The last shot

Name: The last shot
Author: Allan Baillie
ISBN: 1862913161

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Allan Baillie

Reading Level 3 8LE Ages 5-8 Matched

The Children's Book Council of Australia short-listed book

The text is written at a 3rd grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for younger children (ages 5–8), and the content is mild with minimal sensitive material.

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About This Book

Steve dribbles the ball down the court, the crowd's cheers fading as he feels his father's shadow looming over him. Every pass, every shot feels heavier when your family’s secrets follow you to a new town. But can Steve find the courage to make the last shot that counts?

Themes

Fathers and sonsFriendship Sports Family

Quick Assessment

This story follows Steve, a young boy adapting to life in a new town after his father, a police officer, faces the consequences of whistleblowing against corrupt colleagues. It sensitively explores themes of family loyalty, personal courage, and the pressures children feel when family issues spill into their everyday lives. Appropriate for early readers aged 5-8, it contains mild emotional challenges but no graphic content.

Why we rated The last shot 8LE

The last shot is written at a Level 3 reading level across 59 pages. Strong independent readers around grade 4.0 can typically handle this book on their own; with parent or teacher support, The last shot works for readers up to grade 5.0.

We rate The last shot as 8LE ("Light — Emotional") because the content sits in the "Mild" range — mild conflict — the kind a child encounters in normal play and sibling life. Across our four dimensions (emotional, physical, social, thematic) the book reads as evenly mild; no single dimension stands out as a concern.

No specific content flags were raised by community reviewers, which is consistent with the mild intensity score.

Thematically, The last shot explores fathers and sons, friendship, sports, and family — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.

Good fit for

✓ Children in the Ages 5-8 range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Patient readers who enjoy slower, character-driven stories.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about fathers and sons, friendship, sports.
✓ Readers (and parents) who care about award-recognized writing — The last shot carries an award.