FALLING SHORT
Grades 5 and Up
Ernesto Cisneros
Quill Tree Books, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06288-172-4
304 pp.
Summary
Isaac and Marco have always had each other’s backs. Whether at school or home, their friendship is as solid as a rock. However, now that they are in middle school, their different strengths send them down different paths. Marco finds friends in his college-track classes, while Isaac is embraced by the basketball team. Can they still lift each other up while facing the new challenges that come from this next phase in their lives?
Curriculum Connections
Basketball
Read about basketball players who have defied the norm here.
Pick one of these players or choose and research one of your own and make an informational “trading card” about them. What makes these atypical and exceptional players?
Coding
Marco and his friends talk about their favorite coding languages. Learn more about coding and experiment with one or more coding languages.
See:
Coding Games in Python. DK Children, 2018.
Garland, Ian. Kids Can Code! Sky Pony, 2019.
Morgan, Nick. JavaScript for Kids. No Starch Press, 2014.
Woodcock, John. Coding Games in Scratch. DK Children, 2019.
Experiment with Scratch for free at https://scratch.mit.edu/
Also see free programming resources at Khan Academy.
Try creating an animation or simple game of your own.
Discussion Questions
In what ways did Marco and Isaac support each other?
How were Marco and Isaac’s families different? What were the boys’ unique challenges, especially with their fathers?
What is a skill that you have tried to teach a friend? How did it go?
The boys find new friend groups in middle school. Which of their friends would you choose to hang out with?
Author Online
Ernesto Cisneros was born and raised in Santa Ana, California, where he still teaches. As a writer, he believes in providing young readers with honest depictions of character with whom they can identify.
Companion Books
Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off the Court
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld (Little, Brown, 2018)
The story of Lew Alcindor – now the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – and his struggles with racism and prejudice which led him to become an activist for social change.
The Crossover
Kwame Alexander (Clarion, 2019)
A Newberry-winning novel in verse about twins Josh and JB, both basketball players, and both with their family dealing with a range of life lessons.
Zayd Saleem, Chasing the Dream
Hena Khan (Simon & Schuster, 2020)
Zayd is on the scrawny side and his parents want him to concentrate on playing the violin – but he’s set on joining the basketball team.
Nikki on the Line
Barbara Carroll Roberts (Little, Brown, 2020)
Thirteen-year-old Nikki has been selected to play on an elite-level basketball team – but with all the personal and family problems she’s got going on in her life, how can she manage to compete?
The Great Wall of Lucy Wu
Wendy Wan-Long Shang (Scholastic, 2014)
Sixth-grader Lucy, an aspiring basketball star, ends up dealing with visiting great-aunt Yi Po, who is staying in her room, a basketball bully at school, and a know-it-all at Chinese school.