Sports Books

Picture Books | Younger Fiction | Intermediate Fiction |
Young Adult Fiction | Poetry | Nonfiction

The books recommended below were published within the last few years. Grade levels are only suggestions; the individual child is the real criterion.

Picture Books
Suggested grade level listed with each entry

Frog written by Susan Cooper, illustrated by Jane Browne (McElderry)
Joe learns to swim despite his perceived inability when he must rescue a frog trapped in his family’s pool. Grade level: Preschool. 32 pages.

Roasted Peanuts written and illustrated by Tim Egan (Houghton)
Clumsy cat Jackson and graceful horse Sam are best friends, but their friendship is strained when both try out for the baseball team and Jackson doesn’t make it. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

A Crash Course for Molly written and illustrated by Eva Eriksson, translated by Elisabeth Kallick Dyssegaard (R&S)
A driving instructor helps expressive young pig Molly learn to ride her bike after she crashes into him. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Wonder Goal! written and illustrated by Michael Foreman (Farrar)
An unnamed boy, teased by his fellow soccer players because he’s new to the team, dreams of scoring a game-winning goal. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Casey Back at Bat written by Dan Gutman, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher (HarperCollins)
Casey — who struck out in Casey at the Bat — attempts to redeem himself by hitting the ball so hard it travels through space and time in this mock-heroic ballad. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings written by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Terry Widener (Schwartz)
This picture book is “inspired by” the life of pioneering female baseball player Alta Weiss, who in 1907 pitched for the Vermilion Independents, a semipro team. Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

Vera Rides a Bike written and illustrated by Vera Rosenberry (Holt)
When Vera outgrows her tricycle, she inherits her sister’s old bicycle and goes for a ride even though she hasn’t yet learned how to stop. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Duck on a Bike written and illustrated by David Shannon (Blue Sky)
When some children leave their bicycles unattended, a group of barnyard animals go on a cycling spree through the countryside. Grade level: Preschool. 40 pages.

Beverly Billingsly Can’t Catch written and illustrated by Alexander Stadler (Silver Whistle/Harcourt)
Brainy Beverly and Oliver, tired of being branded “losers” at sports, set out to learn softball. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Mudball written and illustrated by Matt Tavares (Candlewick)
Tavares cinematically retells the legend of the shortest home run in history, hit by Andy Oyler in 1903. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Younger Fiction
Suggested grade level for each entry: 1–3

Little Rat Sets Sail written by Monika Bang-Campbell, illustrated by Molly Bang (Harcourt)
With the help of a compassionate sailing instructor, Little Rat overcomes her fear of the water to enjoy sailing. 48 pages.

Birthday Pony written by Jessie Haas, illustrated by Margot Apple (Greenwillow)
In the sequel to Runaway Radish, Jane brings her new pony, Popcorn, to riding camp, where Jane learns to be a confident rider and Popcorn learns to follow Jane’s lead. 80 pages.

Gus and Grandpa at Basketball written by Claudia Mills, illustrated by Catherine Stock (Farrar)
Gus loves basketball practice but has trouble concentrating during his games until his grandfather helps him learn to focus. 48 pages.

Thumb on a Diamond written by Ken Roberts, illustrated by Leanne Franson (Groundwood)
Desperate for a chance to visit the big city of Vancouver, Thumb and his classmates learn to play baseball in order to become eligible for the championship game held there. 128 pages.

Marvin Redpost: Super Fast, Out of Control! written by Louis Sachar, illustrated by Amy Wummer (Random)
A rumor that Marvin is going to ride down “Suicide Hill” crystallizes his fears: of the hill, of his big new mountain bike, of wimping out. 80 pages.

Intermediate Fiction
Suggested grade level for each entry: 4–6

Throwing Smoke by Bruce Brooks (Geringer)
Baseball co-captain Whiz indulges in some Frankenstein-style meddling to improve his team’s prospects, injecting a delectably unnerving fantasy element into this cerebral sports novel. 138 pages.

Racing the Past by Sis Dean (Holt)
To avoid clashes with kids on the school bus, abused fifth-grader Ricky begins running to school, vowing to one day race the bus home. 153 pages.

