Sports Stories

Here is a list of recommended fiction covering a variety of sports. Unless otherwise noted, books are arranged on the shelves by the author’s last name in the sections below.

Titles available in:
E = e-book
L = large print
A = audiobook
P = Playaway
Ea = e-audiobook
S = Spanish

J FICTION (Grades 2-3)

Arthur and the Goalie Ghost by Stephen Krensky (J BROWN)
Arthur enlists the help of the world’s greatest goalie to help Buster overcome his fears about being good enough at hockey.  55 pgs.   (Look for other titles in the Marc Brown Arthur Good Sports Chapter Book series)

Zero’s Slider by Matt Christopher
While practicing pitches with his injured hand, Zero discovers that he can finally throw perfect sliders. What will happen when his bandage comes off? Will his Uncle Pete still be interested in coaching if he can’t throw sliders anymore?   63 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

Owen Foote, Soccer Star by Stephanie Greene
Owen and his best friend Joseph find the going tough when they join the town soccer team. When a bully on the team picks on Joseph, who is new to playing, Owen must take a stand.  88 pgs. (Look for other titles featuring Owen Foote.)

Don’t Break The Balance Beam by Jessica Gunderson    (J SPO)
Kenzie attends a school for gifted athletes. Her super strength makes her a great gymnast, but when she breaks the beam in half, she is too embarrassed to try her routine again. With help from her coach and best friend, she learns to channel her strength and attempts the balance beam again.  49  pgs.  (Look for other titles in theSports Illustrated Kids Victory School Superstars series.)

Basketball Bats by Betty Hicks
Henry and his friends play great basketball when playing for fun on their driveway courts. Their skills and teamwork are truly tested when they are challenged to a series of games by the local bully, Tough Guy, and his team, the Tigers. 55 pgs.  (Look for other titles in the Gym Shorts series.)

Molly Gets Mad by Suzy Kline
Third grader Molly is jealous when Florence shows that she is a great figure skater. In order to draw everyone’s attention to herself, she challenges her friend, Morty to a race on the ice with unforeseen results. 71 pgs. (Look for other titles by this author.)

Rufus the Scrub Does Not Wear a Tutu by James McEwan
When Rufus takes up ballet to help him improve on the football field, he faces taunts and teasing from the rest of the team. Will his newfound skills help the team win the big game?  64 pgs.  (Look for other titles in the Scrub series.)

The Real Lucky Charm by Charisse Richardson       
Having joined the coed basketball team, Mia believes that her new gold basketball charm is responsible for improving her talents. When she loses her lucky charm, she loses her self -confidence too. With the help of her twin brother, she starts to learn that it is hard work that makes the difference, not luck.  76 pgs.

J FICTION  (Grades 3-6)

Playoff Dreams by Fred Bowen
Brendan is a great baseball player, but his team keeps losing no matter what he does. His Uncle Jack takes him to a Cub’s game and helps Brendan understand that he can love the game, win or lose.  95 pgs. (Look for other titles in the All Star Sport Story Series.)

Cool As Ice by Matt Christopher
Chris is small, and Derek is African American. They are drawn together to battle the discrimination they each face when playing ice hockey. 148 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

Windmill Windup by Paul Mantell        J CHRISTOPHER
Softball is going so well for Kelly that she could almost taste a championship season with her team. Then, she is moved to another team and has to face fresh challenges in her life, including her mother having a new boyfriend. Kelly wonders how she will ever get it all back on track.  135 pgs.

The Million Dollar Shot by Dan Gutman        A
Eddie Ball wins a poetry competition and the chance to shoot a free throw at the NBA finals. If he sinks it, he’ll win a million dollars!  114 pgs.  (Look for other titles in the Million Dollar series.)

Play Ball! by Dean Hughes
Trent and Robbie missed the application deadline to play on a summer baseball team. In order to play, they must form their own team and find a coach and a sponsor. As they pull together a diverse group of kids with dubious skills, the Scrappers are born.  123 pgs. (Look for other titles in the Scrappers series.)

Two-Minute Drill: A Comeback Kids Novel           E
by Mike Lupica
Scott is smart in school but the worst player on the football team. Chris is a football star but struggling with his reading due to dyslexia. They work together to overcome their problems both in school and on the football field. 180 pgs.  (Look for other titles in the Comeback Kids series.) 

The Girls Take Over by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor   L
The fierce rivalry between the Malloy girls and the Hatford boys leads to tricks, pranks and cheating as they compete in bottle racing, spelling and baseball.  146 pgs.  (Look for other titles in the Hatfords and Malloys series.)

Dirt on Their Skirts: The Story of the Young Women Who Won the World Championship by Doreen Rappaport
Margaret recounts the excitement of watching the 1946 championship game of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League as it goes into extra innings.   unpaged.

Frog Face and the Three Boys by Don Trembath
The school principal realizes that detentions aren’t working for three boys who just keep on getting into trouble. So he comes up with an unusual solution to teach them discipline – he enrolls them in karate classes!  157 pgs.  (Look for other titles in the Black Belt series.)

