Book Description

Chan Kim has never felt like an outsider in his life. That is, not until his family moves from L.A. to a tiny town in Minnesota--Land of 10,000 Lakes--and probably 10,000 hicks,too. The Kims are the only Asian family in town, and when Chan and his twin sister, Young, attend high school, it's a blond-haired, blue-eyed whiteout.

Chan throws himself into the only game in town--football--and the necessary roughness required to make a player. On the field it means "justifiable violence," but as Chan is about to discover, off the field it's a whole different ballgame . . .Chan Jung Kim has always been popular. But that was when he lived in L.A. and was the star of his soccer team. Now his family’s moved—to a tiny town in Minnesota, where football’s the name of the game and nobody has ever seen an Asian American family before. Desperate to fit in, Chan throws himself into the game—but he feels like an outsider. For the first time in his life, he finds himself thinking about what it really means to be Korean—and what is really important. By turns gripping, painful, funny, and illuminating, Necessary Roughness introduces a major new talent and a fresh young voice to the Harper list.

1997 Best Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)
1998 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)Chan Jung Kim has always been popular. But that was when he lived in L.A. and was the star of his soccer team. Now his family’s moved—to a tiny town in Minnesota, where football’s the name of the game and nobody has ever seen an Asian American family before. Desperate to fit in, Chan throws himself into the game—but he feels like an outsider. For the first time in his life, he finds himself thinking about what it really means to be Korean—and what is really important. By turns gripping, painful, funny, and illuminating, Necessary Roughness introduces a major new talent and a fresh young voice to the Harper list.

1997 Best Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)
1998 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA) ... Read more

Reviews (16)

A real excellent book
The book Necessary Roughness, by Marie G. Lee, is a really great book. In fact it's the best book I've read. Two Korean teens who live in LA are forced to move to a small town in Minnesota, which is primary white. They are go through a lot of obstacles, including racism, etc. Chan, who is 16, is talked into joining the football team. At first he didn't like the idea until he tried it. He was made the kicker of the team, as well as playing many other positions. Near the end of the football season something bad happens but I won't tell you what ,so if you want to know just read this awesome book.

Good Book-What you're looking for...
If you're looking for a book that will grab your interests and keep you entertained while you're bored, this is it. Necessary Roughness deals with racism, prejudice, school, teenager years of a 16 year old Korean boy name Chan Kim. Chan moves from LA where he enjoys his culture/heritage, to Minnesota where it is full of white people and his family was the only Asian Family in town. This book has some surprises and suspense going but there was only min. racism, i thought he was the only asian kid in town along with his twin sister? There has to be more racism than that. The book has kinda moves from one problem Chan deals with to another without totally clearing it up..but overall its still a good book, if you're asian or football fan..its good to know you can relate to this book.

one of my favs 2
i am from MN, too and i was lucky enough to meet the author at a booksigning, she is so cool. this book of hers is my favorite, she somehow made you really care for the characters like they were real people. i think i will read more of her books now. get this one, though, i highly recomend it.

one of my favs.
necessary roughness is about chan kim. he moves from LA to a small town minnesota. he was a star soccer player but moves to a town where they there is no one plays soccer and everone plays football and he decides to give it a try. this book is one of my favorite books and marie g. lee is one of my fav. authors. it shows the stuggles he encounter like racism, making new friends and his parents rule about dating. i am from minnesota and i am korean so i can relate to this book. you should read it.

This book rocks!
I had to read this book for a class and normally I don't like to read books, but this one rocks. I even cried. I won't tell you what happens tho and ruin your surprise. But the book tells you a lot of things about life. ... Read more

Book Description

Read by a full cast
Two cassettes / One hour 34 mins.

More than anything Boots Raymond wants to be a quarterback for the Apollos.But because of his size,the coach assigns him to a tackle position.

