National Geographic Kids Chapters: Hoops to Hippos!: True Stories of a Basketball Star on Safari
NBA star Boris Diaw of the San Antonio Spurs takes young readers on safari as he explores his off-court passion: wildlife photography! Join Diaw as he escapes from stampeding wildebeests, comes face-to-face with lions, and discovers why you should never come between a hippo and its watery home.Through engaging stories and photos by Diaw, readers will discover a whole new side to this basketball champ. National Geographic Kids Chapter books pick up where the best-selling National Geographic Readers series leaves off, offering young animal lovers who are ready for short chapters lively, exciting, full-color true stories—just right to carry in backpacks, share with friends, and read under the covers at night.
Читать National Geographic Kids Chapters: Hoops to Hippos!: True Stories of a Basketball Star on Safari онлайн беплатно
Copyright © 2015 National Geographic Society
All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission from the publisher is prohibited.
Staff for This Book
Shelby Alinsky, Project Editor
Hillary Leo, Photo Editor
Callie Broaddus, Art Director
Ruth Ann Thompson, Designer
Marfé Ferguson Delano, Editor
Paige Towler, Editorial Assistant
Sanjida Rashid, Design Production Assistant
Colm McKeveny and Michael Cassady, Rights Clearance Specialists
Grace Hill, Managing Editor
Joan Gossett, Senior Production Editor
Lewis R. Bassford, Production Manager
George Bounelis, Manager, Production Services
Susan Borke, Legal and Business Affairs
Published by the National Geographic Society
Gary E. Knell, President and CEO
John M. Fahey, Chairman of the Board
Melina Gerosa Bellows, Chief Education Officer
Declan Moore, Chief Media Officer
Hector Sierra, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Book Division
Senior Management Team, Kids Publishing and Media Nancy Laties Feresten, Senior Vice President; Jennifer Emmett, Vice President, Editorial Director, Kids Books; Julie Vosburgh Agnone, Vice President, Editorial Operations; Rachel Buchholz, Editor and Vice President, NG Kids magazine; Michelle Sullivan, Vice President, Kids Digital; Eva Absher-Schantz, Design Director; Jay Sumner, Photo Director; Hannah August, Marketing Director; R. Gary Colbert, Production Director
Digital Anne McCormack, Director; Laura Goertzel, Sara Zeglin, Producers; Jed Winer, Special Projects Assistant; Emma Rigney, Creative Producer; Brian Ford, Video Producer; Bianca Bowman, Assistant Producer; Natalie Jones, Senior Product Manager
The National Geographic Society is one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Founded in 1888 to “increase and diffuse geographic knowledge,” the Society’s mission is to inspire people to care about the planet. It reaches more than 400 million people worldwide each month through its official journal, National Geographic, and other magazines; National Geographic Channel; television documentaries; music; radio; films; books; DVDs; maps; exhibitions; live events; school publishing programs; interactive media; and merchandise. National Geographic has funded more than 10,000 scientific research, conservation, and exploration projects and supports an education program promoting geographic literacy.
For more information, please visit nationalgeographic.com, call 1-800-NGS LINE (647-5463), or write to the following address:
National Geographic Society
1145 17th Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036-4688 U.S.A.
Visit us online at
For librarians and teachers: ngchildrensbooks.org
National Geographic supports K–12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources. Visit natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.
More for kids from National Geographic: kids.nationalgeographic.com
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact National Geographic Books Special Sales: [email protected]
For rights or permissions inquiries, please
contact National Geographic Books Subsidiary
Rights: [email protected]
Trade paperback
ISBN: 978-1-4263-2052-1
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4263-2201-3
Reinforced library edition
ISBN: 978-1-4263-2053-8
v3.1
Version: 2017-07-11
Chapter 2: Too Close for Comfort
Chapter 1: Tagging Along With Rhinos
Chapter 2: Time-Out With Tigers
That’s me, Boris Diaw. Two of my favorite things are playing hoops and taking photos of wild animals. I photographed these hippos when I was in Africa on safari, a special trip to see wildlife.
I loved watching this little lion cub lounge on a termite mound.
Hi, my name is Boris Diaw (sounds like DEE-ow). I’m a professional basketball player. I play for the National Basketball Association, or NBA, for short. I play all over the United States. I also play in Europe.
I have played hoops my whole life. I grew up in a small town named Bordeaux (sounds like bore-DOH) in southwest France. My mom was a pro basketball player, too. She used to shoot hoops with me. The game was her passion. Now it’s mine, too.
I love how basketball is a team sport. There’s a lot of spirit in it. Everyone on a team must work together. It’s like a pride of lions or a pack of African wild dogs.
Animals are another passion of mine. I love spending time outdoors and taking pictures of wild animals. I have taken photographs of wildlife in South Africa, Botswana (sounds like bot-SWAN-uh), Tanzania (sounds like tan-zan-EE-yuh), and India. I’ve watched hungry lions eat. I’ve tracked a tigress with her cubs. I have photographed colorful birds, rugged rhinos, and lounging leopards. When I’m at home in San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A., my photos remind me of the peace I feel in the wild.
