F BOW	Touchdown Trouble (age 9-12) by Fred Bowen school ... sports Publisher comments: Sam loves football. Most of all he loves the feeling he gets when his team, the Cowboys, are working together-moving closer and closer to the end zone. But Sam's pride in his team begins to fade. In an important game, the Cowboys beat the Giants to remain undefeated, thanks to a touchdown by Sam in the final play of the game. But later, watching a video of the game, Sam and his teammates realize that the winning touchdown was scored illegally. The Giants should have won the game. Now the team is divided. Should they keep quiet or give the Giants the win? It is only when Sam's father tells the Cowboys about a famous football game-and similar dilemma-from the past that that Sam knows what to do. But will his teammates agree?
F BOW	Throwing Heat (age 9-12) by Fred Bowen school ... sports Publisher comments: Last season, Jack's pitches were the fastest around, and he could always rely on them to strike out his opponents. But now he's playing in a new middle school league, where the distance between the pitching rubber and the catcher's mitt is a lot greater. Jack keeps throwing heat but he can't get seem to get balls into the strike zone. Then Finn, a baseball coach at a local college, offers to help. He shows Jack some new pitches and tells him about Steve Dalkowski, a hard-throwing left-hander often considered the fastest pitcher in baseball history who never made it out of the minor leagues. He didn't have enough control over his fastball, and he didn't throw other pitches like a change-up or a curve ball. At first Jack doesn't listen to the coach's advice. But soon, with the season on the line, he realizes that Finn was right. Is it too late to change his game plan?
F BOW	Hardcourt Comeback (age 9-12) by Fred Bowen school ... sports Publisher comments: Brett blew a key play in an important game. Now he feels like a loser for letting his teammates down and he keeps making mistakes. How can Brett become a winner again?
F CAR	The Longest Home Run (age 9-12) by Roch Carrier magic ... sports ``The longest home run in the history of baseball was hit by a girl.'' So begins a baseball misadventure in the village of Ste. Justine. This time, a strange girl named Adeline shows up at the daisy field where Roch and his friends play baseball all summer. She proceeds to hit a towering home run...right through the window of the crankiest man in town. Adeline has other powers as well, which Roch and the boys discover at a magic show. But without the baseball, the game cannot go on. When Adeline literally disappears, who do you think has to get the ball back?
F LOR	In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson (age 9-12) by Bette Bao Lord friendship ... humor ... identity ... sports ... school Shirley Temple Wong sails from China to America with a heart full of dreams. Her new home is Brooklyn, New York. America is indeed a land full of wonders, but Shirley doesn't know any English, so it's hard to make friends. Then a miracle happens...baseball. It is 1947, and Jackie Robinson, star of the Brooklyn Dodgers, is everyone's hero. Jackie Robinson is proving that a black man, the grandson of a slave, can make a difference in America and for Shirley as well, on the ball field and off, America becomes the land of opportunity.
F SLO	Hang Tough, Paul Mather (age 9-12) by Alfred Slote identity ... illness/loss ... sports Paul Mather's a pitcher ... a really good one. His off speed pitch is enough to bowl a kid backward, and his fast ball is pure smoke. There isn't anything he can't throw, from sliders, change-ups, and sinkers to a mean curve ball that breaks at just the right moment. He's pitched no-hitters and perfect games. To Paul, pitching is what you live for and why you live. Lately, though, Paul hasn't been allowed to do much of anything, much less play ball. He's got leukemia, and it's put him into the hospital several times already. His parents are so worried, they've forbidden him to play the game he loves so much. They're afraid that if Paul strains himself his illness may come back a final time...and maybe even take his life. But Paul is a winner. His team needs him, and he won't give up without a fight. Paul Mather is determined to pitch every inning...to keep playing baseball, and to keep hanging tough, no matter what the odds.
