Librarians' Picks

Selected Reading Unearthed from the Youth Collection
Ann Arbor District Library

Table of Contents

1. Picture Books
2. Readers
3. Nonfiction
4. Fiction

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Carlston, Nancy. Bunnies and Their Sports. 1987.

Bunnies involved in jogging, swimming, and exercising at the gym.
E CAR

Day, Alexandra. Frank and Ernest Play Ball. 1990.

With the help of a baseball dictionary, an elephant and a bear take over the management of a baseball team.
+ 796.357 Da / Oversize

Delacre, Lulu. Nathan's Fishing Trip. 1988.

Nicholas Alexander takes Nathan on his first fishing trip, but after great having great difficulty catching a trout, they haven't the heart to eat it.
E DEL

Fox, Mem. Koala Lou. 1989.

A young Koala trains for the Bush Olympics with a particular goal in mind.
E FOX

Grosshandler, Henry. Everyone Wins at Tee Ball. 1990.

A simple introduction to the rules and techniques of tee-ball.
+ 796.357 Gr

Kuskin, Karla The Dallas Titans Get Ready for Bed. 1986.

Follow a fictitious football team off the field, into the locker room, and home as they get ready for bed.
+ 796.332 Ku

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Readers

Berenstain, Stan. The Bike Lesson. 1964.

Papa Bear gives Small Bear lessons in bicycle safety. But who really needs the lessons?
Reader BER

Brown, Marc. D.W. Flips. 1987.

D.W. discovers that lots of practice eventually helps her master the new routine in her gymnastics class.
Reader BRO

Prager, Annabelle. The Baseball Birthday Party. 1995.

Billy decides to have a party to show the other kids that he can play baseball, but his young helper's mistake almost spoils the plan.
Reader PRA

Stadler, John. Snail Saves the Day. 1909.

Snail's team may lose the football game unless he makes it to the stadium on time.
Reader PRA

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Nonfiction

Adoff, Arnold. Sports Pages. 1986.

Poems about the experiences and feelings of young athletes in various sports.
+ 811 Ad

Sullivan, George. In-Line Skating. 1993.

Ways to use and enjoy in-line skates.
J 796.21 Su

Goldstein, Margaret J. Jackie Joyner-Kersee: Superwoman. 1993.

A chronicle of the life of the track and field star who has given medal-winning performances in three Olympics.
J 921 Joyner-Kersee

Golenbock, Peter. Teammates. 1990.

Although Jackie Robinson met with much racial hostility when he joined the Brooklyn dodgers, he was accepted and supported by his white teammate Pee Wee Reese.
+ 796.357 Go

Grosshandler, Janet. Winning Ways in Soccer. 1991.

Text and photographs demonstrate how soccer is played and how players learn skill and sportsmanship.
+ 796.334 Gr

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Fiction

Avi. S.O.R. Losers. 1984.

Sports history as made by the worst soccer team ever out of South Orange River Middle School.
J Avi

Brooks, Bruce. The Moves Make the Man. 1984.

A black boy and an emotionally troubled white boy in North Carolina form a precarious friendship.
Y Brooks

Crutcher, Chris. Stotan! 1986.

A high school coach invites members of his swimming team to a memorable week of rigorous training that tests their moral fiber as well as their physical stamina.
Y Crutcher

Crutcher, Chris. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. 1993.

Daily class discussions on contemporary issues serve as a backdrop for a high school senior's attempt to answer a friend's dramatic cry for help.
Y Crutcher

Killien, Christi. The Daffodils. 1992.

When the Daffodils softball team elects a "sophisticated" new girl to lead them, former captain Nicole struggles with the growing pains of her team and her teammates to prover herself a winner on and off the field.
J Killien

Mochizuki, Ken. Baseball Saved Us. 1993.

A Japanese-American boy learns to play baseball when he and his family are forced to live in an internment camp during the second World War.
J Mochizuki

Slote, Alfred.. Finding Buck McHenry. 1991.

Eleven-year-old Jason, believing the school custodian Mac Henry to be Buck McHenry, a famous pitcher from the old Negro League, tries to enlist him as a coach for his Little League team by threatening to reveal his identity to the world.
J Slote

Spinelli, Jerri. There's a Girl in My Hammerlock. 1991.

Thirteen-year-old Maisie joins her school's formerly all-male wrestling team and tries to last through the season, despite opposition from other students, her best friend, and her own teammates.
Y Spinelli

Look also at the sports series by:

Matt Christopher
Thomas Dygard
Jackson Scholz

and at

Sports Illustrated for Kids in the magazine section.

Arrangement and original material copyright © 1995, 1996 the Ann Arbor District Library. This list may be copied and distributed without requesting permission, so long as this notice remains attached and appropriate credit to the compilers is given.