Peak by Roland Smith (Harcourt)
Natural-born climber Peak is pushed by his estranged father to be the youngest person ever to climb Mount Everest. 246 pages.

Young Adult Fiction
Suggested grade level for each entry: 7 and up

St. Michael’s Scales by Neil Connelly (Levine/Scholastic)
Keegan, blaming himself for his family’s disintegration, begins a countdown to suicide but finds unexpected strength from his place on the school’s wrestling team. 309 pages.

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher (Greenwillow)
An exceptional athlete who has refused to play on the school teams agrees to lead a start-up swim team only to buck the system by signing up every needy misfit he can find. 220 pages.

Night Hoops by Carl Deuker (Houghton)
Determined to play on his school’s varsity basketball team, Nick forges an uneasy alliance with his antisocial, hot-tempered neighbor and fellow teammate. 212 pages.

Rash by Pete Hautman (Simon)
In the futuristic United Safer States of America, Bo is sent to a jail/pizza factory for punching someone and is tapped to join the prison's illegal football team. 249 pages.

The Boxer by Kathleen Karr (Farrar)
Narrated by fifteen-year-old John Aloysius Xavier Woods, the measured plot traces his boxing career, from saloon bouts to his first prizefight, against a vivid backdrop of 1880s Manhattan. 169 pages.

Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge (Candlewick)
Laid up with mono, Kevin reluctantly sets aside his baseball glove and starts investigating poetry. 116 pages.

Warrior Angel by Robert Lipsyte (HarperCollins)
Depressed and apathetic heavyweight champ Sonny Bear begins an e-mail correspondence with a mysterious fan known only as “Warrior Angel,” who believes that he alone can save Sonny. 185 pages.

Yellow Flag by Robert Lipsyte (HarperTeen)
Seventeen-year-old Kyle is forced back into the family business of stock car racing when his older brother is injured just as the family gets its shot at a big-time sponsor and major comeback. 234 pages.

Dairy Queen and The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (Houghton)
Farm girl DJ agrees to coach a rival town’s quarterback, but their nascent relationship becomes complicated when she wins a place on her own town’s football team; in the second book, a football injury jeopardizes her hoped-for (and financially necessary) basketball scholarship to college. 278 pages.

Three Clams and an Oyster by Randy Powell (Farrar)
A flag football team that has played together since fifth grade enters their seventh season needing to find a replacement player or be dropped from the league. 216 pages.

Losing is Not an Option by Rich Wallace (Knopf)
Nine stories follow Ron from sixth grade to just before high school graduation, focusing on key (and often sports-related) moments of conflict in the life of this jock/poet/regular guy. 127 pages.

Playing without the Ball: A Novel in Four Quarters by Rich Wallace (Knopf)
When his father moves to California, seventeen-year-old Jay stays behind and rents a room above a bar, just for a shot at making the basketball team. 215 pages.

Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak (Levine/Scholastic)
In this fast-paced Australian import, teenage tough guys Cameron and Ruben Wolfe are offered a chance to fight on the underground boxing circuit. 220 pages.

Poetry
Suggested grade level listed with each entry

Girls Got Game: Sports Stories and Poems edited by Sue Macy (Holt)
Eighteen stories and poems, primarily uncomplicated paeans to the authors’ favorite games, honor female athleticism. Grade level: 7 and up. 152 pages.

Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888 written by Ernest L. Thayer, illustrated by Christopher Bing (Handprint)
Setting the beloved baseball ballad when it originated, Bing creates a fictional edition of the Mudville Monitor to chronicle Casey’s legendary loss. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Twist: Yoga Poems written by Janet S. Wong, illustrated by Julie Paschkis (McElderry)
Most of these sixteen poems focus on a single pose, effectively evoking their subjects to suit both those familiar with yoga and newcomers to the practice. Grade level: 4–6. 40 pages.

