| The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books |
| The Bulletin Dozen is a monthly theme-based list of titles available only on-line. Since we're awfully fond of bakers here at the Bulletin, we thought we'd adopt their philosophy of generosity and throw in an extra one or two when we have them to offer--so don't expect an even dozen. Please feel free to copy, download, or link to these lists. We ask only that you cite the source. See the archive for lists from previous months. | |
Sweat Socks: Books on Sports I. |
Sometimes it doesn't seem like there's much middle ground between tomes of pure statistics and stories where a basketball dribbles through briefly. We've compiled two lists of books that happily sweat their way through that middle ground; this month is nonfiction and next month will be fiction. Included are broad social overviews of sports, biographies, photessays, and how-to texts, so we hope there will be something there for just about everybody. On your mark, get set, go!
--Deborah Stevenson, Associate Editor
- Aaseng, Nathan. The Locker Room Mirror: How Sports Reflect Society. Walker, 1993. Gr. 6-9.
The larger social implications of sports don't often get tackled in books for young people, and Aaseng's broad coverage and easy style will appeal to kids looking to expand their understanding of favorite pastimes. (BCCB 6/93) - Adler, David A. Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man; illus. by Terry Widener. Gulliver/Harcourt, 1997. Gr. 3-5.
This picture-book account of Gehrig's personal triumph and tragedy hits a home run. (BCCB 4/97) - Anderson, Joan. Batboy: An Inside Look at Spring Training; illus. with photographs by Matthew Cavanaugh. Lodestar, 1996. Gr. 3-5
Young wannabes will salivate over this photoessay depicting the workdays of thirteen-year-old San Francisco Giants batboy Kenny Garibaldi. (BCCB 3/96) - Boitano, Brian. Boitano's Edge: Inside the Real World of Figure Skating; by Brian Boitano with Suzanne Harper. Simon, 1997. Gr. 5-9.
This chatty account of Boitano's skating career dishes some mild but entertaining dirt as well as providing insider details of the world on ice. (BCCB 3/98) - Burleigh, Robert. Home Run: The Story of Babe Ruth; illus. by Mike Wimmer. Silver Whistle/Harcourt, 1998. Gr. 2-5
This free-verse homage to the Babe is accentuated with brief info-bites and monumental paintings. (BCCB 9/98) - Edwards, Chris. The Young Inline Skater. DK, 1996. Gr. 2-6.
DK's trademark browser-friendly style makes this collection of information and step-by-step instructions both clear and appealing. (BCCB 12/96) - Gutman, Dan. Baseball's Biggest Bloopers: The Games that Got Away. Viking, 1993. Gr. 4-7.
Gutman's dramatic and accessible style, accented with juicy statistics and trivia, results in an entertaining account of some major-league screwups. (BCCB 6/93) - Krull, Kathleen. Lives of the Athletes: Thrills, Spills (and What the Neighbors Thought); illus. by Kathryn Hewitt. Harcourt, 1997. Gr. 4-8.
The well-known series here offers tasty short bios on sports figures ranging from Arthur Ashe to Babe Didrikson Zaharias. (BCCB 6/97) - Krull, Kathleen. Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman; illus. by David Diaz. Harcourt, 1996. 6-9 yrs.
Krull's stellar biography of Rudolph, who overcome poverty and polio to become a legendary athlete, appeals to the athletic and the sedentary alike. (BCCB 4/96) - Lipinski, Tara. Triumph on Ice: An Autobiography; as told to Emily Costello. Bantam, 1997. Gr. 4-8.
Perky and eminently readable, this is just the sort of "what it's like to be me" title that fans of Lipinski will appreciate. (BCCB 3/98) - Littlefield, Bill. Champions: Stories of Ten Remarkable Athletes; illus. by Bernie Fuchs. Little, 1993. Gr. 5-9.
Well-known sports commentator Littlefield offers freshly written biographies of five women and five men who have achieved greatness in their sports. (BCCB 10/93) - Macy, Sue. A Whole New Ballgame: The Story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Holt, 1993. Gr. 5-9.
Ranging from play-by-play narrative of several tense games to larger explorations of social history, Macy chronicles the history of the famous league. (BCCB 5/93) - Rafkin, Louise. The Tiger's Eye, the Bird's Fist: A Beginner's Guide to the Martial Arts; illus. by Leslie McGrath and with photographs. Little, 1997. Gr. 4-10.
This browsing compendium, with diagrams, interviews, and descriptions excels in meeting the demand for good books on the martial arts. (BCCB 9/97) - Smith, Charles R., Jr. Rimshots: Basketball Pix, Rolls, and Rhythms; written and illus. with photographs by Charles R. Smith, Jr. Dutton, 1999. Gr. 4-8.
Large trim size and jazzy graphics make this collection of poems, photographs, and brief short stories sophisticated enough to appeal to older kids without overwhelming less determined readers. (BCCB 5/99) - Weiss, Ann E. Money Games: The Business of Sports. Houghton, 1993. Gr. 9-12.
This carefully argued expose focuses on sports as big money business, providing fans with some sobering insights and offering the sports-uninclined with a different approach to the subject. (BCCB 6/93)
This page was last updated on May 1, 1999.