Booklist: Hey There, Sports Fan
This list was initially created for Deb and her son in middle school. I then added titles for other age groups.
Ages 8 and up
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin - One of my favorite books of all time; one of my favorite Newbery winners. Though it is a mystery, one of its main characters is a high school boy who is a track star, so there's your sports angle. I love this book. Read it now.
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli - My favorite Spinelli book and another of my favorite Newbery winners. This may not appear to be sports-related at first, but think about it: Maniac is famous for his running ability. The story's main themes are literacy, prejudice, and community. Side note: The made-for-television movie is a pale imitation of this phenomonal book. The movie tried to be a comedy and cut out some of the book's more serious events and memorable characters.
Novels by Matt Christopher are always related to sports. He wrote over a hundred books, mainly dealing with baseball, basketball, football, and soccer. Over the decades, the Christopher empire has expanded to include trendy hobbies and extreme sports such as hockey, golf, skateboarding, snowboarding, and dirt bike racing. The plots are pretty straightforward: playing in the big game, getting injured before playoffs, trying to make the team, and having a parent for a coach. If you have a reluctant reader who is into sports, give these a try. Middle schoolers might find these books too easy, but I've seen them kickstart kids' reading habits more than once. Matt Christopher has also written a plethora of sports biographies which kids read for fun, to learn about their favorite players, and for biography assignments in class.
Many of The Baby-Sitters Club books by Ann M. Martin include team sports and individual sports. Kristy and Jessi are the most athletic baby-sitters. Kristy's a self-proclaimed tomboy who loves watching and playing sports. She even has a youth baseball team called Kristy's Krushers. Jessi is a highly dedicated ballerina. Throughout the entire series, BSC showed their main characters and supporting characters training, playing, and competing in all sorts of sports. Whether competing in gymnastics, swimming, or horseback riding, the BSC always emphasized fair play and the fact that everyone's a winner.
The Julie books by Megan McDonald, part of the American Girls line, take place in 1974. In Meet Julie, after her parents get divorced, Julie moves to another part of San Francisco with her older sister Tracy and her artsy mom, who runs a shop called Gladrags. Shortly after Julie starts fourth grade at Jack London Elementary School, she learns that they don't have a basketball team for girls so she asks if she can join the boys' team. The coach initially refuses her request, but Julie sticks to her guns. She learns about Title IX and turns in a petition with 150 signatures on it. The coach still refuses to hear her out, so she works up the nerve to talk to her principal about the situation and earns a spot on the team. Later books in the series, such as Julie Tells Her Story, include basketball practice and games. Learn more about the series.
Julie's best friend Ivy, who is a gymnast, has her own book: Good Luck, Ivy by Lisa Yee. In 1976, Ivy must decide between competing in a gymnastics meet or attending family reunion . . . unless she can think of a way to do both! Learn more about this book.
Lisa Yee has also written three contemporary interconnected novels which have sporty themes: Millicent Min, Girl Genius (in which the title character is a reluctant participant in summer volleyball), Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time (in which the title character would rather play basketball than study), and So Totally Emily Ebers (in which the title character also plays summer volleyball). Learn more about Lisa Yee's books.
Dare I include The Gymnasts series from the early '90s? Yes, yes, I dare, because I can't recall another juvenile series that deals exclusively with gymnastics. Written by Stephen Levy under the pseudonym Elizabeth Levy, this series followed four friends through the trials and tribulations of gymnastic practices and meets. The first book was titled Beginners.
The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes by Anne Mazer is an ongoing series about a girl who loves to collect page-a-day calendars, play soccer, and write in her journal in purple pen. Like Skye O'Shea, she has older sisters who are twins. One is a star athlete, and the other is a lawyer-in-training. Like Alice MacLeod, she has a younger brother who is super-smart. Stuck in the middle, Abby really wants to stand out in her own way. The series deals with different events at her school and her home, such as putting on a play or missing a friend who has moved away. There's a moral to every story, but without being too syrupy-sweet.
Janette Rallison has written two sports-related books for young readers: Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Free Throws, the story of a friendship tested by competition on and off the court, and Playing the Field, about an eighth-grader who has to get a tutor and raise his algebra grade in order to stay on the baseball team.
Megan Shull has also written multiple stories about young athletes. In Yours Truly, Skye O'Shea, Skye enters middle school and is nearly overwhelmed by her homework, her first crush, and her hockey practice. Skye really loves hockey, but she worries that she'll never be as skilled or as smart as her older sisters. In Skye's the Limit, Skye decides to go to an outdoor camp in Vancouver. Far from home, her inner and physical strength are tested as she battles homesickness, makes new friends, learns how to kayak, and bicycles her heart out. Learn more about Skye!
