Books with title Touchdown

Eddie Russell, a black football star, anticipates enjoying his junior season at Douglass High School south of Memphis, Tennessee, in 1965, but complies with his father Reverend Henry Russell's wishes when local civil rights leaders select Eddie to integrate all-white Forrest High School. Epitomizing resiliency, Eddie; his studious sister, Lakeesha; and two other African-American girls, Lethe and Rochelle; stoically attend classes, experiencing passive racism at first and confronting academic inequities of segregated education when they discover better books and facilities in the white school. Most students either ignore or taunt the black pupils; a teacher washes her hands after touching them, and Eddie's football coach benches him for most of the season. Eddie strives to perceive good in his tormentors. Although the black children's perspectives predominate, reactions of popular white cheerleader, Nancy Martin, depict her tolerance for her new classmates. She befriends the black students, invites them to her home, and attends their church despite her friends' disapproval and rejection. The racism escalates when classmates assault Lakeesha ... testing Eddie's commitment to nonviolence and forgiveness. Based on the author's experiences as a teenager, this complex story explores young adults' experiences on school desegregation's front lines. Children's Literature"Mr. Touchdown is a terrific read. Using vibrantly descriptive language, Lyda Phillips creates a living world of shop class and gym teachers, pep rallies and pompoms, and pulls us right into it. Middle-school students and even their older brothers and sisters will enjoy the breezy dialogue, fast-moving plot, and genuinely shocking twists and turns. Rooting her story of radical social change in the familiar routines of high school, the author gives us a book that never abandons its characters, and it succeeds as both social commentary and adolescent rite-of-passage. It's also a warm and big-hearted book t

TOUCHDOWN FOR TOMMY Is football Tommy's key to a new home? Football isn't just Tommy's favorite sport-he also thinks that it's the key to a good home. The recently orphaned Tommy is delighted to discover that his foster father, Mr. Powell, coaches Midget League football. By playing well, Tommy hopes that he will make Mr. Powell want to adopt him, and then he will have a real family again. But will things work out the way he plans!

Sam loves football. There’s nothing better than the rush he gets when his team, the Cowboys, are working together—moving closer and closer to the end zone.In a key game, the Cowboys beat their arch rivals to remain undefeated, thanks to a major play by Sam. But the celebration ends when he and his teammates make an unwelcome discovery.Is the Cowboys’ perfect season in jeopardy?

My life was over! I mean really over! Here I was, a kid who’d placed second in the city tennis tourney, a top-scoring soccer player, lots of friends, loving my life in Chicago, and what happens? My parents were killed in an auto accident. And I was too young to live alone, so I get shipped off to Texas to live with my grandparents on a farm. A farm! Here I was in Hicksville with nothing to do. Boy, was I missing my parents and my life in Chicago.Nobody here understood me. There’s one girl, Satara, who’s been nice, but she just doesn’t get me either. So you wonder how I got from here to having the nickname, Touchdown Tommy? Well, why don’t you open the book and let me tell you ...

TOUCHDOWN FOR TOMMY Is football Tommy's key to a new home? Football isn't just Tommy's favorite sport-he also thinks that it's the key to a good home. The recently orphaned Tommy is delighted to discover that his foster father, Mr. Powell, coaches Midget League football. By playing well, Tommy hopes that he will make Mr. Powell want to adopt him, and then he will have a real family again. But will things work out the way he plans!

Ethan is a talented wide receiver for the Locomotives. But when he drops a surefire touchdown pass, he begins to question himself. Can he find a way to erase the label of choke artist and make the kind of end zone play that can win back the trust of his team? Reader support tools, like a glossary and discussion questions, round out this story from the high-interest Jake Maddox JV series.