I have been eagerly waiting for the launch of this new book, and I am excited to be able to share it on Perfect Picture Book Friday. It was written by a dear friend and was inspired by one of her beautiful daughters.
Title: HOOP DREAMS
Author: Julia Wilder Banta
Illustrated by: 1000 Story Books
Publisher: EverImagine division of Haven Books March 2026
ISBN: 978-1-963705-28-7
Suitable for: preschool through elementary aged children
Themes/Topics: Wheelchair basketball, overcoming challenges, friendship
The story begins…
Hope and Harriet’s friendship was made of whispered secrets, giggles, and dreams.
Together, they pretended to become brilliant inventors and beautiful makeup artists.
Their imaginations built castles with tables for roofs.
Hope and Harriet signed autographs at their famous art shows and dressed up to pose for their movie premieres.
They could do anything and everything together.
Brief synopsis: Besties, Hope and Harriet, do everything together until Harriet is asked to join a basketball team. Unfortunately, Hope can’t join her because she is in a wheelchair. Hope sits on the sidelines and cheers for her friend but misses sharing this sport with Harriet.
At home she tries to shoot hoops but fails miserably. With her brother’s encouragement, Hope tries and tries again, eventually dribbling, shooting, and making a basket. With perseverance and hard work, Hope’s skills improve. When Harriet discovers Hope’s ability, she invites her to join the team. Then, when Hope joins a wheelchair basketball team, Harriet joins her on the court. Once again, they can do everything together.
What makes this book special:
At its heart, this is a story of friendship and dreams coming true told through the lens of overcoming adversity. Though Hope is frustrated and upset, she challenges herself to learn to play a new sport and discovers that being in a wheelchair doesn’t stop her from becoming an athlete. The positive and upbeat text presents the sport of wheelchair basketball but doesn’t gloss over the difficulty of learning to play while in a wheelchair. The illustrations are bright and cheerful showing a multi-ethnic group of characters. This moving book is a celebration of accepting and embracing differences. It is a perfect book to read aloud and offers a great starting point for discussions on differing abilities filling a much needed gap in current children’s books.
Back matter explains the basic rules of indoor wheelchair basketball. Proceeds of the sales of HOOP DREAMS will be donated to Holt International Children’s Services.
Click here to learn more about the author and the inspiration behind the story.
Check out this video to learn a few facts about the sport of wheelchair basketball:
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