Bettina and the Ball

Powerful and inspiring! At the heart of this moving ode to basketball is the kind of love that propels readers to rise above any obstacle and soar.
—Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul, coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestseller Stamped (for Kids)

Prepare to be enthralled with this exhilarating story that follows a young girl with a bold, audacious heart who shows incredible courage on the basketball court. With powerful words and mesmerizing illustrations of dribbling, dancing, and dreaming, Bettina and the Ball helps children learn what it means to be free and to love. A must-have for every home, classroom, and library, this book proves to all children that they belong wherever their dreams take them.
—Dr. Gholnecsar (Gholdy) Muhammad, author of Cultivating Genius and Unearthing Joy

In her spectacular debut picture book, Dr. Bettina Love shows the reader that with practice, patience, persistence, and a passion for whatever you have your heart set on accomplishing, it’s all possible. With Love, it’s all possible.
—Derrick Barnes, two-time Kirkus Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author of I Am Every Good Thing

Bettina and the Ball is more than a story about sport, hard work, and family. It’s also a tale about what it’s like to find the thing that makes you feel most like yourself—love. And I love this book, because just like Bettina’s basketball, every time you put it down, it bounces right back into your hands, over and over again. Absolutely stunning.
—Jason Reynolds, #1 New York Times bestselling author and former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature

Bettina and the Ball is as heartwarming as it is necessary. A tender story that reminds children and adults alike not only what love is, but what love can and should be in a world that needs more of it.
—Frederick Joseph, New York Times bestselling author of The Black Friend and This Thing of Ours

Bettina L. Love is a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning scholar, and the William F. Russell Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. A former college basketball player and Big East Player of the Week, she led her team in blocked shots and, in 2023, received the Atlantic Coast Conference Unite Award for advancing racial progress on and off the court. A nationally recognized voice in education, Dr. Love inspires over 100,000 teachers annually and is the author of We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom. She lives in New York City—and still loves playing basketball.

Frank Morrison started his artistic journey as a graffiti artist in New Jersey before a visit to the Louvre Museum in Paris inspired him to become a fine artist and illustrator. He has won numerous awards for his work, including two NAACP Image Awards, the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, and the Coretta Scott King–John Steptoe Award. He has collaborated with Carole Boston Weatherford on numerous titles, including How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee; R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul; Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Modern Retelling of the Classic Spiritual; How Sweet the Sound: The Story of Amazing Grace; and The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the 4 Pillars of Hip-Hop. Frank Morrison lives outside Atlanta.

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