F SLO	The Trading Game (age 9-12) by Alfred Slote family ... growing up ... sports Publisher comments: What's So Special About Ace 459? Andy Harris's fabulous baseball card collection, left to him by his father, is the envy of every baseball fan in town. Still, Andy would rather play ball than collect cards. He's got a natural talent for the game, like his grandfather, pro ball player Jim Harris. And Jim Harris, Ace 459, is the one card Andy would give anything to own -- he'd even trade his priceless 1952 Micky Mantle card. Then Grandpa comes to town for a visit and offers to coach Andy's ragtag team. For the first time, Andy and his friends really look good, really feel like a team. But Grampa's rules for playing the game contradict everything Andy believes about friendship and good sportsmanship. And Andy begins to wonder if Ace 459 is such a hero after all.
F BAR	Go Long! (age 9-12) by Tiki Barber school ... sports Publisher comments: It's Tiki and Ronde's second year on their junior high school football team, the Hidden Valley Eagles. The eighth-grade season is here, and the boys have come together as a team. Now key starters, Tiki and Ronde are ready for a great season, and with hard work and determination, maybe they will even go all the way to the State Championship! But when Coach Spangler announces that he has been asked to move up to the high school team, and Mr. Wheeler, the science teacher, is tapped for the head coaching job, the season seems over before it begins. Sure, Coach Wheeler played college football until he was benched by an injury, but it just isn't the same. Tiki wants to give Coach Wheeler a chance, yet the team's loyalties are divided. What does a science teacher know about the game of football? Can the team work together, get behind their new coach, and play smart?
F BAR	Wild Card (age 9-12) by Tiki Barber school ... sports Publisher comments: The Hidden Valley Eagles' eighth-grade season is looking strong, but the team's star kicker is put on academic probation for poor grades in biology and math. As Tiki and Ronde's mom always says, Grades come first. Maybe it's time to work together off the field as well as on.
F BRO	Throwing Smoke (age 9-12) by Bruce Brooks action ... sports Catalog: When his teammates on the Breadhurst Newts baseball team continue their losing ways, Whiz uses an unusual printing press to create several star players in hopes of winning a game.
F BAU	Sticks (age 9-12) by Joan Bauer friendship ... sports ... enterprise Publisher comments: Mickey's family owns the neighborhood pool hall, and he's been playing since before he could talk. Now that he's in fifth grade, he's determined to win the Junior Nine-Ball Championship and cream obnoxious Buck Pender. Problem is, Mickey's ten and Buck's thirteen-and could eat him for a snack. Even with his friend Arlen's help, Mickey doesn't stand a chance. Then Joe Alvarez shows up at the pool hall. He's a fantastic player, and decides to sign on as Mickey's pool coach. But it all depends on one person: Mickey. Can he beat the odds?
F MAD	Diving Off the Edge (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... adventure ... action Publisher comments: Riley and Blake have been best friends forever. That all ends when Blake finds a new group of friends and Riley joins the swim team. But when Blake gets in dangerous trouble, can Riley put the past aside and save his former friend?
F MAD	Shark Attack: a Survive! Story (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... adventure ... action Catalog: When Brendan arrives at his family's rented summer house, he hears horror stories from the locals about sharks in the water and grows frightened, even though his new friend Alex says the tales are not true.
F MAD	Volcano! (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... adventure ... action Catalog: Tom and Kevin have to rely on their instincts to survive when a volcano erupts while they are camping and their lives are put in danger by the lava.
F MAD	Takedown (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: Jeff learns he has to deal with his bad temper if he wants to become a good wrestler.
F MAD	Soccer Spirit (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: When the girls' soccer team is cancelled, three girls have to join their arch rivals.
F MAD	Soccer Shootout (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: When a new boy joins the Titans soccer team, Berk, who has always played goalkeeper, is challenged for that position and he must decide whether to hold a grudge or act for the good of the team.
F MAD	Slam Dunk Shoes (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: When Jamal is asked to join the elite Cyclone basketball team, he worries that his ratty old shoes...all his family can afford...will hurt his image on the team.
F MAD	Skater's Secret (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: Maggie and Shannon are figure skaters and sisters, but Maggie is really tired of Shannon always being in the spotlight. For once, Maggie is determined to come out from behind her sister's shadow.
