Hi everyone, welcome to the wintry month of July. Down here in New Zealand, winter sports are well under way, even though the school holidays are around the corner. This week’s reads are mostly those you might find in the northern countries, like baseball and basketball. If you and your tween are after a booklist of sports-themed reads then the answer is below…
Glad to see you’ve made it!! Welcome to this sports-filled booklist…
My first title is Soar by Joan Bauer (Viking, 2016), one of the first titles I read that featured baseball. We meet young Jeremiah who knows just about everything there is to know about his favourite sport, baseball. So when he’s told he can’t play baseball following an operation on his heart, Jeremiah decides he’ll do the next best thing and become a coach. After moving to Hillcrest with his father Walt, they realize the town is caught up in a scandal and about ready to give up on baseball. It’s up to Jeremiah and his can-do spirit to get the town – and the team – back in the game. Filled with basebally-y jargon, this story captures you by your shoelaces, forcing you to walk beside the hero, Jeremiah. I think I cried most of this story as it clutched at my heartstrings as Jeremiah goes through a period of soul-searching uncertainty on his future! An amazingly captivating and moving story that was nominated for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s book award in 2018.
Running on a patch of earth by Jonny Zucker (A. & C. Black, 2014) is a delightful read of athletics, family and of fresh starts in a foreign land. Told in thirteen short chapters, this story will take you from the hot, dry Kenyan countryside to rainy London when AK and his family move there. Despite having no friends, nowhere to run, and a whole lot of new problems to handle, AK struggles to patch together a new life in England. When he makes friends with two of the coolest girls in school, AK finds himself liking it there. A great read of acceptance, friendship and determination and drive.
This next one features basketball. Fast break by Mike Lupica ( Philomel Books, 2015) is a story that reads a bit like the movie The Blind Side but ever so slightly flipped. Twelve-year-old Jayson Barnes is a troubled boy who used to be blazing fast on the basketball court. With his mother gone, he is fostered out to a successful African American family where he joins the local school and ends up beating his old basketball team!! This was one of the first stories that opened my eyes to the different kinds of people who inhabit The Projects. Although I felt out of my depth with all the basketball jargon, I ended up liking the story and characters!! I’m pretty sure any sports fans out there will enjoy it too!!
My last title is a debut novel. The distance to home by Jenn Bishop (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2016) is another baseball story. This one follows Quinnen, the star pitcher of her baseball team, The Panthers. When they were headed for the championship Quinnen’s loudest supporter at every game was her best friend and older sister, Haley. This summer, everything is different. Haley’s death, at the end of last summer, has left Quinnen and her parents reeling. Without Haley in the stands, Quinnen doesn’t want to play baseball. It seems like nothing can fill the Haley-sized hole in her world. The one glimmer of happiness comes from the Bandits, the local minor-league baseball team. For the first time, Quinnen and her family are hosting one of the players for the season. Without Haley, Quinnen’s not sure it will be any fun, but soon she befriends a few players. This was a lovely read of family and friendship, sisters and all the drama that brings the love of summertime baseball. Alternating between the events that took place during two summers of Quinnen’s life, we see how she dealt with tragic loss, her love of baseball and loyalty. An engaging read filled with baseball terms for fans of sports-filled stories!!
Well, there you have a short booklist of sporty tween reads. If you know of any others, I’d love to hear from you!!
Stay safe and keep reading
Miss Mahee
Miss Mahee's Library of Reads 