Little Shaq Read online

  Little Shaq turned and walked along the curb, kicking at the dirt by the rec center’s dried-up garden.

  It looked so sad.

  Then Little Shaq had an idea.

  “Hey, Barry,” he said, pointing to the garden. “Do you think we’re good enough to fix up this one?”

  Barry thought for a moment. “It would need a lot of water, but, hey, we’re experts!” he said. “And we have enough money to buy all the supplies.”

  The next weekend, Barry and Little Shaq loaded the red wagon with bags of soil and tools. They grabbed their watering cans and wheeled it all to the rec center.

  Malia and Rosa were already in the garden pulling out the weeds.

  Nana Ruth and Mr. Whitten arrived with pots of bright flowers for planting.

  Mr. Rodriguez and Ms. Terpenny set up the vegetable patch.

  Dad grilled burgers by the picnic tables. Mom helped Tater pour glasses of fresh lemonade and set out bowls of fruit, chips, and Mr. Rodriguez’s famous spicy salsa.

  It was a real garden party.

  “Wow, this is looking great!” said Coach Mackins. “How can I help?”

  “First, we need to add the new soil,” said Little Shaq. “Maybe you can do that.”

  “Then we have to dig some holes,” Barry went on.

  “I wanna do that!” said Tater.

  “Next we’ll plant the seeds,” said Little Shaq.

  “That’s my job,” said Rosa. “We can plant tomatoes now and different vegetables each season.”

  “And pack them in tight,” said Barry.

  “I’m on it,” said Malia.

  “You boys sure know a lot about gardening,” said Coach Mackins.

  “There’s one more step,” said Little Shaq.”

  “We have to water everything,” said Barry.

  “But that’s our job,” said Little Shaq. “We are really good at watering.” He turned to Barry. “Watering and layups.”

  Shaquille O’Neal is a retired basketball legend, a businessman, and currently 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 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 © 2015 by Shaquille O’Neal

  Illustrations copyright © 2015 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.

  This electronic edition published in 2015 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

  First published in the United States of America in October 2015

  by Bloomsbury Children’s Books

  www.bloomsbury.com

  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 / by Shaquille O’Neal; illustrated by Theodore Taylor III.

  pages cm

  Summary: Seven-year-old Shaquille O’Neal, a talented basketball and video game

  player, learns to share the spotlight with his cousin Barry when the youngsters work

  together to earn money by watering plants.

  ISBN 978-1-61963-721-4 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-61963-813-6 (e-book) • ISBN 978-1-61963-867-9 (e-PDF)

  1. O’Neal, Shaquille—Childhood and youth—Fiction. [1. O’Neal, Shaquille—Childhood and youth—Fiction. 2. Cousins—Fiction. 3. Moneymaking projects—Fiction. 4. Teamwork (Sports)—Fiction.

  5. Gardening—Fiction. 6. African Americans—Fiction.] I. Taylor, Theodore, III, illustrator. II. Title. PZ7.O549Li 2015 [Fic]—dc23 2014038765

  ISBN 978-1-68119-119-5 (signed edition)

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