HISTORICAL

Cohen, Barbara. Thank You, Jackie Robinson. New York: Beech Tree Books, 1997.

If you are a baseball lover of any age you will love this book, it is filled with interesting facts about baseball for everyone.
 

Jacobs, Helen, H.  Famous American Women Athletes.  New York:  Dodd, Mead and
Company, 1964.

Thirteen women athletes from the beginning of sports tell their stories.
 

Rappaport, Doreen.  Dirt on their skirts: The Story of the Young Women Who Won the World Championship.   New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1999.

Margaret experiences the excitement of watching the 1946 championship game of the All American Girls       Professional Baseball League as it goes into extra innings.
 

Thayer, Earnest, T.  Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888.  New York: Handprint Books, 2000

Originally submitted to a newspaper in 1883, Earnest Lawrence Thayer’s poem, “Casey at the Bat” has become an American .  In essence, it is baseball’s equivalent version of “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
 
 
 
 

CONTEMPORARY

Blais, Madeleine. In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle.  New York, Atlantic Monthly Press, 1995.

A talented high school girls basketball team from Amherst Massachusetts and their five season struggle for a championship season
 

Tyron, Leslie.  Albert’s Ballgame.  New York: Atheneum Books, 1996

As springtime comes to Pleasant Valley, everyone who is anyone plays ball.
 
 
 
 
 

PICTURE BOOKS

Bridwell, Norman. Clifford’s Sports Day.  New York: Scholastic, 1996

Clifford goes to school with Emily Elizabeth to participate in the outdoor sports day activities.
 

Burleigh, Robert. Hoops.  New York: Silver Whistle Harcourt Brace and Company; 1997

A well pictured well told story.  Step by step process of what it actually fells like to play basketball.  From lacing up your shoes to making a winning basket.
 
 

POETRY

Bernstein, Joanne, E and Cohen, Paul  Sporty Riddles. Illinois: Albert Whitman and Company, 1989.

Small picture book with a variety of riddles about many different sports.
 

Glen, Mel. Jump Ball: A Basketball Season in Poems.  New York: Lodestar Books, 1997.

A poetry book following one high school basketball team and its star player, Garrett James.  This is more than a portrait of a basketball team or a compilation of poems, it is a carefully crafted story of a teams championship season, told with humor and insight.
 
 

MULTICULTURAL

Ryan, Joan and Vanderveer, Tara.  Shooting from the Outside.  New York: Avon Books, 1998.

Shooting from the Outside is Tara's riveting, behind-the-scenes chronicle of the excitement, drama and triumph of that unforgettable year, as well as an inspiring account of her own career: her battle against sexual discrimination in a male-dominated field, and her ultimate ascendance to the very top of her profession. This book is the riveting true life story of the molding of a women's team that made sports history, and an intimate portrait of an indomitable leader who turned an impossible ambition into a reality.
 

Soto, Gary.  Baseball in April.  New York: Harcourt; 2000

Based on Gary Soto’s own experiences of growing up poor as a Mexican American in California’s Central Valley.  He paints in great detail the everyday life and experiences of young people today. This is a wonderful collection of short stories one of which is about two little boys, Michael and Jesse trying out for a little league team.
 
 
 
 
 

INFORMATIONAL

Cline, Nancy. L, Roberts, Robin, Summit, Pat. Basketball for Women: Becoming a Complete Player. New York, Human Kinetics, 1995.
 
Nancy Lieberman-Cline is one of basketball's greatest ever women players: the first high school athlete to make a U.S. Olympic basketball team and the first woman to play in a men's professional league. She teams up with Robin Roberts, a great college player and successful sportscaster for ABC and ESPN, to share her insights and help women use physical drills, mental techniques and plain old basketball strategy to hone their skills to the sharpest
 
 

Jennings, Debby, Summit, Pat.  Basketball: Fundamentals and Team Play
New York, Hill Higher Education, 1995.
 

An essential basketball coaching book that focuses on all aspects of the game, addressing the crucial fundamentals and elaborating on the elements of team play. This concise, easy-to-read primer, written by University of Tennessee Women's Basketball Coach Pat Summitt and colleague Debby Jennings, is structured in the same way a coach prepares for a season.