Sticks

Bauer, J. ( 1996). Sticks. New York, NY: Penguin Group.

Mickey is a ten-year old pool player who hopes to win the youth tournament that is coming up in his grandmother's pool hall.  Mickey has pool in his blood.  His deceased father was a pool champion.  Mickey's rival, Buck, will also  be playing in the upcoming tournament.  Mickey practices everyday in order to beat Buck, but Buck is older, bigger, and a great pool player.  Mickey feels like he doesn't have a chance.  Mickey's best friend, Arlen, helps him out by applying math to pool and helping Mickey out with his training.  Then one day a man named Joseph comes into the pool hall.  He turns out to be Mickey's dad's best friend from long ago.  Joseph wants to coach Mickey in pool, but they first must convince Mickey's mom.  Once his mom says yes, Joseph teaches Mickey all he knows about pool.  But a month before the tournament, Mickey sprains his hand.  With hard work and determination, Mickey continues his training, and on the day of the tournament, Mickey beats Buck and wins the tournament.

Mickey is a character that many kids can associate with.  He faces bullies, has to work hard to overcome tragedies in his life, and has a best friend that he can count on.  This book shows kids that we all face different tragedies in life, but we can overcome them with hard work, family, and good friends.  It also shows kids that you do not have to be the biggest or oldest to win.  You just need determination and hard work to overcome an obstacle.