
That's kind of how it became a recurring motif in the book. Throughout the book, people are taking important steps into new places.Īnd as I read about basketball history, I discovered that same theme of courage over and over again, that theme of stepping out into the unknown. There are a lot of recurring motifs in the book, but the one that stands out to me is the idea of the first step. You don't know whether you're going to make the crowd cheer or boo." You don't know whether you're going to win or lose. When you step out on a basketball court, no matter how well prepared you are, you really don't know how things are going to go. "As I was following the team, I was struck by the courage of the coaches and especially the players," Yang tells me in an email interview. Gene Luen Yang is known as a cartoonist - the author of American Born Chinese and the New Super-Man comics, he's received a MacArthur genius grant for his work, and the Library of Congress named him as its Ambassador for Young People's Literature in 2016.īut for years, Yang was a computer science teacher at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, Calif., and his new book Dragon Hoops, chronicles a year he spent observing the school's incredibly talented basketball team as they strove for the state championship. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Fifth St., Los Angeles CA 90071 or call (213) 228-7272.Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title Dragon Hoops Author Gene Luen Yang Make a donation by check to the Los Angeles Public Library and send it to:.

Foundation members receive a variety of benefits with their membership. The Library Foundation is a non-profit organization that raises funds for Library enhancement programs such as adult and early literacy, children and teen reading clubs, technology, and cultural programs. Join the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.For more information click here or talk to your local librarian. Friends groups raise money for improvements to their library through memberships, used book sales and other activities. There is a “Friends of the Library” group for most branch libraries and departments of the Central Library. You can support the Los Angeles Public Library in several ways:

With more people than ever before using the library-a record 17 million last year alone-your support helps the Library provide people with the resources they need to succeed and thrive. Through its Central Library and 72 branches, the Los Angeles Public Library provides free and easy access to information, ideas, books and technology that enrich, educate and empower every individual in our city's diverse communities. The Los Angeles Public Library serves the largest most diverse population of any library in the United States.
