PELE
DK’s acclaimed Biography line shines the spotlight on soccer player Pele. Includes detailed sidebars, handy vocabulary, and a visual timeline.
Supports the Common Core State Standards.
Planet Football: Greatest Players
Incredible stats and facts tell you all about the greatest footballer players in the world. From the Premier League to the Bundesliga, Champions League winners to World Cup winners, find out what makes a truly inspirational player.
From amazing goalkeepers such as Thibaut Courtois, Iker Casillas, David de Gea and Hope Solo, Central defenders such as Vincent Kompany and Thiago Silva; full backs like Philipp Lahm and Serge Aurier; midfielders such as Frank Lampard, Arturo Vidal and Toni Kroos; Wingers like Franck Riberty, Gareth Bale and Arjen Robben, attacking players such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and strikers like Luis Suarez and Wayne Rooney
Read about football icons, such as Peter Schmeichel, Franz Beckenbauer, Paolo Maldini and Pele.
Then answer the quiz questions: How many seasons in a row did Cristiano Ronaldo score 50 goals or more; which player has scored more goals for their national team than any other? and many more!
Whether you’re an armchair fanatic or a football player, you’ll find everything you ever wanted to know about the world’s greatest players right here!
PLAYOFF DREAM
Brendan is one of the best players in the league, but no matter how hard he tries, he can’t make his team win.
Frustrated, he can’t seem to find the answer to his dilemma and it looks as if his playoff dreams with his team will never come true. But when his uncle take’s him to a game at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. An unexpected event and the story of legendary Cubs player and Hall of Famer, Ernie Banks, make Brendan realize that it’s love of the game rather than winning that makes the experience a success.
Author Fred Bowen continues his Sports Story series with play-by-play action that’s sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats! An afterword provides the real story of Ernie Banks and his baseball career.
QUARTERBACK SEASON
Matt Monroe is a shoo-in for starting quarterback for the Parkside Middle School football team this year. Or is he?
Matt expects to be starting quarterback, but Devro, a new seventh grader, is looking pretty impressive. He’s consistent and can run the plays almost as well as Matt. And he’s got speed. As the fall football season unfolds, the team has more than its share of surprises and unexpected challenges, as well as plenty of victories and upsets on and off the field—all of which Matt records and analyzes in a journal he keeps for his English class. By the last kickoff of the season, Matt has learned that a team is only as good as the sum of its parts and that playing together is the only way to win.
Author Fred Bowen continues his Sports Story series with play-by-play action that’s sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats! An afterword provides the real story of Instant Play—one of the first books to give an inside look at the life of a professional football player.
REAL HOOPS
Can street ball and technical play mix it up on the court and score wins for the team?
Ben and Logan are looking forward to playing basketball for Roosevelt High School. Ben will play shooting guard, and Logan will be the team’s center. But they still need a point guard. The two boys discover Antonio “Hud” Hudson at the local rec center, where fast-paced pickup games are the rule. Hud is just what the team needs. Even better, he is coming to Roosevelt! But Roosevelt’s coach has one rule for the boys: no pickup basketball. So when Ben finds Hud playing pickup, he has to make a decision. As captain, can Ben help Hud balance his passion for the game and his dedication to the team?
Author Fred Bowen continues his Sports Story series with full court, play-by-play action that’s sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats! An afterword proves the real story of pickup basketball and Holcombe Rucker Park, one of the most famous basketball playgrounds.
Real Madrid
For young fans of UEFA Champions League action, nothing beats a dramatic game of soccer. This series puts readers six and up into the goal-diving action, introducing some of the world’s most popular Soccer Stars through brief recaps of their rich team histories. Highlighting important players and managers—in main text and special callouts alike—and noting key periods of success and failure, each book presents action-driven photos and a rundown of Champions League titles as it examines the stellar saga of European football clubs. An elementary introduction to the Spanish soccer team Real Madrid, including a brief history since the team’s 1902 founding, its main rival, notable players, and Champions League titles.
RISING ABOVE
Discover the inspirational real-life stories of superstar athletes like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Tim Howard, and more!
“Packs a powerful message—perseverance and passion pay off. Even non-sports fans will cheer for superstars like LeBron James and Stephen Curry.”–Scholastic Teacher
Team USA goalkeeper Tim Howard was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome in 6th grade. He went on to become a national treasure after single-handedly keeping America competitive in the 2014 World Cup. Stephen Curry was told he was too small, too weak, and too slow to even receive a scholarship to play college basketball. He outworked everyone and went on to become MVP of the National Basketball Association. Jim Abbott was born without his right hand, yet he refused to be defined by what he lacked. He went on to pitch a no-hitter in the Major Leagues.
Athlete after athlete in this book found discipline, hope, and inspiration on the playing field, rising above their circumstances. Filled with first-hand accounts from stars who exemplify the idea of enduring at all costs, Rising Above will serve as a must-read source of inspiration for kids and sports fans of all ages.
A Scholastic Teacher magazine Summer Reading List selection
A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Summer Reading List selection
RISING ABOVE: INSPIRING WOMEN IN SPORTS
The inspirational real-life stories of superstar athletes Serena and Venus Williams, Simone Biles, Carli Lloyd, and more! For sports fans, aspiring athletes and readers of sports biographies.
Some of the most accomplished and famous athletes in the world—tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, Olympic Gold Medalist Simone Biles, World Cup superstar Carli Lloyd and others—faced earthshaking challenges in their youth. But they refused to give up. Through hard work and determination, they rose above their circumstances and went on to conquer the sports world. This collection of mini biographies, complete with firsthand content drawn from in-depth interviews, is a source of inspiration and self-empowerment for kids and sports fans of all ages.
Included in the book: Venus and Serena Wiliams (tennis), Simone Biles (gymnastics), Carli Lloyd (soccer), Wilma Rudolph (track and field), Mo’ne Davis (Little League baseball), Swin Cash (basketball), Elena Delle Donne (basketball), Bethany Hamilton (surfing), Ronda Rousey (mixed martial arts), and Kerri Strug (gymnastics).
“An inspiring, empowering collection of true stories of perseverance and resolve.” —Kirkus Reviews