Boots rebels and almost quits the team, but his brother intercepts and teaches Boots the valuable lessons about commitment and teamwork that he learned from being a soldier in Vietnam. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Phenomenal book
Boots Raymond is a boy that want to play quarterback for his team - there's just one problem - the coach says he's too heavy to play that position.The coach assigns him to right tackle.His brother, Tom, is actually the one that encourages him to play football because he wants to quit.His brother explains that it's good to play the line because you help the quarterback make the plays.I like this book because it's very exciting, and I understand how it feels to play a position that you don't like.I would recommend this book to anyone who loves sports or who plays tackle football!

Tough To Tackle
Tough To Tackle is a book about a boy named Boots, who wants to be on the Apollos football team.When he goes to the coach he said that he wants to be a quarterback, and the choach said that he was too heavy.His brother was in the war and "Boots" wrote to him about how he was playing the line.Will he quit?Read the book Tough To Tackle to find out.
I read the book Tough To Tackle because I like reading about sports.I also like reading Matt Christopher books.Once I started reading it I couldn't stop.I suggest that everyone should read this book.

Tough to .... Read
This book was just pages and pages on details about 4 football games (plays called, players names)The actual story, about a boy who doesn't know if he wants to play or not because he's a tackle and not the quarterback encompassed about 10 pages of the book.The moral is a good one but it is just too difficult to get through 20 pages at a time about how much time is left or who ran which way.I know quite a bit about football and still wasn't interested.

Tough To Tackle
Tough To tackle, by Matt Christopher, is one of his books about sports. This type of book is a realistic fiction book so it's not true but it can happen.

This story takes place on a football field and happens from the months of September and October. Matt Christopher helps us know the characters by telling us what the characters do and how they act. The major conflict is that a boy named Boots Raymond really wants to play quarterback for his team called the Apollos, but Coach Hayes said that he's too heavy to play quarterback so he puts him on right tackle. Will Boots ever improve on his position? Matt Christopher's writing style interest me because he likes to write about sports all the time.

This book would be great for 9-11 year old kids because this book is interesting and I would recommend it.I'd give this book a 4/5. A person that likes sports would like this book. So to find out if Boots will ever improve on his position, go get this book now at your local library.

Tough To Tackle
Tough To tackle, by Matt Christopher, is one of his books about sports. This type of book is a realistic fiction book so it's not true but it can happen.

This story takes place on a football field and happens from the months of September and October. Matt Christopher helps us know the characters by telling us what the characters do and how they act. The major conflict is that a boy named Boots Raymond really wants to play quarterback for his team called the Apollos, but Coach Hayes said that he's too heavy to play quarterback so he puts him on right tackle. Will Boots ever improve on his position? Matt Christopher's writing style interest me because he likes to write about sports all the time.

This book would be great for 9-11 year old kids because this book is interesting and I would recommend it.I'd give this book a 4/5. A person that likes sports would like this book. So to find out if Boots will ever improve on his position, go get this book now at your local library. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Awesome!
The Team That Couldn't Lose by Matt Christopher is a very interesting book. The characters are Coach Kash, Chip Chase, and the rest of the Cayugans football team. Mr. McFall, an old player who played 60 years ago, has lost his old playbook because his wife sold it. A boy named Danny Livenmore bought it, and was sending plays to the Cayugans.
This book is a must read! It has a good author because he is a very young sports writer. He will probably have some good books in the future.
Matt Christopher is a former sports magazine seller. Also he worked at General Electric. And is a young sports writer for kids. Keep an eye out for more books by Matt Christopher.

Little E book
The Team That Couldn't Lose by Matt Christopher is a very interesting book. The characters are Coach Kash, Chip Chase, and the rest of the Cayugans football team. Mr. McFall, an old player who played 60 years ago, has lost his old playbook because his wife sold it. A boy named Danny Livenmore bought it, and was sending plays to the Cayugans.
This book is a must read! It has a good author because he is a very young sports writer. He will probably have some good books in the future.
Matt Christopher is a former sports magazine seller. Also he worked at General Electric. And is a young sports writer for kids. Keep an eye out for more books by Matt Christopher.

Cool Team
I like this book. I liked the part when the team was winning. I did not like the part when Danny was cheating on the plays. I would recommend this book.