F MAD	Skateboard Save (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: When Riley enters the skateboarding contest, he doesn't expect to help his biggest rival.
F MAD	Skate Park Challenge (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: Despite sabotage that put him in a wrist brace for two weeks, Nick is determined to win an upcoming skateboarding competition.
F MAD	Quarterback Sneak (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: Anton loves to play football until Malik, the new quarterback, begins to show off and the team starts to lose.
F MAD	On the Line (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: After breaking his arm during the first day of try-outs last season, Robby is determined to make the football team this year, but to do so he must face his own fears and the bully who tackled him the year before.
F MAD	Mr. Strike Out (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: David is a great baseball pitcher, but he always strikes out at bat until he learns about Babe Ruth and the importance of practice.
F MAD	Motocross Double-cross (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: When Carlos competes against his best friend Ricky for a place in the United States Motocross Association Nationals, each of them thinks the other is trying to sabotage his chances at winning.
F MAD	Karate Countdown (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: When Kenny's anger problem gets out of control, his father signs him up for karate lessons. But even in karate class, Kenny can't get a grip on his temper, and he's getting a reputation for being angry.
F MAD	Horseback Hopes (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: Molly has always dreamed of taking horseback riding lessons, but the lessons were too expensive, until now. A new stable has opened up in town and Molly convinces her parents to let her sign up for classes. Everything is great, except that two girls at school keep making fun of Molly.
F MAD	Hoop Hotshot (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: Joe thinks of himself as "The Flash", a hotshot basketball player who knows the coolest moves, and who spends a lot of time trying to wow the crowd.
F MAD	Gridiron Bully (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: Juan, a former track star, struggles to find his place on the football field after he is invited to join the team at his new school.
F MAD	Free Throw (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: Since Derek is now the tallest player on his basketball team, the coach decides to have him play center but Jason, the former center, has little confidence in Derek and will not pass him the ball.
F MAD	Free Climb (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: Amir's new friend refuses to learn the right way to climb, and soon finds himself in danger.
F MAD	Backup Goalie (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: The Comets are bound for the state hockey championship, but when Jill is told that she can't play on the boys' team anymore, and Brett is hurt during a match, everything starts to fall apart.
F MAD	Back on the Beam (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: Because of an ankle injury, Nadia couldn't practice her balance beam routines all summer. Her ankle is healed now, but she's nervous about being back in competition, and it seems like every time she sees her rival, Nadia's ankle starts to hurt again.
F MAD	Batter Up! (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: Caleb, who has always used a wood bat, has to use an aluminum bat and struggles to hit the ball.
F MAD	BMX Bully (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: Eleven-year-old Matt wants to make the Evergreen Racing Team but his chances are seriously threatened when a new boy moves to town and resorts to cheating in order to win.
F MAD	Board Rebel (age 9-12) by Jake Maddox sports ... action Catalog: When Tanner moves to an exclusive new town he misses his old skate park, but with the help of the town bully and another new friend, Tanner thinks he can figure out a way to get a skate park built in Woodville.
F LUP	Two-Minute Drill (age 9-12) by Mike Lupica friendship ... sports ... school Publisher comments: Chris Conlan is the coolest kid in sixth grade...the golden-armed quarterback of the football team and the boy all the others look up to. Scott Parry is the new kid, the boy with the huge brain, but with feet that trip over themselves. These two boys may seem like an odd couple, but each has a secret that draws them together, and proves that the will to succeed is even more important than raw talent.