Nonfiction
Suggested grade level listed with each entry

America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle written by David A. Adler, illustrated by Terry Widener (Gulliver/Harcourt)
Adler's engaging narration smoothly contextualizes important episodes in Ederle's life, adding enough amplification to make them memorable. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

Joe Louis: America’s Fighter written by David A. Adler, illustrated by Terry Widener (Gulliver/Harcourt)
A straightforward text outlines Joe Louis's boxing career, covering milestone matches, never downplaying the racism he fought outside the ring, and subtly developing the theme that actions, not race, define the worth of a man. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

The Champ: the Story of Muhammad Ali written by Tonya Bolden, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Knopf)
This carefully documented biography is an informative, lively introduction to the man who had good reason to say, "I'm the greatest." Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

The Greatest Skating Race: A World War II Story from the Netherlands written by Louise Borden, illustrated by Niki Daly (McElderry)
In the charged atmosphere of 1942 Holland, ten-year-old Piet guides two children to safety on skates after their father is arrested. Grade level: K–3. 48 pages.

Satchel Paige written by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by James E. Ransome (Simon)
This picture-book biography of the immensely talented and individualist Leroy “Satchel” Paige is packed with valuable information about both Paige and the world of baseball. Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

Hey Batta Batta Swing!: The Wild Old Days of Baseball written by Sally Cook and James Charlton, illustrated by Ross MacDonald (McElderry)
Baseball’s days of yore receive a sunny treatment in this chatty, nostalgic, slang-filled history. Grade level: 4–6. 48 pages.

Jump!: From the Life of Michael Jordan written and illustrated by Floyd Cooper (Philomel)
Cooper uses young Michael Jordan's defeats to demonstrate how losing can be motivational. Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

The Strongest Man in the World: Louis Cyr written and illustrated by Nicolas Debon (Groundwood)
Nineteenth-century strongman Louis Cyr relates his life story to his daughter in this graphic novel–style picture book, winner of a Boston Globe–Horn Book Award. Grade level: 2–5. 32 pages.

Champion: The Story of Muhammad Ali written by Jim Haskins, illustrated by Eric Velasquez (Walker)
Plainspoken, economical prose traces the boxer's life, from his Kentucky childhood and early amateur career through the years he spent as heavyweight champion. Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

Be Water, My Friend: The Early Years of Bruce Lee written by Ken Mochizuki, illustrated by Dom Lee (Lee)
This picture-book biography follows the martial artist from his childhood in Hong Kong through his sailing to the U.S. at eighteen, deftly portraying his internal conflicts. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

The Greatest: Muhammad Ali written by Walter Dean Myers (Scholastic)
This passionate tribute, more a portrait of Ali's character and cultural impact than a narrative of his life, focuses on describing how Ali dealt with the social turbulence of his times and with many challenges from strong boxing contenders. Grade level: 7 and up. 172 pages.

How Angel Peterson Got His Name: And Other Outrageous Tales of Extreme Sports written by Gary Paulsen (Lamb)
This semi-autobiographical take on extreme sports, 1950s-style, recalls an era when daring feats could be perpetrated using a few supplies from the army surplus store and equal measures of guts and teenage lunacy. Grade level: 4–6. 113 pages.

Float Like a Butterfly written by Ntozake Shange, illustrated by Edel Rodriguez (Jump at the Sun/Hyperion)
The impressionistic text celebrates the perseverance, generosity, and humanity of the young Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali), a “hero for all time.” Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

Twelve Rounds to Glory written by Charles R. Smith, Jr., illustrated by Bryan Collier (Candlewick)
This biography of Muhammad Ali showcases the myth over the man with a rhyming text that extols the greatness of the Greatest. Grade level: 6–8. 80 pages.

Muhammad Ali: Champion of the World written by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Francois Roca (Schwartz & Wade)
Winter borrows — quite ingeniously — from Genesis to bring to life this picture-book account of Muhammad Ali’s boxing career, including his conversion to Islam, outspokenness against racism, and refusal to fight in the Vietnam War. Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.

Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story written by Paula Yoo, illustrated by Dom Lee (Lee)
Twelve years old in 1932, Korean American Sammy overcomes obstacles, such as being banned from the local pool because of race, to catch the eye of a diving coach and eventually become an Olympic medalist. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.

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