NCAA March Madness is in full swing, and in addition to binging on too many basketball games, we’re also reading some great basketball-themed books. Check out the list below of some of our favorite reads featuring real and fictional players.
Basketball Superstars 2016 by K.C. Kelley (Ages 6–8): All the action from the 2016 basketball court...now on the page! Including LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Tim Duncan, and many more, Basketball Superstars 2016 will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about your favorite players. Featuring incredible full-color action photos and detailed player information.
Sports Fairies: Brittany the Basketball Fairy by Daisy Meadows (Ages 7–10): Everyone is getting ready for the Fairy Olympics in Fairyland! But Jack Frost’s goblins have stolen the Sports Fairies’ magic objects. Now they’re threatening to take over the whole competition. Can Rachel and Kirsty take down the Mean Green Basketball Team and win back Brittany’s magic ball? Or will this game be a slam dunk for the goblins?
STAT: Standing Tall and Talented: Home Court by Amar’e Stoudemire, illustrated by Tim Jessell (Ages 8–12): Based on the life of All-Star NBA sensation Amar’e Stoudemire, Home Court is the first book in this slam-dunk fiction series. Eleven-year-old Amar’e Stoudemire has a lot going on. And he likes to play basketball with his best friends—but just for fun. When a group of older kids start disrespecting his boys on their neighborhood basketball court, there is only one solution: Amar’e must step in and use his athletic ability and intelligence to save the day. This experience leads Amar’e to realize that basketball is his true passion.
Stanford Wong Flunks Big-time by Lisa Yee (Ages 8–12): Stanford Wong is having a bad summer. If he flunks his summer-school English class, he won’t pass sixth grade. If that happens, he won’t start on the A-team. If that happens, his friends will abandon him and Emily Ebers won’t like him anymore. And if THAT happens, his life will be over. Soon his parents are fighting, his grandmother Yin-Yin hates her new nursing home, he’s being “tutored” by the world’s biggest nerdball Millicent Min—and he’s not sure his ballpoint “Emily” tattoo is ever going to wash off.
Box Out by John Coy (Ages 12 and up): Liam has just been bumped up to starter on the varsity basketball team, and the pressure’s on. With the girls’ team heading to State, the boys’ team is under even greater scrutiny than usual in Liam’s small Midwestern town. When the team’s coach starts counting on the power of prayer—and enforcing teamwide participation—Liam finds himself in a spotlight that’s more nerve-racking than any trip to the free-throw line. In trying to stand up for what’s right, Liam is forced to stand up for himself—against his teammates, his fellow students, and even his parents.
