Little Shaq Takes a Chance

by Shaquille O'Neal

  “Yeah,” said Barry, “it looks just like me!”

  “I think we should keep this one in the gym,” said Coach Mackins.

  Suddenly, Aubrey ran to Little Shaq’s side. “Smile for the school paper!” she said.

  Little Shaq gulped, but when he saw everyone smiling, he did too.

  After the camera flashed, Aubrey said, “Hey, Barry, can I ask you some questions about your family portrait?”

  “Sure thing,” said Barry.

  Little Shaq turned to Rosa. “Don’t you want to say it?”

  “Say what?” Rosa asked.

  “I told you so,” Little Shaq replied.

  “No,” she said. “I knew all along you’d make something great!”

  “Well, thanks,” he said. “Even if it does mean that you were right.”

  Rosa winked and skipped away to find her parents.

  All that smiling had made Little Shaq hungry. “Hey, Tater,” he said. “Let’s check out the snacks.”

  On a big buffet table were plates of cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, cookies and fruit, and Mom’s sushi.

  The sushi was almost all gone.

  Little Shaq picked up a piece of sushi from the tray.

  “What are you doing?” asked Tater.

  “I thought I’d give it a try,” Little Shaq replied.

  “Really?” asked Tater.

  “Why not?” he said. “I never thought I’d like sculpting, but now you can call me Michelangelo!”

  “Who’s that?” asked Tater.

  Little Shaq popped a piece of sushi into his mouth and chewed, tilting his head from side to side. “He’s a famous sculptor, like me! Yum!” he said. “Spicy!”

  The following week Mom and Dad were getting ready to make dinner. They called Malia, Little Shaq, and Tater down to the kitchen.

  “What are we all in the mood for?” Mom asked.

  “Grilled cheese,” said Malia.

  “Chicken nuggets,” said Tater.

  “Lasagna,” said Dad.

  Little Shaq looked over at the refrigerator. Mom had taped up his photo from the newspaper. “I don’t know,” he said. “Let’s try something new.”

  Shaquille O’Neal is the author of Little Shaq, a retired basketball legend, a businessman, and an analyst on the Emmy award–winning show Inside the NBA on TNT. During his nineteen-year NBA career, O’Neal was a four-time NBA champion, three-time Finals MVP, and fifteen-time All-Star, and was named the 1993 Rookie of the Year. Since his rookie year, he has been an ambassador for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, a group with which his relationship goes back to his youth in New Jersey. Passionate about education, O’Neal earned his undergraduate degree from LSU, an MBA from University of Phoenix, and a PhD from Barry University.

  www.shaq.com

  @Shaq

  Theodore Taylor III is the illustrator of Little Shaq and was awarded the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award for his first picture book, When the Beat Was Born. An artist, a designer, and a photographer, Taylor received his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and son.

  www.theodore3.com

  Text copyright © 2016 by Shaquille O’Neal

  Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Theodore Taylor III

  All rights reserved

  You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

  First published in the United States of America in April 2016

  by Bloomsbury Children’s Books

  www.bloomsbury.com

  This electronic edition published 2016 by Bloomsbury

  Bloomsbury is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

  For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 1385 Broadway, New York, New York 10018 Bloomsbury books may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  O’Neal, Shaquille.

  Little Shaq takes a chance / by Shaquille O’Neal ; illustrated by Theodore Taylor III.

  pages cm

  Summary: Little Shaq doesn’t love trying new things, especially if he might not be very good at them. So when his class is assigned projects for the school’s upcoming art show, he’s not sure that his skills will transfer from the basketball court to the art studio. Can Little Shaq find the confidence to embrace his own style and create a piece for the show?

  ISBN 978-1-61963-844-0 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-61963-877-8 (e-book) · ISBN 978-1-61963-968-3 (e-PDF)

  1. O’Neal, Shaquille—Childhood and youth—Fiction. [1. O’Neal, Shaquille—Childhood and youth—Fiction. 2. Art—Fiction. 3. Ability—Fiction. 4. African Americans—Fiction.]

  I. Taylor, Theodore, III, illustrator. II. Title.

  PZ7.O549Ll 2016 [Fic]—dc23 2015010334

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