Skip to main content

Five Faves: Sports Books to Read if You Love the Olympics

Image
By
After a long, COVID-delayed wait, we are so excited to have the Olympics back! Because I was a little kid growing up in Utah when the Olympics came to Salt Lake City, I always get very invested in the Olympics -- it's something I look forward to for years!

I'm always eager to keep the Olympic spirit going, and if your family feels the same, here are some great sport-centric picture books to keep the Olympic flame alive in your home!

By Laurie Hernandez
Illustrated by Nina Mata
New York: Harper, 2018.

Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez, part of the final five Gymnastics team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, shares important life lessons about following your dreams -- even when it gets a little scary.




By Chelsea Clinton
Illustrated by Alexandra Boiger
New York: Philomel Books, 2020.

Part of the popular "She Persisted" series, this illustrated book shares inspirational stories of American women who made history at the Olympics in the face of obstacles.




By Michael Phelps and Alan Abrahamson
Illustrated by Ward Jenkins
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009.

In 2008, before many young readers were even born, Michael Phelps made history by winning 8 gold medals in swimming. He trained for 6 years, ate a half a ton of food per year, and swam more than 60,000 meters to prepare for this accomplishment! This book is a goofy look at the life of an Olympic champion.

By Ma Isabel Sánchez Vegara
Illustrated by Anna Katharina Jansen
Minneapolis, MN: Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2020.

A part of the very popular Little People, BIG DREAMS series, this book is an introduction to the legendary track and field star Jesse Owens who challenged racism on the world stage at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.




By Meghan McCarthy
New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016.

If you've never heard the wild, unbelievable, and incredibly true story of the 1904 Olympic Marathon -- the first Olympic marathon held on American soil -- you are in for a treat. Everything about the race was contrary to what we've come to expect from the Olympics (the winner of the race cheated by catching a ride in a car!) which makes it all the more hilarious.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Faker

By
Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Bletchley Riddle

By
  The Bletchley Riddle By Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin New York: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2024. Fiction. 392 pages. It's spring of 1940, Hitler has swept through most of Europe, and people believe England will be next. Half Polish-Jewish, half American Jakob has been recruited from Cambridge to Bletchley Park where they are working on deciphering the enigma machine. Jakob's sister Lizzie, meanwhile, is being forced to move from London to Cleveland to live with her grandmother after her mother disappeared in a 1939 attack in Poland. Lizzie manages to escape the keeper her grandmother sent for her to bring her to America and makes her way to Bletchley, where she's eventually given the task of delivering messages between departments. When secret messages begin appearing with Lizzie's belongings, she must decipher them to find the truth about her mother's past and location, while keeping the secrets away from the MI5 agent that seems a little t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Dragon Run

By
Dragon Run by Patrick Matthews Scholastic, 2013.  336 pgs.  Fantasy      Al Pilgrommor is excited for Testing Day, when he will receive his rank, a tattooed number on the back of his neck, and a path forward to his future occupation and life.  He feels confident because his parents were fours on a scale of seven, but he is worried for his friend Wisp who doesn't have much of a chance of scoring above a two at best. But when Al is scored a zero, he not only has no prospects, he may lose his life as the dreaded Cullers are unleashed to kill him and his family to purify the land's bloodlines.  Al's world is ruled by dragons--the lords and supposed creators of humankind--so he thinks that even if he survives, he will have to make his living as a beggar or thief. But when Al sticks up for his Earther friend in front of Magister Ludi, he is drawn into the struggle of a secret organization hoping to destroy the Cullers, and perhaps the dragons them...
1 comment
Read more