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New Releases by Sean Jensen

Sean Jensen is the author of The Middles School Rules of Skylar Diggins (Middle School Rules) and The Middle School Rules of Jamaal Charles: as told by Sean Jensen.

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The Middles School Rules of Skylar Diggins (Middle School Rules)

The Middles School Rules of Skylar Diggins (Middle School Rules)

Skylar Diggins is a basketball phenomenon, receiving her first letter of interest from a respected college coach when she was in fifth grade. She is an icon: signing as the first female client of Jay Z's Roc Nation Sports, serving as the face of Nike's Women's Basketball Collection, and establishing herself as a must-follow on social media platforms such as Instagram (931,000 followers) and Twitter (604,000 followers).

The Middle School Rules of Skylar Diggins features Skylar's defining childhood stories and lessons about growing up in a diverse middle-class family. Young readers will learn how Skylar dealt with bullying, struggled to fit in at school, and figured out how to excel in basketball despite never being the tallest, strongest, or fastest player.

Skylar shares personal anecdotes that helped her become the Gatorade National High School Player of the Year and one of the most decorated collegiate basketball players. “She was the most important recruit in the history of our program,” Notre Dame women's basketball head coach, Muffet McGraw, says. “Skylar was in our own backyard, and we couldn't let her get away.” Skylar Diggins did not disappoint.

A four-time All-American, Skylar finished her career at Notre Dame owning or co-owning 32 game, season, or school records, and earned the distinction as one of just six NCAA Division 1 players to compile 2,000 points, 500 rebounds,
500 assists, and 300 steals in a career. In the WNBA, Skylar, is starting guard for the Dallas Wings, a two-time All Star Starter, WNBA's 2014 Most Improved Player and Named to WNBA's 2014 First Team.

Off the court, she oversees Skylar's Scholars, a program that highlights the academic achievement of youth who have overcome challenges or achieved goals, and she serves on the board of directors for the GenYouth Foundation. Aside from sports mediums like ESPN and Sports Illustrated, Skylar has also been featured in Vogue and Self, and has been on MTV. 

The Middle School Rules of Jamaal Charles: as told by Sean Jensen

The Middle School Rules of Jamaal Charles: as told by Sean Jensen
Five running backs were selected in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Jamaal Charles was not among them. Despite piling up the fourth-most rushing yards at the University of Texas in just three seasons, he waited for eight other running backs to get selected ahead of him.

The Middle School Rules of Jamaal Charles features the stories and lessons of Jamaal's childhood, defined by people overlooking him. Young readers will see how Jamaal deals with bullying and endures teasing because of a long undiag- nosed learning disability that enabled him to participate in the Special Olympics as a 10-year-old. The gold medals he won at the Special Olympics empowered him, and Jamaal displayed a rare work ethic and determination in everything he did on the field and in the classroom.

“I just kept working, just kept fighting,” Jamaal says. “If you give up, you will not ever know how far you would have gotten.”
A state champion hurdler, Jamaal ran for 4,107 yards and 50 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Memorial High School in Port Arthur, Texas. But readers will see how hard Jamaal had to study to earn a high enough mark on a standardized test to qualify for a full athletic scholarship.

Dogged by doubts about his size, Jamaal is already the Chiefs' all-time leading rusher, a four-time Pro Bowl selection and has more career rushing yards and total touchdowns than all but two of the eight running backs selected ahead of him in the 2008 NFL Draft. In fact, Jamaal owns a special NFL re- cord: More yards per carry (5.5) than any other running back with at least 1,000 career carries!

Jamaal wants his legacy to extend beyond football fields. His Jamaal Charles Youth Matters Family Foundation promotes the development of healthy minds and bodies and reinforces the motto that, “Determination wins.” Jamaal inspired mil- lions at the Opening Ceremony of the 2015 Special Olympics in Los Angeles by sharing his story of struggle and triumph. “I was afraid. I was lost. I had trouble reading. I found out I had a learning disability,” he said. “People made fun of me. They said I would never go anywhere. But I learned I can fly... the Special Olympics gave me my first chance to discover a talent I did not know I had.” 


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