The winners!
A Review by Erik
This book was an interesting story about a kid's football team that was supposed to lose every game, but they mysteriously get a new play that they used to help them.

Jasper was an old man who recognized the plays. He said they used them over 60 years ago when he was in high school. Chip, the quarterback, asked the high school coach if he was giving them the plays, but he said no.

Every week they got a new play and practiced it. And every week they won the game. Jasper, chip the coach, and the other kids on the team wanted to know who was sending the plays to the coach. They tried and tried to see where the plays were coming from, but the only person who knew wouldn't talk about it.

The characters are like real kids and very interesting. The coach doesn't know a lot about football but that part of what makes the story interesting.

The book is interesting and doesn't get boring. The main story talks about the football games and kids. But also talks about the mystery of who is sending the coach the secret plays and where did these plays come from.

The worst part about the book is that the Author led part of it get boring because parts of the book drug on too long, especially in the middle. But most of the time it was fun to read.

Short But Sweet
I have this book & it is very good. In my title I put "Short But Sweet" because this book is roughly 80 pages. I read it in a day, but it is worth buying. I love this book, and I wish that everyone will read this book. ... Read more

Book Description

The sounds of autumn include the crunch of fallen leaves underfoot and the thump of the kickoff starting the first home football game.Sleeping Bear Press is proud to continue our best-selling sports series with "T is for Touchdown: A Football Alphabet."Sports writer Brad Herzog's easy-to-read-aloud rhymes engage even the youngest of readers, while hardcore fans can devour the detailed expository that covers the sport of the pigskin, from A-Z and end zone to end zone.Plays and players are just a few of the topics covered. ... Read more

Book Description

The life of Donovan McNabb. ... Read more

Book Description

Find all the basics in this lively guide.

• The markings on a football field

• What football players wear

• The positions, from quarterback to wide receiver

• The excitement of the kickoff

• The thrill of scoring a touchdown

All these and more are included with a useful glossary at the end.

Book Description

Louie Banks has it made.

He's got a starting spot on the football team, good friends, and a smart, beautiful girlfriend who loves him as much as he loves her.

Early in the fall, he sees all his ideas of fair play go up in smoke; by spring, what he cares about most has been destroyed. How can Louie keep going when he's lost everything?

Reviews (30)

Running Loose
Running Loose is a phenomenal book. It is a book for a reader that enjoys young adult fiction. Chris Crutcher does an excellent job at combining drama with sports. If you enjoy reading books about sports you should consider Chris Crutcher as an author. The book starts out when a high school football player named Louie is in summer training for football. He exercises every day to get in shape. As the season approaches, he becomes the star defensive back for Trout High School. In the meantime he falls in love with a cheerleader named Becky. When his team is faced against one of the toughest teams in the league, Salmon River, his coach tells one of Louies teammates, Boomer, to take out their star quarterback, Washington. After it happened Louie was upset with Boomer and tried to get is own team a penalty by telling the referee it was an intentional hit. His coach kicked him off the team for the rest of the season and said he will never play another sport at Trout High School again. When he thinks that worse has happened to him, something else worse happens. His girlfried, Becky, is killed in a car accident. Can Louie overcome his problems, or will something even worse happen? You must read this exciting book to find out.

Interesting
Chris Crutcher's book Running Loose was a very good book with very true to life characters. Louie, who's main goals in life are to be a good football player and get a girl, faces many challenges that teens today are faced with. Crutcher grabs the real essence of teens and shows them to us with unadulterated skill. Looking at the plot in this book, a bad call by a good coach, it causes me to look back at my school time (going to a small school like Louis)and realizing that this could have really happened anywhere and probably does to some extent. I am heartened to read about an untypical hero who stands up to fight in the face of adversity.

Crutcher is one for the record books.

sms student
Running Loose, by Chris Crutcher was a great read. It was about a high school boy who is faced with some very tough decisions. His senior year starts out great. He's got a starting sport on the varsity football team, and the girl of his dreams, Becky. Then tragedy strikes. He is kicked off the football team for standing up to the coach. Also Becky gets killed in a car crash. Louie gets help from and support from his parents. Crutcher tried to get across in the story that Louie is an average kid faced with difficult decisions. This book is worth reading if your older than 13 because of different parts in the book. It would not be good for someone in elementary school.

