team photos of most of the 10 teams and a roster or partial roster on a nearby page, Hockey doesn't have team pictures or rosters. Also, several photos in each book are not specifically identified. In Basketball, an appendix lists NBA champs starting in 1974, rather than at the beginning of the league in 1949, and the glossary includes "Most Valuable Player," which seems to be fairly self-explanatory. A Denver Nuggets player is identified as Ralph Sampson, member of the ABA, but he was only 16 years old in 1976 when the ABA disbanded, and he never played for the Nuggets. Lawrence S. Ritter's The Story of Baseball (1990), Dave Anderson's The Story of Basketball (1997, both Morrow), George E. Sullivan's All about Hockey (Putnam, 1998), and Mike Kennedy's Ice Hockey (Watts, 2003) are better bets for background material.-Kate Kohlbeck, Randall School, Waukesha, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Each volume pays tribute to ten of the best teams in the history of their sport. Following an introduction, the books delve into the players, coaches, games, and stats that support each team's claim to greatness. Photos, team rosters and records, players, and informative history boxes fill the busy pages. All but Hockey and Pro Basketball have timelines. Directory, reading list. Glos., ind. [Review covers these Great Teams titles: Great Teams in Baseball History, Great Teams in College Basketball History, Great Teams in College Football History, Great Teams in Hockey History, Great Teams in Pro Basketball History, Great Teams in Pro Football History.] (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
