Another younger series is the Ballpark Mysteries by David Kelly.

There are a couple of Magic Treehouse books he might like… I think there is one about Pele & one about Jackie Robinson. Possibly others.

Maniac Magee in a year or two

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Matt Christopher
Mike Lupica
The Kicks (soccer, and girl-focused, but worth a shot)
John Feinstein
Dan Gutman

I have a soccer-obsessed girl, but she happily read books about other sports.

I will also add, if there are any kids book writers in the house, that there is a huge gap in the market for sports books with girl main characters!

Try Jake Maddox! He’s got girl main character books for at least soccer, hockey, gymnastics, volleyball and equestrian. The reading level is below Lupica/Christopher though.

Thanks for the rec. Given the popularity of women's soccer and now basketball, I'm surprised there aren't more options yet!

Anonymous wrote:Matt Christopher
Mike Lupica
The Kicks (soccer, and girl-focused, but worth a shot)
John Feinstein
Dan Gutman

I have a soccer-obsessed girl, but she happily read books about other sports.

I will also add, if there are any kids book writers in the house, that there is a huge gap in the market for sports books with girl main characters!

Try Jake Maddox! He’s got girl main character books for at least soccer, hockey, gymnastics, volleyball and equestrian. The reading level is below Lupica/Christopher though.

If your child’s not ready for the above, try Jake Maddox books. He has lots of sports themed books but geared to a younger age group than Matt Christopher and Mike Lupica. My son read Christopher/Lupica starting about 7 and some of the subplots (divorce, parent death, illness, etc) were geared to an older audience. We weren’t familiar with Maddox until my son was older, but my daughter read them. He also features some female protagonists.

Many of Christopher’s books are from the 70s, so if you find older copies they reflect that era.

Anonymous wrote:Matt Christopher
Mike Lupica
The Kicks (soccer, and girl-focused, but worth a shot)
John Feinstein
Dan Gutman

I have a soccer-obsessed girl, but she happily read books about other sports.

I will also add, if there are any kids book writers in the house, that there is a huge gap in the market for sports books with girl main characters!

Good list--covers everything I could think of. At 7, DS particularly loves Baseball Card Adventures by Dan Gutman. They are fictional, but you learn about a famous baseball player in each one. Mike Lupica has the Zach and Zoe Mysteries, which are good for this age, and then a bunch of other stuff that will be good down the road.

These books are a bit advanced for a 1st grader shoulder 🤷‍♀️

The Academy by T.Z. Layton. I started reading it to my son when he was 7. Boy who gets to play soccer in England. We are now on the third book in the series. Also check out Matt Christopher.

Matt Christopher
Mike Lupica
The Kicks (soccer, and girl-focused, but worth a shot)
John Feinstein
Dan Gutman

I have a soccer-obsessed girl, but she happily read books about other sports.

I will also add, if there are any kids book writers in the house, that there is a huge gap in the market for sports books with girl main characters!

Matt Christopher!!

Yes! I think I’ve got this right, but I believe that it was the Matt Christopher books that my DS loved. I will also say this is the sort of question children’s librarians live for. Totally worth going in and letting him get advice from a librarian..

Who is/was

Any ideas on quality early chapter books (including series) about football, baseball, or basketball? I’m looking for something age-appropriate in terms of subject matter (DS is 7), but engaging enough for a solid reader.