Walter Dean Myers

Four middle-schoolers who publish an alternative newspaper at their Harlem academy for gifted students investigate why a classmate--one of the best chess players in New York City--was caught trying to buy drugs.

Teenager Biddy Owens' 1948 journal about working for the Birmingham Black Barons includes the games and the players, racism the team faces from New Orleans to Chicago, and his family's resistance to his becoming a professional baseball player. Includes a historical note about the evolution of the Negro Leagues.

From basketball dreams and family fiascoes to first crushes and new neighborhoods, this anthology, written by award-winning children's authors, celebrates the uniqueness and universality in all of us.