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BOR |
The Greatest Skating Race: a World War II Story From the Netherlands
(age 8-11) by Louise Borden adventure ... war ... survival ... sports ... historical Publisher comments: "You're a strong skater, Piet, and you have a quick mind. This is why I know you'll succeed in this important task. I wouldn't ask you to do this if I didn't know it could be done." In 1941 Piet, a young Dutch boy from Sluis, gets the assignment of a lifetime: He must skate along the frozen canals of the Netherlands and across the Belgian border, in order to guide two neighborhood children to their aunt's house in Brugge, where the children will remain for the duration of World War II. Their father has been taken by German soldiers, and the children are no longer safe in Sluis -- but the journey with Piet, past soldiers and enemies, is fraught with danger. Along the treacherous path to Belgium the three children skate using every bit of speed, courage, and strength they can muster. All the time they try to appear like innocent schoolchildren simply out for a skate, for if the German soldiers discover their escape plan, the children will be in grave trouble. During the journey Piet thinks about his hero, Pim Mulier -- the first person to ever skate the Elfstedentocht, the famous and prestigious Eleven Towns Race that takes place in his country. For years Piet has dreamed of proving that he is a skater as brave and strong as Pim Mulier -- but he had never imagined that his test would fall under such dangerous circumstances. |
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PAR |
Skinnybones
(age 8-11) by Barbara Park friendship ... sports ... humor For the smallest kid on the baseball team, Alex “Skinnybones” Frankovitch has a major-league big mouth! But when he brags his way into a pitching contest, this might be one mess that not even Alex can talk his way out of. |
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COR |
The Baseball Bargain
(age 8-11) by Scott Corbett sports Woody is in a dilemma when he is offered a position on the baseball team in exchange for an expensive baseball glove. |
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HUR |
Baseball Fever
(age 8-11) by Johanna Hurwitz humor ... family ... sports Ezra Feldman, almost ten, likes baseball more than anything else in the world. But his father cannot understand why his son would rather rot his brains watching men swinging big wooden sticks than read a book or play chess. Can an unwanted car trip, a grumpy old professor, and a surprising chess victory help father and son find a little common ground--and convince Ezra's dad that cheering for the national pastime isn't completely off base? |
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PEC |
Hub
(age 8-11) by Robert Newton Peck school ... sports When their teacher enters the annual Chump's Landing Overland Obstacle Bicycle Race, Horrace Hubert and his best friend Spooner Jitwell do everything they can to make sure she wins the silver trophy. |
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WIL |
The Aurora County All-Stars
(age 8-11) by Deborah Wiles friendship ... family ... bigotry ... sports Twelve-year-old House Jackson--star pitcher and team captain of the Aurora County All-Stars--has been sidelined for a whole sorry year with a broken elbow. He's finally ready to play, but wouldn't you know that the team's only game of the year has been scheduled for the exact same time as the town's 200th-anniversary pageant. Now House must face the pageant's director, full-of-herself Frances Shotz (his nemesis and perpetrator of the elbow break), and get his team out of this mess. There's also the matter of a mysterious old recluse who has died and left House a wheezy old dog named Eudora Welty--and a puzzling book of poetry by someone named Walt Whitman. Through the long, hot month of June, House makes surprising and valuable discoveries about family, friendship, poetry . . . and baseball. |
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CHR |
Johnny No Hit
(age 8-11) by Matt Christopher school ... sports Threatened by a beating if he hits against Roy's pitching, Johnny almost loses a ballgame for his team. |
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GIF |
Poopsie Pomerantz, Pick Up Your Feet
(age 8-11) by Patricia Reilly Giff growing up ... sports ... the arts Poopsie Pomerantz is sure that ballet lessons will make her slim and graceful. But her friend Tracy Matson makes fun of Poopsie's efforts, saying there's no hope for chubby Poopsie. Tracy is surprised when Poopsie announces she's getting the starring role in her dance school's ballet. And Poopsie's surprised, too, because it's not true! She didn't mean to say that. Now she has to pray that Tracy doesn't come to the ballet, because guess which part Poopsie really has? |
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GUT |
The Million Dollar Kick
(age 8-11) by Dan Gutman enterprise ... sports Whisper Nelson remembers scoring a point for the opposing team in her last soccer match four years ago. So when she wins a chance to kick a goal past a professional soccer player for a million dollars, she is torn. Should she risk further humiliation and failure in front of all of Oklahoma City? sequel: The Million Dollar Shot sequel: The Million Dollar Putt |
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TES |
Some Kind of Pride
(age 8-11) by Maria Testa identity ... family ... sports Eleven-year-old Ruth is the star shortstop in her small Maine town, and now a reporter is coming to interview her for Sports Illustrated magazine. She's at the top of her game. Then she overhears her father in the crowd: ``Real major-league talent. But I can't help thinking what a shame it is that it's all wasted on a girl.'' Suddenly Ruth is doubting herself, her dream, and the game she loves. In search of answers, she looks to those closest to her: her best friend, Ellie, a self-proclaimed feminist; her father, a famous sportswriter; and her mother, a firefighter hero, who died eight years ago. But Ruth knows the truth lies within herself. |
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CHR |
Matt Christopher's Sports Series (age 8-11) by Matt Christopher realistic ... friendship ... sports The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, the importance of good sportsmanship and playing as part of a team. You'll find all this and more in Matt Christopher's exciting books. title: Catch That Pass! title: Dirt Bike Racer title: Dirt Bike Runaway title: Skateboard Tough title: Soccer Halfback title: The Spy on Third Base title: Long-Arm Quarterback |