Sports Camp by Rich Wallace
Eleven-year-old Riley is the youngest boy at the Camp Olympia summer sports camp. As the boys compete for the ‘Big Joe’ sports trophy, Riley is anxious not to let his cabin mates down. Friendships develop as Riley trains for the final night marathon swimming race.  149 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

Button Down by Anne Ylvisaker
Ned Button catches a pass thrown by a local football hero but then loses the ball when it is snatched away by small town bully, Burton. Ned challenges Burton to a football game with the ball as the prize. With the help of his Grandpa Ike, Ned and his team prepare for the game.  177 pgs.

Roots in the Outfield by Jane Zirpoli
Josh is afraid on the baseball field and has earned the nickname, Roots, because he freezes in the outfield. When he moves to spend a year with his recently remarried dad in Wisconsin, he meets his baseball hero, Slug Smith. The two become friends and each helps the other face his fears. 
149 pgs.

JH FICTION  (Grades 6-8)

Sliding into Home by Dori Butler
When thirteen-year-old Joelle moves to a new town, she is shocked to discover that girls are not allowed to play on the school’s baseball team. She, however, is determined to play and starts a campaign to get the rules changed.  218 pgs.

Soccerland by Beth Choat
When Flora Dupre is invited to try out for the US National Under-15 Girls' Soccer Team, she encounters a host of challenges that are mental as well as physical.  231 pgs.

Open Court by Carol Clippinger
Thirteen-year-old Hall Braxton is an outstanding tennis player, but she begins to struggle with the pressures of being a top- flight athlete when her training partner has a breakdown on the court. If she devotes all her life to tennis, can she possibly enjoy being a normal teenager too?  262 pgs.

Last Shot   by John Feinstein  A  Ea  L
Eighth graders Stevie and Susan Carol win a writing competition and a trip to report on the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament. They overhear a blackmail attempt and go all out to uncover a game fixing scandal.  251 pgs.  (Look for other titles in the Steve and Susan Carol Sports Mysteries series.)

Baseball Great by Tim Green   P  A  E
Josh, an up-and-coming young baseball player, encounters steroid use and peer pressure when he joins a successful travel team.  250 pgs.  (Look for other titles in the Baseball Greats Series)

Babe and Me by Dan Gutman   A  E
Thirteen-year-old Joe has the ability to travel through time using vintage baseball cards. He and his dad travel back to the 1932 World Series to meet Babe Ruth and answer one crucial question: did he call his famous home run in the third game against the Chicago Cubs before he hit the ball?  161 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

Toby Wheeler Eighth-Grade Benchwarmer by Thatcher Heldring
When Toby Wheeler decides to try out for the school basketball team, his main aim is to get closer with his best friend, J.J., who’s been acting like he is too busy for Toby. Toby makes the team but is always the last to be sent into a game. Can good coaching and teamwork get Toby off the bench?  213 pgs.

Travel Team by Mike Lupica  A  L  E  Ea
Danny is a great basketball player, but he is also short. When he is cut from the prestigious seventh-grade travel team, he and his dad, a former NBA player, form their own travel team.  274 pgs.  (Look for other titles by this author.)

MadCat by Kathy Mackel
Twelve-year-old MadCat is catcher on her softball team. When some of the parents decide to shake up the team to make it more competitive, friends are separated, the coach is fired, and it seems like winning at all costs is the only thing that matters. 185 pgs.

Sugar and Ice by Kate Messner
Claire loves her life on her family’s maple sugar farm in Vermont, but she believes her dreams have come true when she is offered a summer skating scholarship by a famous Russian coach. When she enters this world of elite ice skaters, she has to deal with the fierceness of competitive rivalries, mean girls and the very tough coach.  275 pgs.

Defending Irene by Kristin Wolden Nitz        
Thirteen-year-old Irene moves with her family from America to spend a year in Italy. As a talented soccer player, she is shocked to discover there are no girls’ teams here. She joins a competitive boys’ team and encounters cultural differences both on and off the field as she tries to fit in. 185 pgs.
(Look for other titles by this author.)

The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter  A  P
The future of a small Californian town rests on the outcome of one big baseball game. With the help of Cruz de la Cruz, a mysterious new boy in town, Tom Gallagher recruits the help of former professional and longtime hermit, Dante Del Gato, as he and his team prepare for the big day.  216 pgs.

Mudville by Kurtis Scaletta
It started raining in Moundville 22 years ago during the big baseball game against neighboring rivals in Sinister Bend. Coinciding with the arrival of twelve-year-old Roy’s new foster brother, it has finally stopped.  The boys decide it’s time to form a new baseball team and break the curse.  265 pgs.

The Roar of the Crowd by Rich Wallace
After years of playing nothing but soccer in Hudson City, New Jersey, Manny has to work very hard to play on the middle-school football team. He uses determination, speed and smarts to make up for being small and inexperienced.  103 pgs.  (Look for other titles in the Winning Season series.)