What This Book Is About
Gene Luen Yang, the author of American Born Chinese, never cared about sports. He teaches computer science at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California, and when the school's boys' basketball team, the Dragons, set out on a championship season, he decided to follow them through it and make a book out of it.
Dragon Hoops is part memoir and part reportage. It runs the team's season alongside the history of the game itself, and alongside a decision Yang is making while he reports it: whether to leave teaching and write comics full time. Yang writes and draws it, Lark Pien colours it, and it was named a Printz Honor book in 2021.
Available at Popular bookstores, Kinokuniya, and the Singapore National Library.
Why We Recommend This Book
Dragon Hoops shows a writer working: Yang starts with a basketball season he does not much care about, follows it honestly, and ends up with the history of the game and a decision about his own life. That is a good model of where curiosity leads, and it is the kind of thinking UWC asks students to practise.
The graphic novel format also makes it approachable for students whose English is still developing, while the book is long and layered enough to hold a strong reader. It is a Printz Honor book, so it stands up as literature as well as a sports story.
Reading Level Guide
Challenging at A2. Build confidence with A2-B1 books first, then come back to this one.
Ideal difficulty. Right in the sweet spot for steady growth.
Easy at C1. A quick, enjoyable read—great for pleasure or genre exploration.
Other UWC Recommended Books for This Grade
Not sure if this book is right for your child? Take our free English assessment to find their CEFR level, then choose books that match.