These are recommended books for children for the 2016 Summer Reading Program: Read for the Win! For Spanish language selections, please see 2016 Diversión de verano en la biblioteca: ¡Leer para ganar!
Babymouse
(Gr. K-3) Babymouse has big dreams of making it to the Olympics and she’s diving right in. She still needs a little help though. Will all her hard work help her reach her Olympic dreams?
Basketball belles : how two teams and one scrappy player put women's hoops on the map
(Gr. 2-5) Raised on a cattle ranch, Agnes Morley was sent to Stanford University to learn to be a lady. Yet in no time she exchanged her breeches and spurs for bloomers and a basketball; and in April 1896 she made history by leading her team to victory in the first-ever intercollegiate women’s basketball game against the University of California at Berkeley.
Cat on the mat
(Gr. PreK-1) Cat dreams of being on the gymnastics team and spends all summer learning to tumble and flip.
Clothesline Clues to Sports People Play
(Gr. PreK-2) Using the image of uniforms and equipment hanging on a clothesline, the text invites children to identify the sport played by each child.
The Crossover
(Gr. 4-6) Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.
Dance! dance! underpants!
(Gr. K-1) Ballet Cat and her friend Butter Bear have practiced a dance to perform for an audience, but Butter Bear will need a lot of encouragement to try the super high leaps.
Don't Throw it to Mo!
(Gr. K-2) Mo is the youngest kid on the Robins football team. The kids on the rival team tease him for being a 'butterfingers' who's too tiny to catch the ball. But Mo's coach has a plan up his sleeve to turn Mo's little size into a big win for the Robins.
Dream big : Michael Jordan and the pursuit of Olympic gold
(Gr. PreK-3) From the age of nine years Michael dreams of playing basketball for the United States in the Olympics, and with hard work and his mother's encouragement, he realizes his dream.
The fastest game on two feet : and other poems about how sports began
(Gr. 2-5) Sports have origins in all kinds of activities, such as playing with sticks and stones, running from threats, and taking part in religious ceremonies. Using conjecture and historical facts, this book of poetry and prose relates how nineteen sports got their start and grew into the games we know today.
Firebird: Ballerina Misty Copeland Shows a Young Girl How to Dance Like the Firebird
(Gr. K-2) American Ballet Theater soloist Misty Copeland encourages a young ballet student, with brown skin like her own, by telling her that she, too, had to learn basic steps and how to be graceful when she was starting out, and that someday, with practice and dedication, the little girl will become a firebird, too. Includes author's note about dancers who led her to find her voice.
G is for gold medal : an Olympics alphabet
(Gr. K-3) The letters of the alphabet introduce facts about the Olympic movement and Olympic sports.
From the first games held in ancient Greece to the cultural extravaganzas of recent years, there have been some incredible and amazing events and milestones in the world of Olympic sports. Now in G is for Gold Medal: An Olympics Alphabet, writer Brad Herzog showcases those athletes and events that not only set sports records but also impacted history and world views. Learn the meaning behind the five interlocking rings featured on the Olympic flag. Cheer on American Jim Thorpe as he won the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, only to lose his medals later. Read how the man dubbed as the "world's laziest high jumper" won the gold in 1968 and later had a jump named after him. All these moments and more are brought to life in G is for Gold Medal.
Game Changer: John Mclendon and the Secret Game
(Gr. K-4) Discover the true story of how in 1944, Coach John McLendon orchestrated a secret game between the best players from a white college and his team from the North Carolina College of Negroes. At a time of widespread segregation and rampant racism, this illegal gathering changed the sport of basketball forever.
Game over, Pete Watson
(Gr. 4-6) When videogame obsessed Pete Watson discovers his dad is not only a super-spy but has been kidnapped and is now trapped inside a video game, he has to use his super gaming skills and enter the game to rescue him. And if he succeeds, who will save Pete from his massive crush on Callie Midwood?
Games of survival : traditional Inuit games for elementary students
(Gr. 2-5) In this book, Arctic Winter Games champion Johnny Issaluk explains the basics of agility, strength, and endurance games, from the one foot high kick to the head pull and the airplane. Through straightforward descriptions and vibrant photographs, this resource brings to life this vital aspect of Inuit knowledge and culture.
Good sports : rhymes about running, jumping, throwing, and more
(Gr. 3 up) An illustrated collection of poems for children about various sports activities.
![Book cover for Guys read. edited and with an introduction by Jon Scieszka ; stories by Dustin Brown ... [et al.] ; with illustrations by Dan Santat. Sports pages](https://www.lapl.org/sites/default/files/styles/staff_recommends_x97w/public/items/2020/3f99b48ad9e1f701eb208d8784657936.jpg?itok=LQ-ls4x_)
Guys read. edited and with an introduction by Jon Scieszka ; stories by Dustin Brown ... [et al.] ; with illustrations by Dan Santat. Sports pages
(Gr. 3-5) A collection of sports stories featuring everything from fighting to friendship, set everywhere from the tennis court to the hockey rink.
Heartbeat
(Gr. 3-5) Twelve-year-old Annie ponders the many rhythms of life the year that her mother becomes pregnant, her grandfather begins faltering, and her best friend (and running partner) becomes distant.
Jesse Owens : fastest man alive
Describes the life of the sharecroppers' son who became an Olympic legend in verse.
Jim Thorpe's bright path
(Gr. K-3) A biography of Native American athlete Jim Thorpe, focusing on how his boyhood education set the stage for his athletic achievements which gained him international fame and Olympic gold medals. Author's note details Thorpe's life after college.
