The Golden State Warriors, photo by Keith Allison via Creative Commons In most sports, including the NBA, there is a playoff bracket that the the champion has to complete to win the title. In the NFL, you cannot lose a single game in order to win the Super Bowl. For the NBA, it is a 7 game series format. Team A (the one with the best record) plays at home for the first two games. Then Team B gets two games at home. Then after that, the games alternate. Whichever team wins 4 games first wins the series. While this has been the system for very long time, the NBA is thinking about changing its format to having a play-in bracket or picking the top 16 teams from either conference instead of 8 teams from each conference. Around three years ago, the Golden State Warriors established themselves as the NBA’s powerhouse. They won 2 out of 3 championships and the one that they lost was a fluke. This playoffs could go their way, or someone else could claim the NBA throne. The Houston Rockets are currently in front of the Warriors in standings, causing many to think that the Warriors’ brief dynasty in which they set the NBA record for the best single-season record is over. The East race is as close as the West race, if not closer. The current Eastern Conference standings. As you can see, there is only a 10 game difference between the 3 seed and the 9 seed which is quite unusual. The NBA playoffs are very exciting and very fun to watch.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
10 Backyard Bird Species to Watch
Blue Jay photo by Dawn Huczek via Creative Commons Having fun birdwatching yet? (Read my last 2 posts for great birdwatching information) Here are 10 species of birds that you might find in your backyard (Eastern and Central US): Robin: Gray on top and orange on belly. Medium sized; bigger than small songbirds and smaller than crows or geese. Like to look for worms on the ground. Cardinal: Males are bright red all over with a black face. Females are brown with a red beak. Both have a crest(a pointy hat shape) on their heads. Cardinals are medium sized. Blue Jay: Blue, white, and black. Medium sized. Has a crest. Chipping sparrow: Small sparrows with brown and white streaks and stripes. Large reddish-brown cap on their heads with white and black next to it. House Finch: Small finch with brown and white streaks. Males have red on their head and belly. Females don’t, but if you see one with a male house finch you can probably assume that she’s a house finch too. Black-capped Chickadee: Small bird. Black cap on head with white face and tan belly. Common Grackle: Medium sized bird. Black, with shiny green and purple head feathers that you can see sometimes. Yellow and black eyes. Canada Goose: Goose with black neck and head, brown back, white belly, and webbed feet. They swim in water. They honk. You can see them flying together in a v shape. Crow: Large and black. Makes classic “caw” sound Vulture: Very large, black, with pink head. Flies in circles.
Hoops: Elle of the Ball, Reviewed by Christine Chang, age 10
In Hoops: Elle of the Ball, Elle is the type of girl who would prefer basketball over dancing. Especially since she’s six feet tall at age twelve. And, for the past few months, this has worked out fine for her. But, when the new school year comes, and her new coach sees her height, she has high hopes for Elle to be a great player in a new position. Unfortunately, Elle isn’t used to being so tall! She keeps on tripping over her feet and stumbling. Not only does she have to amp up her basketball practice, but when the school announces their annual mandatory cotillion, Elle is in for a hard time. Wait, what? She is going to be dancing for a grade with a boy much shorter than her, and she’ll be performing in front of the whole school? Elle must find a way to keep up her passion for basketball and learn to please others as well. I think the author of this book, Elena Delle Donne, WNBA MVP and Olympic Gold Medalist, wrote Hoops: Elle of the Ball because Delle Donne used to be just like Elle and wanted to express how she felt and show how hard she worked to be a professional basketball player. Being a WNBA MVP and Olympic gold medalist, she was predictably very into basketball at Elle’s age. She might have been six feet tall at Elle’s age, and because of this, she could have been upset by people expecting her to rule the court. I wonder if it is a coincidence that Elle’s name is kind of a combination of the author’s name, Elena and Delle? This book gave me insight into different kinds of girls, how the pull of relationships and school struggles affect for girls of all ages and how everyone experiences bullying. I also learned a little about basketball. Delle Donne does her best to bring out the characters and use dialogue to make the book more interesting. However, if you appreciate more in-depth and thought provoking books, this book is most likely not for you because Elle of the Ball did not necessarily have a plot that made you care about the characters, a pronounced climax, and it did not suck me into Elle’s life. Unfortunately, I think Delle Donne’s incredible skill and talent on the basketball court did not translate well to the pages of her book. But, if you really like basketball or are looking for a fun quick-read, perhaps you can give it a shot. However, Elle of the Ball is a fun and entertaining quick read for basketball lovers everywhere, and Elle’s basketball adventures will hopefully continue on in the Hoops series for everyone who wants more books about girls and basketball, which we don’t often see nowadays. Hoops: Elle of the Ball by Elena Della Donne. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2018. Buy the book here and support Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? If so, comment below!
