If you are having difficulties deciding which books to select, let me make a few suggestions. This week I’ll highlight a few of the titles listed under Sports
The Girl who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane
After her father’s death, eighth grader Molly decides to join the baseball team. The boys’ baseball team! She’s hoping that her talent for throwing a knuckleball will be enough to impress her teammates, especially Lonnie.
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
After spending her summer running the family farm and training the quarterback for her school's rival football team, sixteen-year-old D.J. decides to go out for the sport herself, not anticipating the reactions of those around her.
(click here to watch the book trailer and earn add it to your summer reading log)
Mike Lupica has penned a series of books in The ComeBack Kids series. Hot Hand tells the story of ten-year-old Billy who, in the wake of his parents' separation, seems to have conflicts with his father, his basketball coach, while his quiet, younger brother Ben, a piano prodigy, is having even more trouble adjusting, and only Billy seems to notice.
In Gold Dust by Chris Lynch, twelve-year-old Richard befriends Napoleon, a Caribbean newcomer to his Catholic school, hoping that Napoleon will learn to love baseball and the Red Sox, and will win acceptance in the racially polarized Boston school. A sure fire hit for Red Sox fans.
If you favor nonfiction for summer reading, In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle by Madeleine Blais is an intimate look into the minds and hearts of one group of girls and their quest for success.
We do have other sports titles written by these same authors that would qualify for your summer reading assignment. Stop in or email me to a list of titles.