The kid from Diamond Street : the extraordinary story of baseball legend Edith Houghton
(Gr. 1-5) A historical picture book about Edith Houghton, a female baseball phenomenon who joined the professional women's team the Bobbies at the age of 10.
The Legend of Zelda : a link to the past
(Gr. 4 up) An adaptation of the classic video game. Some new twists and characters were added to preserve the element of surprise.
Lives of the athletes : thrills, spills (and what the neighbors thought)
(Gr. 3-6) From Jackie Robinson to Sonja Henie to Bruce Lee, from surfing to basketball to soccer, no other book celebrates the art of the human body quite like this one.
Lunch Lady and the video game villain
(Gr. 3-5) Tech gadgets are disappearing left and right at school, and Lunch Lady must get to the bottom of it!
Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics
(Gr. 3-5) Mr. Lemoncello has invited teams from all across America to compete in the first ever LIBRARY OLYMPICS. But something suspicious is going on ... books are missing from Mr. Lemoncello's library. Is someone trying to CENSOR what the kids are reading?! In between figuring out mind-boggling challenges, the kids will have to band together to get to the bottom of this mystery. Now it's not just a game--can Mr. Lemoncello find the real defenders of books and champions of libraries?
Nancy Clancy : soccer mania
(Gr. 2-4) As her third-grade class makes its selections for the "Graveyard of Boring Words" and learns about "superb synonyms," slow-footed Nancy enthusiastically plays on the soccer team, with the goal of just being mediocre, or maybe even a little better than average.
Niño Wrestles the World
(Gr. K-3) Niño! Yuyi Morales’ pint-size, briefs clad, masked luchadore is guaranteed to win you over as he defeats foes like la momia Guanajuato, the Guanajuato mummy, with such surefire moves as the Tickle Tackle! Particularly endearing is his conciliatory approach to his final contenders: las hermanitas, his boisterous baby sisters. The book includes brief explanatory notes on lucha libre.
On the ball
(Gr. PreK-1) Owen loves soccer, but isn't the best at playing it. After a particularly disastrous day on the field, Owen is benched. He is feeling so low that he doesn't notice the ball rolling away from him until it's too late. In his effort to get it back, he discovers that he has more skills than he realizes.
Players in pigtails
(Gr. K-2) Katie Casey, a fictional character, helps start the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which gave women the opportunity to play professional baseball while America was involved in World War II.
The Quickest Kid in Clarksville
(Gr. K-2) Growing up in the segregated town of Clarksville, Tennessee, in the 1960s, Alta's family cannot afford to buy her new sneakers--but she still plans to attend the parade celebrating her hero Wilma Rudolph's three Olympic gold medals.
Secret Coders
(Gr. 3-6) Welcome to Stately Academy, a school which is just crawling with mysteries to be solved! The founder of the school left many clues and puzzles to challenge his enterprising students. Using their wits and their growing prowess with coding, Hopper and her friend Eni are going to solve the mystery of Stately Academy no matter what it takes!
Sidewalk games around the world
(Gr. 2-5) Describes various games played by children in countries around the world, describing the places where the games are played and the directions and equipment needed for each game.
Sixteen years in sixteen seconds : the Sammy Lee story
(Gr. 2-5) A biography of Korean American diving champion Sammy Lee, focusing on how his childhood determination and his father's dreams set the stage for a medical career as well as his athletic achievements which earned him Olympic gold medals in 1948 and 1952.
Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time
Gr. 4-6: After flunking sixth-grade English, basketball prodigy Stanford Wong must struggle to pass his summer school class, keep his failure a secret from his friends, and satisfy his academically demanding father.
A stick is an excellent thing : poems celebrating outdoor play
(Gr. K-4) Presents a tribute to timeless childhood summer activities, from playing hide-and-seek and hopscotch to making mud soup and imagining that a stick is a magic wand.
Sugar and ice
(Gr. 3-5) When Russian skating coach Andrei Groshev offers twelve-year-old farm girl Claire a scholarship to train with the elite in Lake Placid, she encounters a world of mean girls on ice, where competition is everything.
Surfer of the century : the life of Duke Kahanamoku
A biography of Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku, five-time Olympic swimming champion from the early 1900s who is also considered worldwide as the 'father of modern surfing.
Take me out to the yakyu
A Japanese-American boy with family in two countries describes the customs that surround baseball in America and Japan. The bright and cheerful acrylic illustrations feature shades of blue for the U. S. and reds for Japan. Perfect for all baseball fans. Grades K-2
Touch the sky : Alice Coachman, Olympic high jumper
"Bare feet shouldn't fly. Long legs shouldn't spin. Braids shouldn't flap in the wind. 'Sit on the porch and be a lady, ' Papa scolded Alice." In Alice's Georgia hometown, there was no track where an African-American girl could practice, so she made her own crossbar with sticks and rags. With the support of her coach, friends, and community, Alice started to win medals. Her dream to compete at the Olympics came true in 1948. This is an inspiring free-verse story of the first African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
Watch me throw the ball!
(Gr. PreK-1) Gerald the elephant is determined to teach Piggie that ball-throwing is serious business... but Piggie is just as determined to have serious fun.
Willie & me : a baseball card adventure
(Gr. 3-5) Joe "Stosh" Stoshack uses his power to time travel using baseball cards to go back to 1951, when Bobby Thomson hit the famous Shot Heard Round the World home run to win the National League pennant for the New York Giants.
Yard war
(Gr. 4-6) Twelve-year-old Trip Westbrook lives in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1964 and discovers the underlying racism in his family and neighborhood when he invites his maid's son Dee to play football in the yard.