Power Forward

A scrawny fourth grader has big dreams of basketball stardom in this first book in the Zayd Saleem, Chasing the Dream illustrated middle grade series by award-winning author Hena Khan.Fourth grader Zayd Saleem has some serious hoop dreams. Hes not just going to be a professional basketball player. Hes going to be a star. A legend. The first Pakistani American kid to make it to the NBA. He knows this deep in his soul. Its his destiny. There are only a few small things in his way. For starters, Zayds only on the D-team. (D stands for developmental, but to Zayd its always felt like a bad grade or something.) Not to mention, hes a bit on the scrawny side, even for the fourth-grade team. But his best friend Adam is on the Gold Team, and its Zayds dream for the two of them to play together. His mom and dad dont get it. They want him to practice his violin way more than his jump shot. When he gets caught blowing off his violin lessons to practice, Zayds parents lay down the ultimate punishment: he has to hang up his high tops and isnt allowed to play basketball anymore. As tryouts for the Gold Team approach, Zayd has to find the courage to stand up for himself and chase his dream.