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Outstanding athlete, exceptional courage AND restraint in the face of violent hatred, Jackie Robinson is a hero for all ages.

An introduction by baseball great Hank Aaron opens this riveting look at the history of the Negro League. A large format supports revealing portraits of League players and an absorbing narration revealed in nine innings. Endnotes and further readings conclude this memorable and accessible history.

This short-story collection features tales of young Latinos in California who face real-life problems big and small, including making the baseball team. While baseball isn’t the focus of every story, the coming-of-age themes are relatable to any tween.

Filled with action, humor, and drama, this anthology compiles short stories, poems, even a play from young adult authors like Jerry Spinelli and Sue Corbett.

Before Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947, Black athletes played in the Negro Leagues — on teams coached by Black managers, cheered on by Black fans, and often run by Black owners. Here is the riveting true story of the woman at the center of the Black baseball world: Effa Manley, co-owner and business manager of the Newark Eagles. Elegant yet gutsy, she cultivated a powerhouse team. Yet just as her Eagles reached their pinnacle, so did calls to integrate baseball, a move that would all but extinguish the Negro Leagues. On and off the field, Effa hated to lose. She had devoted her life to Black empowerment — but in the battle for Black baseball, was the game rigged against her? 

During World War II, Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps. Isolated and bored, baseball became a life and soul-saving pastime which successfully brought very different people together. Darkly hued illustrations evoke the difficulty of the time, based on the author’s family story. Spanish version available.

This classic poem, which may not be familiar to kids today, is given a contemporary update by illustrator Joe Morse, who moves the setting to the inner city. Contrast this version with other illustrated versions of the poem and examine how the illustrations and text work together to affect meaning.

Shenice Lockwood, captain of the Fulton Firebirds, is hyper-focused when she steps up to the plate. Nothing can stop her from leading her team to the U12 fast-pitch softball regional championship. But Shenice's focus gets shaken when her great-uncle Jack reveals that a career-ending — and family-name-ruining — crime may have been a setup. Her broken focus means mistakes on the field. And Shenice's teammates are beginning to wonder if she's captain-qualified. It's up to Shenice to discover the truth about her family's past — and fast — before secrets take the Firebirds out of the game forever.

Vivy Cohen, an 11-year-old with autism, won’t let anything stop her from playing baseball — not when she has a major-league star as her pen pal. This novel-in-letters captures Vivy’s growing sense of her own capabilities. It’s a satisfying baseball story that never minimizes the challenges of autism but celebrates skill, determination, and love for the game.

Seth Barham was still reeling from his father’s death a few years ago. Feeling lost and abandoned, Seth meets Jimmy and the two quickly become best friends. Jimmy introduces Seth to baseball and helps pull Seth out of his funk. Together, they face high school, making the baseball team, and dealing with peer pressure to drink at parties. Will Seth make good decisions? Will Jimmy’s choices have dire consequences?

Michael Arroyo has a pitching arm that throws serious heat along with aspirations of leading his team all the way to the Little League World Series. But his firepower is nothing compared to the heat Michael faces in his day-to-day life. Newly orphaned after his father led the family’s escape from Cuba, Michael’s only family is his seventeen-year-old brother Carlos. If Social Services hears of their situation, they will be separated in the foster-care system—or worse, sent back to Cuba.

Joey Pigza really wants his six-week visit with his dad to count, to show him he’s not as wired as he used to be, to show his dad how much he loves him. But Carter Pigza’s not an easy guy to love. He’s eager to make it up to Joey for past wrongs and to show him how to be a winner, to take control of his life. With his coaching, Joey’s even learned how to pitch a baseball, and he’s good at it. The trouble is, Joey’s dad thinks taking control means giving up the things that “keep Joey safe”. And if he wants to please his dad, he’s going to have to play by his rules, even when the rules don’t make sense.

Nine year old Dodgers fan Maggie and firefighter Jim bond over their mutual love of baseball. When Jim is drafted and returns from Korea traumatized and barely responsive, Maggie is determined to bring him back to his old self. A sensitive and artful work about grief and hope.

Sophisticated baseball aficionados will appreciate the highs (and lows) of the game over decades, organized by its three seasons: spring, summer, fall. The author’s work as a sports writer is evident in his chatty, approachable style.

Lupe Wong is going to be the first female pitcher in the Major Leagues. She’s also championed causes her whole young life. Some worthy…like expanding the options for race on school tests beyond just a few bubbles. And some not so much…like complaining to the BBC about the length between Doctor Who seasons. Lupe needs an A in all her classes in order to meet her favorite pitcher, Fu Li Hernandez, who’s Chinacan/Mexinese just like her. So when the horror that is square dancing rears its head in gym? Obviously she’s not gonna let that slide.

Danny’s a great baseball player but he’s not even on the school team — he’s consumed with feeling like his private-school classmates only see him as a Mexican who doesn’t belong and that his Mexican relatives see him as an “almost albino.” Can Danny find the help he needs before it’s too late?

This brief, often poetic, and informative introduction to the Negro Leagues uses period photographs to enhance the information. The period in American history is one of segregation and sadness but also of great joy and achievement.

Being a transracial adoptee doesn’t bother sixteen-year-old Alex Kirtridge — at least, not in a way she can explain to her white family. It doesn’t matter that she’s biracial when she’s the star of the baseball team. But when Alex is off the field, she’s teased for acting too white and judged for looking black. Things only get more complicated when she finds hidden letters from her birth father. Alex can’t stop asking questions. Meanwhile, her body is changing, and Alex isn’t sure she can keep up with her teammates. If she’s going to find answers, Alex must come to terms with her adoption, her race, and the dreams she thought would always guide her. Author Shannon Gibney draws from her own experiences as a transracial adoptee to deliver this honest coming-of-age novel about a girl who doesn’t know where she wants to fit in. Paperback edition includes a reading guide at the back. Winner of the Minnesota Book Award.

When MVP Kevin Boland gets the news that he has mono and won’t be seeing a baseball field for a while, he suddenly finds himself scrawling a poem down the middle of a page in his journal. To get some help, he cops a poetry book from his dad’s den — and before Kevin knows it, he’s writing in verse about stuff like, Will his jock friends give up on him? What’s the deal with girlfriends? Surprisingly enough, after his health improves, he keeps on writing.

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 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.

Everything was going great for Willie Weaver, renowned pitcher and star of his baseball team. Until his accident, that is. Faced with multiple losses, Willie runs away from his home, family, and friends in Montana to start all over in L.A. Will he be able to put the pieces of his life back together?

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.