Fall 2024

Hoops Heroes

The Untold Story of Black Basketball

From the Series Black Trailblazers in Sports (Read Woke ™ Books)

  • Interest Level: Grade 4 - Grade 8
  • Reading Level: Grade 4

When much of the US was segregated, Black athletes were not allowed to play alongside white athletes. Black athletes started their own sports leagues, including the Black Fives. Learn about basketball’s beginnings and the stars of the Black Fives Era, including Charles “Tarzan” Cooper and Ora Washington. Then discover how the National Basketball Association became integrated, what led to the creation of the Women’s National Basketball Association, and how the Black Fives had a lasting impact.

Format Your Price Add
979-8-7656-1155-5
$22.99
979-8-7656-2851-5
$10.99
979-8-7656-3272-7
$34.99
979-8-7656-6431-5
On pre-order until 01/01/2025
$39.99
979-8-7656-6430-8
On pre-order until 01/01/2025
$10.99
Available at all major wholesalers and distributors. Save 25% off list price on hardcovers and ebooks when you buy direct! Digital purchases will be accessed on Lerner Digital Bookshelf. An account will be created for you after purchase.
Interest Level Grade 4 - Grade 8
Reading Level Grade 4
Genre Social Studies
Category 5 Kinds of Nonfiction, 5KN: Narrative Nonfiction, Diverse Books: #OwnVoices, Diverse Books: Race & Ethnicity, Diversity, Sports
Copyright 2025
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Brand Read Woke ™ Books
Imprint Lerner Publications ™
Language English
Number of Pages 32
Publication Date 2024-08-01
Text Type Informational/Explanatory
BISACS JNF018010, JNF054020, JNF025210
Dewey 796.323
Dimensions 7 x 9
Guided Reading Level U
Features Bibliography/further reading, Glossary, Index, Introductory note, Primary source quotations/images, and Source notes

Author: Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith is a writer and editor based in Falls Church, Virginia.

Narrator: Cicely Lewis

Cicely Lewis is a school librarian with a passion for creating lovers of reading based in Georgia. In 2017, she started the Read Woke challenge in response to the shootings of young unarmed black people, the repeal of DACA, and the lack of diversity in young adult literature. She was named the 2020 National Librarian of the Year by School Library Journal and Scholastic, a 2019 Library Journal Mover and Shaker and the 2019 National Teacher Award for Lifelong Readers by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and Penguin Random House (PRH).