Here are a few books that have been popular with young students:
- The Greatest Game Ever Played: a Football Story by Phil Bildner When their beloved baseball team, the New York Giants, moves to California, Sam and Pop switch their loyalties to the other New York Giants and attend their championship game with the Baltimore Colts
- America's Champion Swimmer : Gertrude Ederle by David Adler Describes the life and accomplishments of Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel and a figure in the early women's rights movement
- Champions on the bench : the Cannon Street YMCA All-Stars by Carole Boston Weatherford Storyis based on the discrimination faced by the 1955 Cannon Street YMCA Little League All-Stars when the white teams refused to play them in the series tournament.
- Pecorino Plays Ball by Alan Madison Pecorino Sasquatch proves that he is still the silliest boy in the world when his first day of Little League arrives and he realizes he has never hit or caught a baseball before--nor even chewed bubblegum.
- Winners Never Quit! by Mia Hamm Mia must learn the hard way that being a team player is more important than winning or losing when she quits the soccer team because she couldn't score a goal.
- Young Pele : Soccer's First Star by Leza Cline-Ransome Explores the childhood of Pele, discussing how a poor, Brazilian boy became one of the best soccer players in the world.
- Zoom! by Robert Munsch (A perennial favorite) When Lauretta tries out a 92-speed, silver and gold, dirt-bike wheelchair, she gets a speeding ticket but also helps out her brother.
- Teammates by Peter Golenbock (A Coach Mott favorite) Describes the racial prejudice experienced by Jackie Robinson when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers to become the first African-American player in Major League baseball and depicts the acceptance and support he received from his white teammate Pee Wee Reese.
- By My Brother's Side by Tiki Barber Introduces twin brothers Tiki and Ronde Barber, who worked hard to overcome obstacles and become National Football League stars, one as running back for the New York Giants, the other as cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- Basketball Bats by Betty Hicks Henry learns a lesson in teamwork when his inexperienced basketball team, the Bats, takes on the Tigers, a team that not only plays at the big YWCA but has a player old enough to shave.
Reading is Fundamental (RIF) offers tips on reading aloud to young students:
- Introduce the book: read the title, author, and illustrator; look at the cover; talk about what the book might be about; suggest things to look and listen for.
- Ask children to look closely at the pictures to help them understand the story and make predictions about what might happen next.
- Talk about what you have read.
