It would be tough to have a brother who was a basketball star, a super genius, and an all around nice guy. Poor kid! I completely understood where he was coming from. Both brothers are extremely likable, even Owen as you watch him become more and more jealous of his twin. The story is told from alternating perspectives of Owen and Russell allowing the reader to see the two dramatically different points of view. Mathlete is a fast paced, easy read, with solid character development. Suddenly, Owen is no longer the only basketball star of his family and the focus of all his father's attention. He may not be able to dribble,but he can block shots and make the ever elusive jump shot. However, when the new coach recruits Russell to try out for the basketball team because of his height, no one is more surprised than Russell to find out he's got skills. Everyone agrees that the last place Russell belongs is the basketball court. He's in charge of the Masters of the Mind club and has zero coordination.

Russell is the book worm, the nerd, the genius. Owen is the athlete, the basketball player, the popular kid. Owen and Russell Evans are fraternal twins, who are in the 7th grade and the polar opposite of each other. (Other great introductory chapter books I have previously reviewed include Waiting on the Magic, Hamster Magic, EllRay Jake is NOT a Chicken, and How Oliver Olsen Changed the World) This would be a great read aloud grades 2-4 and a must for any classroom collection of emerging chapter book readers. It can be difficult to develop characters and a quality story line that keeps young and old readers engaged in less that 125 pages, but Lisa Graff does so flawlessly. Sophie Simon Solves Them All is another introductory chapter book that will surprise you! Lisa Graff, author of Umbrella Summer and Double Dog Dare, creates a fun filled page turner. In Sophie's quest to earn enough money to buy a fancy graphing calculator she ends up using her smarts to help her classmates and discovers friends may not be such a bad thing to have. Her parents are worried though because Sophie doesn't have any friends. She's the only 3rd grader in the world who would rather study calculus and perform open heart surgery on an earthworm than attend a pool party extravaganza.

Athlete vs mathlete reading level