Saved by the Mile
In the book "Running Loose", a high school boy made a stupid decision that could have messed up the rest of his senior year. Fortunately, he found a sport that helped him to clear his mind. This sport turned out to be the best thing for him.
Overall, I thought this book was pretty good. The only thing that concerned me was that the author, Chris Crutcher, didn't quite make it clear who all of the characters were. This book might be just a little mature for sixth and seventh graders. This isn't such a great book for elementary students. I also thought this book had some really funny parts in it. Out of five stars, I would rate this book a 4.

Running Loose
The book Running Loose by Chris Crutcher is the story of Louie Banks' senior year in high school. I think that this book was very well-written. The story dealt with many of today's issues, such as racism and standing up for what you believe in.
Louie Banks lives in a small town where everyone knows each other. The story begins with Louie being on the football team, having great parents, and a perfect girlfriend. However, his near perfect live begin to unravel when he stands up for an African-American football player from another school who was purposely injured by one of Louie's teammates. Louie is thrown off the team by his coach and the school principal. This sets off a year-long feud between Louie, the coach, and principal.
The year progresses, with everything going not so good for Louie. The school principal is constantly trying to get Louie suspended, because he still holds a grudge from the football season. The saddest part of the book is when Louie's girlfriend, Becky dies unexpectedly. Louie does some surprising acts after Becky is killed, such as chopping down the oldest tree in the town's forest, yelling at her funeral, and throwing her memorial plaque into the river where she was killed. He did most of these acts out of anger because of her death or because of the way people were acting. He yelled at her funeral about the minister who said the mass, because he was saying things that were not important about Becky's life. In the spring, Louie joins the track team and does well most of the time. Being on the track team helps him relieve some of his anger and sadness that he had from the loss of Becky.
I think that the main thing that Louie learns from his last year of high school is that being the best at football or having the whole town love you because you "put on a show" are not the most important things in life. In the end, being kind to the people that you love and standing up for what is right and what you believe in is what makes you a good person. I think that Running Loose is a book that all high school students should read, because it gives a message that we all should learn. ... Read more

Book Description

In "Catch & Connect," Kansas City Chiefs’ five-time Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez shows us that the road to athletic greatness and personal fulfillment is not always a smooth one.

From conquering a fear of bullying to building deep relationships with his extended family and civic communities, Tony demonstrates the power of recognizing and acting on what’s really important in life. ... Read more

Book Description

Tiki and Ronde were each other's best friends. Together from the start, these twins might not have been the strongest or the tallest, but they were fast and worked hard at what they loved. And they loved sports, especially football.

Then one day Tiki badly hurt his knee in a biking accident, and he was sure he'd never be able to play again. Their mother had always told them, "You are each other's best friends. Stick together, believe in yourselves, and you can do anything." They kept her words in their hearts and never gave up.

Based on the childhood of National Football League superstars Ronde and Tiki Barber, this inspiring book about the values of family, hard work, and determination is the story of what it takes to be a champion. ... Read more

Book Description

Keith Stedman dropped the game-winning, undefeated-record-making pass that would have made him a hero instead of a loser.Still haunted by his gaffe, he's considering quitting football for good.His friends and family convince him to stick with it, but his troubles are far from over.Another player seems determined to do everything he can to keep the bad memory alive in the minds of his teammates-including Keith.Can Keith overcome his own obsession with the past and succeed in the present? ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A very good book
The Matt Christopher Football nightmare is a very exciting book. When Keith just misses the pass and loses the championship he thinks about quitting but his friends and his family especially his sister Tracy get him to stay with his team in the football league. After he decides to continue football he becomes pretty good at it but he makes a few mistakes which he gets mad at himself for. He then gets over it with the help of everybody and finally is great again.The football nightmare is a great book by Matt Christopher and it would be a great book to buy. ... Read more

Book Description

In "Play With Passion" Brad Johnson takes us on his real-life journey from young kid to the Super Bowl.Family, schools, teachers, coaches, teams, and friends — they all taught him the importance of having passion in life.

