Great Sports Series for Kids

When I looked at my posts from the last year, I found my most popular was not my favorite book, an award winner or even a book for a reluctant reader, it was a sports book!  I knew then that I had to step up my game and get more books out to you that have athletics at the forefront.  So today I have a series that I think is fabulous, and while I am reviewing two of the books that focus on basketball and soccer, the series also includes baseball and football.

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Title: Hardcourt Comeback (Fred Bowen Sports Stories)

Author: Fred Bowen

Target: Grades 3-6

Series: Yes

What this book is about: 
Brett is a natural athlete and basketball comes easily to him.  As a starter for his team, they are looking forward to victory in their division.  However, when he misses an easy layup and looses the game for his team, his confidence starts to waver.  How can he come back from a costly mistake when his faith is shaken?

Why I love this book: 
There was a lot to like here.  First off, while Brett does get his confidence back, (had you hanging there didn't I?) he doesn't win the championship game.  I think that kids start to get cynical about books where the main character suffers a defeat and then comes back and wins it all.  That never feels like real life and kids know it.  In this case, Brett improves and keeps his team in contention but they don't have the miracle win and I appreciated that as a reader.  It was upbeat and positive while feeling like real life.

The other thing these books do so well is combine actual sports stories in with the narrative.  In this case, we learn about mistakes that actual players made in their college careers that cost their teams the championships, but these players go on to have wonderful careers and success.  The stories are referenced during the book, but at the end Bowen has a section called "The Real Story" where he elaborates on what really happened.  Great way to reinforce real life lessons that athletes are dealing with every day.

Who this book is for: 
Great for kids who love sports.  Kids who loved the Derek Jeter books, Cal Ripken Books or books by John Coy will really enjoy these, as well as kids who went through the new Kareem Abdul-Jabbar basketball series.

Final thoughts:
Well written with plenty of details for committed sports fans.

To purchase this book:
Click on the following link to connect to Amazon: Hardcourt Comeback (Fred Bowen Sports Stories)  A portion of each purchase goes to support this blog at no cost to you.  Thank you for your support.


Title: Go for the Goal (Fred Bowen Sports Stories)

Author: Fred Bowen

Target: Grades 3-6

Series: Yes

What this book is about: 
In this story Josh has just joined a club soccer team after years with a rec league and he can't wait to play with strong athletes.  The problem is that each athlete is playing his own game, and they aren't working together.  It isn't until they start to trust and get to know each other that they can work together to get some victories under their belt.

Why I love this book:
Well like all the books in this series, it brings in real life lessons from the world of sports.  In this case I was especially impressed, because the lesson learned was from the Women's World Cup Soccer team.  I love that  Bowen did not shy away from female sports in a book aimed at boys!  Bravo!  In this case we learn about how the women used team building exercises to start to play as a squad and not a group of individual players.  The boys in the story use some of those exercises to help them play better.

Of course I also enjoyed the fact that our main character did not win it all for the team in the end.  His teammates were responsible for the victory.  Again we have an upbeat but realistic ending to a story that kids will appreciate.

Who this book is for:
Great for soccer players or any kids that love team sports.  Kids who enjoyed the Matt Christopher soccer books will love these, but oddly enough there aren't that many great soccer books out there so this fills a niche.

Final thoughts: 
With all the kids out there who play soccer now, I am really surprised we don't see more quality soccer fiction out there.  The girls with the Kicks series from Alex Morgan are actually better represented than the boys.

To purchase this book:
Click on the following link to connect to Amazon: Go for the Goal! (Fred Bowen Sports Stories)  A portion of each purchase will go to support this blog at no cost to you.  Thank you for your support.