Cassie, a member of The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick, moves to a town that doesn't have a hockey team for girls. With the help of two new friends and one girl's older brother, she tries out for the boys' team. When she makes the team, Cassie is thrilled and her friends are happy, but some jealous kids and their parents are upset, and her famous supermodel mother doesn't know what to do. This isn't the main plotline of the book, but it is extremely nice to see a girl playing what is commonly thought of as a sport for boys - and not doing it to make a statement, but because she loves it.
Ages 13 and up
There are plenty of books - and movies too, for that matter - which focus on athletes training for the big game or competition, only to have accidents! injuries! obstacles! interfere in act three. Luckily, they tend to pull through and win the championship or gold medal, and everyone lives happily ever after. Right?
Thankfully, Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley is more thoughtful and less predictable than those stories. The girl in question, Syrah Cheng, is recovering from a snowboarding accident. What will it take for her to get back on that board again? Read my entire review!
In The Truth about Forever, my favorite novel by Sarah Dessen, running is a major theme, both literally and figuratively. Macy's father loved to run and got both of his daughters interested in the sport. Though her older sister Caroline stopped competing in track and field events in the seventh grade, Macy kept training with her father and going to meets. One morning, the day after Christmas, Macy's father dropped dead while jogging. Macy quit the team and packed up her awards. She thought she'd stopped running forever, but then she met Wes and learned two important things: you can't run from the truth, and you can't run from yourself. Read my reviews of all of Dessen's novels.
Amazing Grace by Megan Shull is an absolutely sweet story about a tennis pro who takes a much-needed break from it all. This book made me smile. Readers can't help but root for Grace to find her way. Find out more about Grace!
Elisa in Undercover by Beth Kephart is intelligent and quiet. She has a talent for writing and poetry, so she writes notes for boys in her class to give to the girls they like. Once she takes her mother's old skates down to a frozen pond, she discovers a new talent: ice skating. She tries to keep these talents hidden, but, bit by bit, a classmate, a teacher, and hopefully, finally, her family will discover them - will discover her. Read the entire review of Undercover at YA Book Central.
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock tells the story of a girl named D.J. who has to pick up the slack on her family's farm when her father's injuries prevent him from doing the bulk of the work. Her two older brothers, now away at college, were big hometown football stars. Could D.J. follow in their footsteps? Give Dairy Queen and its sequel The Off-Season to girls you know who refuse to back down when coaches tell them girls shouldn't play football or shouldn't be allowed to play on all-male teams - and tell them that YES, THEY CAN! Just say no to gender bias, I say. Continue reading my review of the D.J. books.
If you like Dairy Queen and The Off-Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, then you'll like the PrettyTOUGH books by Liz Tigelaar. The tagline for the series is perfect: Who says you can't be both pretty AND tough? In the first book, PrettyTOUGH, two very different sisters play on the same soccer team, one of whom would rather be surfing. The second book, Playing with the Boys, takes place at the same school with a different protagonist. Shortly after moving to town and starting a new school year, Lucy tries out for the soccer team. She doesn't make it, but the letdown is replaced by surprise when she's recruited for the boys' football team due to her awesome kicking ability. After she gets a crash course in football - and a quick crush on a popular boy - Lucy has to prove herself to her classmates, her teammates, her coach, and her widowed father. Read my interview with the author.
The PrettyTOUGH books, though fictional, are associated with the real-life girls-and-sports association PrettyTOUGH. Both the books and the association encourage young women to try out for sports teams and go for their goals. Girls CAN be both pretty and tough, both on and off of the field!
Rash by Pete Hautman surprised me with its inclusion of sports. The story, though continuous, has three definite sections to it. I preferred the first portion because I liked the set-up and the setting of the dystopic future. Deb's son may like the second portion, with its football storyline. Running is also discussed in detail.
Chris Crutcher's books are heavy-hitters that combine sports with school issues and family drama. His works are shelved in teen fiction and have been well-received by critics and kids alike. I found Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes to be both realistic and thought-provoking.
Jake, Reinvented by Gordon Korman is a modern retelling of The Great Gatsby. In this story, Jake, the high school version of Jay Gatsby, becomes the long snapper on the football team. I prefer The Great Gatsby, but this book may act as a stepping stone to the classic for those who might initially refuse to pick up Gatsby.
Note: I consider dancing a sport, and I have created a separate booklist for dancing.
I can think of many other sports stories which I have not read, so I'll post those titles in the comments below.
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slayground) wrote,
crazy
