You can’t go wrong with books for kids that focus on the sports they love – or even sports in general. Here are some of my favorite sports books to share with kids.
The Innings and Outs of Baseball (Science of Fun Stuff)
– I love this early reader series – Science of Fun Stuff and History of Fun Stuff. This particular book focuses on the history of baseball. After the epic World Series victory by the Chicago Cubs this year, baseball is as popular as ever.
Babymouse 20: Babymouse Goes for the Gold 
– If you haven’t read a Babymouse graphic novel before, you’re missing out. They are FUN, with great pop culture references throughout each story. This particular one focuses on the Olympics.
Jump Shot (Barber Game Time Books)
– I have enjoyed this series about twin brothers, based on the real-life athletes, Tiki and Ronde Barber. They have books about baseball, football and basketball, but this one is my favorite.
Two of the most prolific writers of sports books for kids are Mike Lupica and Tim Green. Fantasy League
– Our family has played fantasy football for years. That made this book extra fun to read. Even though it is written for kids, my husband and I both enjoyed it. It’s about a kid who is amazing at fantasy football. Then he gets to try his skills with an actual football team. Left Out
– I haven’t read this one yet, but I have it on my TBR pile. It focuses on a deaf kid who wants to play football and the challenges he faces. I’m really looking forward to reading this one.
This series is my favorite of all the sports books! This series is about a set of fraternal twins. One is a basketball star and the other is a star student. When the “smart one” gets recruited for the basketball team in book one, Athlete vs. Mathlete
, it starts a series of identity struggles for the boys. “Who am I if I’m not the ‘athletic one’ any more?” In book two, Athlete vs. Mathlete: Double Dribble
, the question becomes, “Who are we if we aren’t the best twins in basketball?” And book three, Athlete vs. Mathlete: Time-Out
, puts the focus back on the original twins as they try to find their place at a competitive summer sports camp. These would be great for a classroom read aloud where students could talk about the identity struggles of the boys.
Finally, there’s the Who Was series of books. The original series focused on biographies, but they have expanded into Where Is, which looks at amazing places around the world, and What Is which looks at different periods in history and other things. The What Is series includes these sports titles: What Is the World Series? (What Was…?)
,What Is the Super Bowl? (What Was…?)
, What Are the Summer Olympics? (What Was…?)
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Do you have any sports lovers in your life?