Brad has played many sports — basketball, baseball, and football. In fact, his first dream was to play in the NBA. Although his hours of shooting hoops in the rain didn’t result in an NBA career, they reinforced the importance of commitment and focus. ... Read more

Book Description

This how-to book of football skills features easy-to-follow, accessible information about playing America's favorite game. Full-color photography shows kids demonstrating skills, "Pro Tip" boxes illustrate key things players need to know-from putting on protective gear to throwing the perfect spiral. Step-by-step photo sequences and annotated images make Play Football! a great tool for kids and their coaches and parents. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

GET A "FEEL" FOR FOOTBALL!
If you like football you'll love this book! My 10 month old picked it up and kept saying ball, ball pointing at the cover. He said "Ooh!", "Oh!", "Wow!" as he touched each of the items and heard what they were. He loves the touch and feel books and will pick those over his others again and again. Maybe your child will too! ... Read more

Book Description

Fully updated to include all the big games, including Super Bowl XXXVII, Eyewitness Super Bowl shows readers what goes on during the fun-filled week before the game; how the Super Bowl half-time show is created; who holds the most Super Bowl passing records; and much, much more. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

COOL BOOK
This book is great! It is mainly about two brothers, one a great athlete, one handicaped. They are twins and can communicate through ESP. There friend then tells them about TEC, which is where you switch bodies. The handi- caped brother is in his brothers body. They can switch back when they want too. This book is THILLING!

A sports-fiction about the disabled
The Great Quarterback Switch, by Matt Christopher, is a book about a boy named Michael, who is physically disabled. Michael is stuck in a wheelchair the rest of his life. He has a twin brother Tom, who plays football. Michael goes to every game, wishing he could play. One day, the twins meet their next door neighbor. Ollie Prutte is pretty old. He believes in mental telepathy. Ollie tells the boys instructions on how to do telepathy, from what he knows. At Tom's next football game, it happens, the telepathy works!! This book, a sports-fiction book, is great for young sports readers. The author, Matt Christopher, is presently living in Rock Hill, South Carolina with his wife, Cay. He has written more than thirty sports novels for children.

One reason why readers like this book is because I love sports books and Matt Christopher is really good at writing for kids. A really good scene is when, on the second game of trying telepathy, it works and Michael scores two touchdowns. Another reason why readers enjoy this book is because Matt writes books so that it makes it seem real-life, not fiction. He is a great writer. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Freshman Quarterback (Chip Hilton) scores big in the 90's!
Chip Hilton scores big in Freshman Quarterback. Some of the problems he faces are as relevent today as they were in the original writings. The updates are great and still don't detract from the quality and message Clair Bee originally intended. I wish I could be on Chip's team, just like I wanted to when I first read the series in the early 60's! Great Book, Great Series! Thanks for bringing them back! ... Read more

Book Description

It's Manny's first football season with the Hudson City Hornets andhe's determined to get in the game and not warm the bench. Problem is, Manny'snot a big guy and when he tries to tackle the offense, he's the one who ends upon the ground. Coach isn't too pleased, especially when the team starts losing.But Manny refuses to give up; he's as tough as anyone out there and he's fast.He's got the season to prove to Coach, his teammates, and himself, that he's gotthe talent to earn the roar of the crowd. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

THE NEW MATT CHRISTOPHER!
Author Rich Wallace is everything Matt Christopher used to be -- and more! Wallace's characters are honest, funny and real. They are not perfect, like most of us. Protagonist Manny Ramos and his teammates talk like real kids. They learn their own lessons, teaching each other -- instead of waiting for an adult to solve their problems, as in the old-fashioned sports novels. Best of all, Wallace writes unmatched sports game action. Knowing that he'll be using the same characters from the same school and town, I'll be anxious to read the other books in this series. ... Read more