Sports Books For Kids: Pre-K to 12th Grade
Reading to your kids about different topics are a great way to pique their interest and encourage them to try new things. Sports books for kids can encourage them to try a new sport or motivate them to keep practicing and playing the one they love now! Whether the book is about their favorite athlete, a new sport, or one they’ve read over and over, reading about different experiences in sports is a great way for them to learn and grow. Here are our top sports books for kids.
Top Sports Books for Kids of All Ages
Sports Books For Kids in Pre-K to 3rd Grade
Peppa Pig Plays Soccer
Using a popular character that your kids already like is a great way to introduce your kids to new experiences. Peppa Pig is a popular children’s cartoon that kids will recognize and therefore be more likely to be interested in the story.
Goodnight Soccer
This is a series by Sports Illustrated Kids that’s great for young kids. Let them choose a different sport for every bedtime story!
Messi’s Magic
Finding stories about athletes that your kids may recognize or look up to is always a fun way to get them reading!
When You Can Swim
A book about swimming is great especially when your kids are at the age where they are learning to swim. They may be nervous learning a new skill in a big pool that they aren’t used to, and books like this can help grow their confidence and get them comfortable with the idea of swimming.
Skater Cleo
Don’t forget to look for sports outside the norm! Skateboarding isn’t considered one of the usual stereotypical sports for kids, but it’s still a sport or physical activity for your kids to stay active! Keep an open mind and let them explore outside the sports they see all the time.
Sports Books For Kids in Grades 3-7
The Hero Two Doors Down
Historical sports references are great for kids to learn about as they get older. Based on a true story of a child who ends up neighbors with Jackie Robinson, this book introduces kids to a significant story and athlete in baseball history.
Sports Heroes: Patrick Mahomes
Sports Heroes is a small book series based on popular athletes. Patrick Mahomes is a popular name in football, but they also have stories about Simone Biles and LeBron James.
Kid Athletes: True Tales of Childhood from Sports Legends
A fun way to learn about your favorite athletes, this book tells the childhood stories of many popular athletes from Simone Biles and Billie Jean King to Peyton Manning and Babe Ruth. Before they were all-star athletes, they were regular kids just like you and me. Read about their fun childhood stories!
Soar
This is a heartfelt baseball story about a young boy who is told he can’t play baseball anymore after an operation on his heart. So, he does the next best thing—becomes a coach!
Sports Books For Kids in Middle School and Beyond
On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports
Written by USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan, this book shares Caitlin’s story as well as how her record-breaking performance has brought more attention to women’s college basketball, the WNBA, and all of women’s sports. Caitlin Clark is of course not the only female athlete to break records or bring attention to women’s sports, she is however one of the most predominant in recent history. This book is a great intro to women’s sports—what it looked like in the past, and what it hopes to be in the future.
Schooled
As the cover states, “It takes more than magic to make it to the pros.” This dual biography from OnTheRecordTM shows aspiring athletes that not only is making it to the pros challenging and rare, but there are multiple paths you can take to get there. Not every athlete becomes a star straight out of high school, in fact most don’t.
Curveball The Year I Lost My Grip
Written by a teen author, this book can inspire young kids to not only play sports, but to write and find other hobbies as well! The story tells of a young teen who gets injured and can no longer play baseball, so he’s forced to see what other interests and opportunities lie ahead.
These are just a handful of books at each reading level. There are so many more to choose from, just pick your desired age or reading level. But no matter how old your kids are, be sure to give them a variety of sports and perspectives to read about. Much like when they’re actually playing sports, there’s no need to specialize in one sport at a young age. Let them explore sports through books, you never know what my pique their interest and become their new hobby!
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Ashly Colicchio
National Marketing and Communications Manager, i9 Sports®
Ashly holds a Bachelor of Science in Sport and Exercise Science and a Minor in Communications with a certification of Coaching from the University of Central Florida. Ashly specialized in strength and conditioning where prior to her career in marketing, she was a certified personal trainer with a focus in youth athlete performance. A former softball player for over 15 years, Ashly has also dedicated several years to coaching youth softball for ages 4–10, using evidence-based training methods to foster athletic development, deepen game comprehension, and ignite a passion for the sport in young aspiring athletes.
Transitioning her expertise into the marketing world, Ashly has spent over a decade crafting strategies across diverse industries, including collegiate and professional sports, sports medicine, hospitality, and public service. Her unique ability to translate coaching principles into marketing leadership has allowed her to successfully train business professionals in marketing best practices.
As a marketing professional at i9 Sports®, Ashly is passionate about empowering youth athletes and their parents, ensuring they have the tools and resources to succeed both on and off the field. Her deep knowledge of sports science and athletic development serves as the foundation for the compelling sports content she produces for i9 Sports® and other industry platforms.
