Joining In

Books on a wide variety of sports are popular all year round, but some inspire more immediate interest during specific seasons. Librarians can expect more requests for the soccer and baseball books reviewed here as children anticipate the Soccer World Cup tournament in June 2010, and every fall’s World Series, for example. On the other hand, the series below covering pastimes such as base jumping or hip-hop dancing encourage readers looking for something new at any time of year. Clearly reproduced action photographs add to the appeal of these sets, along with vocabulary and font-size appropriate to the audience.

Gr 1-2–These books describe the rules, playing space, and equipment of the various activities and provide brief safety recommendations, all with a view to aiding newcomers to the sport. Large font and a generous amount of white space make the titles accessible. Many children will have already experienced the sports represented, so the new vocabulary words will not be a big stumbling block. The bright, well-captioned photographs feature children of a range of ages, and, except for in Football, both boys and girls are represented. Ice Skating differentiates between the skates worn by figure skaters, hockey players, and speed skaters. A welcome series for novices.

Gr 1-2–Short and simple declarative sentences introduce various types of dance and the attire needed for lessons. Vocabulary words, such as “plié” (“plee-AY”) in Ballet (the only volume that doesn’t feature boys) and “locking” in Hip-Hop are introduced in context and include picture clues. Eye-catching photographs of smiling, multicultural youngsters fill an entire page of each spread. This series fills a need for dance material at a low reading level.

Gr 2-4–Lists declaring the “best” of any subject often generate much interest, if only to see whether or not readers’ personal favorites have been mentioned. Otherwise, these books, which highlight only 12 male stars from each sport, are inadequate. Each player has been allocated just a spread, consisting of an informational paragraph under a colorful photo of him in action, opposite a chart listing the years played, team membership, and individual achievements such as Most Valuable Player or number of trips to the Super Bowl. Sentences are short with important vocabulary words highlighted in red and defined in the glossary. All charts are current through the 2008-09 seasons. Strictly for dedicated fans of these sports.

Gr 2-4–In contrast to “Jump into Sports” (The Child’s World), this series features activities that most children will not have experienced or even watched. Even though the author gives only a cursory explanation of each one, she conveys enough action for readers to experience the excitement through the eyes of participants. Outstanding, motion-filled photographs show a wide range of emotions on the faces of enthusiasts as they attempt such feats as jumping from cliffs or biking in impossible terrain. Both men and women perform the death-defying stunts. “Extreme quotes” in fact boxes lend excitement while contributing pertinent information or admonishments. This series could be used for short reports or as a jumping-off spot for further research.

Gr 3-5–Focusing on the competition that will be held between June 11 and July 11, 2010, this series is similar to Rosen’s “World Soccer Books,” but is written for a younger audience. Chapters in Moments cover great matches, outstanding goals, and shocking upsets. The biographies in Greatest Stars devote two pages each to 10 current and historical players, all of them male. Some of the photographs are grainy and black and white, while others are distant shots of multiple, unidentified players. Coverage of David Beckham does not mention his tenure on a U.S. team. Text boxes include statistics such as date of birth, position, number of World Cup appearances, and World Cup goals. World Cup 2010 will date quickly because it lists teams, players, and managers to watch and a complicated schedule chart. World of Soccer discusses professional leagues, and a map indicates their locations. Oversimplification means that the terms “league” and “club,” and which organizations actually send players to the World Cup, become confusing. There are only two pages about the Women’s Soccer League World Cup and no mention of the Youth League World Cup, topics that are better covered in the Rosen series. On the other hand, Hurley includes chapters on famous stadiums, soccer schools, charities, and a spread on fans’ face-painting and clothing. But because the information here is perfunctory at best, the series is a marginal choice.

Gr 3-5–Though each of these teams has won the World Series more than once, it is not clear whether this is the criterion for inclusion in the series, as none is given. Single-paragraph chapters cover the history of the team, its three best and three toughest years, customary opponents, and stars of today and yesterday. The font is large and a generous amount of white space sets apart the attractive color photos of players. Glossary words, such as “home plate,” “infield,” and “MVP,” are highlighted in red. More than half of these words are repeated in every book. Each volume includes an identical “Baseball Diamond” chapter, which has a labeled diagram of a baseball field and a paragraph describing its dimensions and sections. The writing style is bland. Select only if your local team is represented.

Gr 4-7–These authors focus on factual details of teams and players around the world and provide significant biographical information on current and past stars. Moments highlights memorable events from the first World Cup in 1929 through the preparations for the 2010 games. Teams examines 11 organizations old and new, with charts displaying each one’s record. The final chapter covers the United States. Legends and Superstars provide two or three pages of facts and a large colorful, action photograph per player. Three women are represented. A handy chart states each star’s full name, country, date and place of birth, soccer position, and club. Tournaments details five of FIFA’s six regional competitions designations–the African Cup of Nations, the Asian Cup, COPA América, the Gold Cup, and the UEFA championship–in a chapter each, but inexplicably there is only one sentence about the Oceanic Football Conference. The book concludes with separate chapters for the Women’s League and the Youth Soccer League World Cups. Select from these titles to fill requests from fans.

Gr 4-7–Focusing on ideas such as inertia, friction, momentum, and reaction time, this series explains how best to use the equipment related to these sports. For example, Bazemore discusses how knowledge of Newton’s laws can help a soccer player bend the ball’s trajectory, and Biskup explains how quarterbacks should stand and throw in order to make stable passes. Many of the titles also mention how arenas, stadiums, or playing surfaces affect the games. Hockey gives insight into new equipment–a heated skate blade. Dynamic, colorful photographs, often featuring well-known players, help explain the vocabulary. Skateboarding and Soccer provide the least amount of new information. However, Soccer provides an interesting paragraph on the rare “flip throw,” enhanced with thumbnail photographs. Even though the books’ sentence structure and appealing design make them appear suitable for younger readers, the concepts behind how the sport is played make prior knowledge of scientific principles necessary. Titles may help readers to understand how to improve their personal skills, but more likely these books will be used as background material for science reports or projects.

This season’s crop offers an impressive amount of factual material at lower reading levels. Capstone’s “Dance, Dance, Dance,” The Child’s World’s “Jump into Sports,” and ABDO’s “Xtreme Sports” are all outstanding as they deliver new vocabulary and information in exciting ways for beginners. Two series for older readers–Rosen’s “World Soccer Books” and Capstone’s “Sports Illustrated KIDS: The Science of Sports”–take familiar sports and provide more detail in unique ways. Heinemann’s “The World Cup,” The Child’s World’s “Favorite Baseball Teams,” and Capstone’s “Sports Illustrated KIDS: The World’s Greatest Sports Stars” are supplemental series.