Travel Team


The book Travel Team by Mike Lupica is an amazing book, and once you start reading you can't put it down. This author writes mainly sports books. His books

are for everyone, any age group can read them. This book's category would be youth sports fiction. The purpose of the author's work is to tell kids they can achieve anything no

matter what thire size is. You aren't any worse than the others just because you're smaller, but as long as you have a heart for the game, you could still be the best. The book's

title fits by the book being about a travel team. The title is interesting to me because I like books about sports.



The story takes place in Middletown, New York. This is a city on Long Island. This city is real, and the story takes place in present time. The book also takes place

in the winter around Christmas time.


The main character is Danny Walker. He is a twelve year old boy who livesd only with his mom, and his dad used to play NBA basketball for the Warriors. Danny is

a little short for his age, but he has played basketball all his life still. So when tryouts come around for the 8th grade travel team, Danny tries out. Danny gets cut on the last

night because he was too small. So that night Danny's dad, Richie came in to see him. They were talking outside by the basketball hoop, and Danny told his dad all about the

tryouts. So when Danny tells his dad "They told me I was too small", Richie decides to make a team of his own. The team consists of all the players that got cut from tryouts.

he tries, and tries, and finally gets his team into the travel league. Richie would now become the coach of his new team.


Richie coached the team led by Danny all the way to the travel league championship game. On the way to the championship, their team beat the team that cut Danny from

tryouts. That was led by Ty Ross, Danny's best friend Also in charge of that team was Jeff Ross, Richie Walker's childhood rival. So beating their team was a huge

accomplishment for both of the them. But everything turns bad when Coach Richie has a bad accident and ends up in the hospital with a hurt wrist. This happens right before

the championship game. So now the Warriors, which is the name of their team, in honor of Richie's NBA team the Warriors, are left without a coach for the big game! Before

the game Danny goes to the hospital to visit his dad, and his dad says to him, "It's your ball today, your game. So don't worry about any of that...stuff." So now we have

Coach Danny. But Danny recieves some unexpected help from his buddy Ty, who sits on the bench for their game and gives Danny tips on what sets of plays to run, during

their championship game against Kirkland.


In my opinion, the author achieved his goal of letting kids know that you are not limited, even if you are a little shorter than everyone else, you can still be one of the

greatest. Richie Walker played in the pros and he was a little short too. But he was still able to do it. And everyone else can too! I really the author's writing style, and the

setting, and the mood of the novel.


So to find out if Danny and his team win the championship, open up this great sports book and read it! you'll love it!