Patty Mills and Jared Thomas have created the third book in the poplar series Game Day aimed directly at sports loving children, particularly those who love basketball.
Patty has finally been selected to play for Canberra and he is so excited. Coach Clarke feels all his hard work has paid off and now he has a chance to travel with the other boys, who have been elected from other Canberra teams, to compete in a major competition in Sydney. He is so excited he begins to feel he may have even a future in basketball.
There is only one small problem and that is, when he is supposed to be in Sydney he is also supposed to be up in the Torres Straight at Athe’s birthday party and a family gathering. What to do?
His mother says that it is OK and they will work around it, when he badly sprains his ankle at training and fears that he may not get to Sydney after all the effort to get everything sorted out.
Finally, he is on the bus with the other team members, and they are heading to Sydney for the biggest event of their lives so far. Arriving at the stadium they are all overawed at the size of the venue and the huge amount of people all yelling for their teams.
As the week goes on Paddy’s ankle holds up; the team, after being totally defeated in their first game, begins to look like a top performing team and they make it into the finals.
Patty Mills is an Australian Olympian and NBA star. The Game Day series is the story of his growing up in Canberra as a sports mad kid and beginning to realise that with hard work and persistence, maybe he can become a champion at Basketball.
With the series he hopes that it ‘will inspire all kids to reach for the stars, by embracing the skills and lessons we receive through culture and sport’.
Patty Takes Charge is a lively read which teaches a little about the Torres Strait Islands culture, the dedication and commitment that goes into becoming a sports player and the rewards that can be found when you try hard.
