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Damien, the star of the basketball team is headed to college. Junice is trying to hold her family together after tragedy. When these two meet, there is nothing but love, even if Damien’s parents are less than thrilled with his choice. As the drama unfolds, each character tells his/her story through verse, leaving the reader to wonder if Damien and Junice be able to rise above the adversity that surrounds them.

When Perry Wallace enrolled in high school, his sensational jumping, dunking, and rebounding abilities quickly earned him the attention of college basketball recruiters from top schools across the nation. Following Vanderbilt University’s recruitment, he courageously accepted the assignment to desegregate the Southeastern Conference. The hateful experiences he would endure on campus and in the hostile gymnasiums of the Deep South turned out to be the stuff of nightmares. Yet Wallace persisted, endured, and met this unthinkable challenge head on. This insightful biography digs deep beneath the surface to reveal a complicated, profound, and inspiring story of an athlete turned civil rights trailblazer. 

In the 1950’s, current Marylander Mamie Johnson became one of only a handful of women to play professional baseball when she signed for the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues. Sports fans and those who like stories about strong young women will find this equally appealing.

In a story that combines baseball and folklore, 11-year-old Ethan, an aspiring baseball player, is recruited by a mysterious elderly scout to help preserve a fairy population from destruction by all manner of predators. Ethan and his friends battle goblins, shape-shifters and sea monsters in a series of high-stakes challenges.

This book uses beautiful photographs to tell the history of this warm weather sport. While the pictures are beautiful, the writing is also strong.

This volume includes more than 100 articles from 60 years of baseball writing by the best baseball journalists. Read classic articles about the game’s legendary players like Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, and Reggie Jackson. Best of all, there are nearly 100 compleeting photographs to complement the text.

The Bell twins are stars on the basketball court and comrades in life. While there are some differences — Josh shaves his head and Jordan loves his locks — both twins adhere to the Bell basketball rules: In this game of life, your family is the court, and the ball is your heart. When life intervenes in the form of a new girl, the balance shifts and growing apart proves painful. Alexander eloquently mashes up concrete poetry, hip-hop, a love of jazz, and a thriving family bond. The effect is poetry in motion. It is a rare verse novel that is fundamentally poetic rather than using this writing trend as a device. There is also a quirky vocabulary element that adds a fun intellectual note to the narrative. This may be just the right book for those hard-to-match youth who live for sports or music or both. (2015 Newbery Medal Winner)

Anyone who has ever had the privilege of watching Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals knows the sound of a hit. It’s the sound his bat makes when it connects with the ball. It’s a sound that’s been heard countless times since his 2001 rookie season. That year, he took the league by storm by posting some of the most fantastic offensive stats of any rookie ever-and he’s been doing the same ever since, shattering records and helping his team win games, including the 2006 World Series, with clutch hits and amazing home runs.

This biography offers an up-close look at this superstar’s life and the most memorable moments of his outstanding career to date.

Molly and her Dad always shared a love of baseball — especially the hard-luck Chicago Cubs — and he taught her how to throw a tricky knuckleball. After her father passes away, Molly wants to try out for the boys’ baseball team, as a way of keeping her connection to her Dad. This tender novel combines sports action with Molly’s struggle to accept her loss.

Seventeen-year-old Biddy Owens is part of the Birmingham Black Barons baseball team and dreams of becoming a major league baseball player. However, in 1948 most black players can only play for the Negro Leagues. Jackie Robinson has just recently integrated and is playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, but the white owners are reluctant to add too many blacks to their rosters. The Birmingham Black Barons are some of the best players in the league. But as they travel around playing ball, Biddy realizes that not everyone is ready for blacks and whites to play on the same team. 

The Playbook is intended to provide inspiration on the court of life. Each rule contains wisdom from inspiring athletes and role models such as Nelson Mandela, Serena Williams, LeBron James, Carli Lloyd, Steph Curry and Michelle Obama. 

Young readers may be surprised to learn that a womern’s professional baseball league thrived in the U.S. from 1943-1954. This fascinating volume explores the history of the league and the challenges faced by these trailblazing players, and includes wonderful photographs from the era.

It is 1970 in Red Grove, Alabama, and Latina sixth-grader Lu Olivera just wants to get along with everyone, but growing racial tensions will not let Lu stay neutral about the racial divide in school.