F WAL	Winning Season Series (age 9-12) by Rich Wallace friendship ... sports In the first of this series, The Roar of the Crowd, Manny's made the football team and determined to get into the game. The problem is Manny is not that big. He's got a whole season to prove to his team and himself that he can earn the roar of the crowd. title: The Roar of the Crowd title: Technical Foul title: Double Fake title: Emergency Quarterback title: Southpaw title: Dunk Under Pressure title: Takedown title: Second-String Center
F PAR	Keeping Score (age 9-12) by Linda Sue Park friendship ... historical ... war ... sports Both Maggie Fortini and her brother, Joey-Mick, were named for baseball great Joe DiMaggio. Unlike Joey-Mick, Maggie doesn't play baseball, but at almost ten years old, she is a dyed-in-the-wool fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Maggie can recite all the players' statistics and understands the subtleties of the game. Unfortunately, Jim Maine is a Giants fan, but it's Jim who teaches Maggie the fine art of scoring a baseball game. Not only can she revisit every play of every inning, but by keeping score she feels she's more than just a fan: she's helping her team. Jim is drafted into the army and sent to Korea, and although Maggie writes to him often, his silence is just one of a string of disappointments: being a Brooklyn Dodgers fan in the early 1950s meant season after season of near misses and year after year of dashed hopes. But Maggie goes on trying to help the Dodgers, and when she finds out that Jim needs help, too, she's determined to provide it. Against a background of major league baseball and the Korean War on the home front, Maggie looks for, and finds, a way to make a difference.
F HAV	Two Hot Dogs With Everything (age 9-12) by Paul Haven humor ... sports Danny Gurkin believes in his heart that the Sluggers are the best team in baseball. There's just the small matter of breaking a century-old curse involving a pretzel, a bubble-gum tycoon, and a missing shortstop. Danny also believes that the outcome of Sluggers' games depends on him and hot dogs. Because eating two hot dogs with everything before each game is the best kind of luck a fan can give his team. Danny Ghurkin has a date with baseball destiny; he just doesn't know it. Yet.
F CHR	The Team That Stopped Moving (age 9-12) by Matt Christopher magic ... sports A new baseball team gets some supernatural help from a concerned wizard.
F CHR	Mystery Coach (age 9-12) by Matt Christopher mystery ... sports When their coach becomes ill and their baseball team starts falling apart, several of the Blazers begin receiving coaching tips from an anonymous phone caller.
F CHR	Front Court Hex (age 9-12) by Matt Christopher magic ... sports Star of the previous year's basketball team, Jerry can't do anything right in the new season, but refuses to believe his new friend who, claiming to be a warlock, predicts Jerry's play won't improve until he changes his slovenly habits.
F CHR	Fighting Tackle (age 9-12) by Matt Christopher sports ... family When he becomes stronger but slower, Terry must deal with being moved from defensive safety to offensive tackle on his football team and with the fact that his younger brother, who was born with Down's Syndrome, is becoming a faster runner.
F TOL	The Great Pete Penney (age 9-12) by Jean Bashor Tolle sports An 11-year-old pitcher's unusual friendship with a tiny invisible man is responsible for her team's very memorable season.
F KON	About the B'nai Bagels (age 9-12) by E. L. Konigsburg realistic ... family ... sports ... growing up Mark Seltzer thought he had enough aggravation studying for his Bar Mitzvah and losing his best friend. It's the last straw when his mother becomes the new manager of his Little League baseball team and drags his older brother, Spencer, along as the coach. No one knows what to expect with a mother for a manager, but soon Mark and the other players are surprised to see how much they're improving due to coach Spencer's strategy and helpful hints from "Mother Bagel." It looks like nothing can stop them from becoming champs--until Mark hears some startling news!
F FAR	Man o' War (age 9-12) by Walter Farley action ... historical ... animals ... sports A fictional biography of Man o' War, one of the greatest horses in the history of thoroughbred racing.
F COH	Thank You, Jackie Robinson (age 9-12) by Barbara Cohen illness/loss ... sports ... friendship Publisher comments: After Sam's father died, he became so wrapped up in the Brooklyn Dodgers that he could describe every game they'd played in the past four years. Nobody was very interested, until Sam met Davy. They came from different races, religions, and generations. But it didn't take long before they had a friendship that went well beyond baseball.
F CAR	The Basketball Player (age 9-12) by Roch Carrier growing up ... sports ... school Away from home and off to a seminary boarding school for the first time, Roch finds he is expected to play basketball. It's seen as an important tool for facing life's challenges if he is to go very far on the road of life. And so begins the latest in Roch's sports misadventures as fear of failure sends him running into the night and terrors worse than those on the basketball court. It all leads to a surprise ending as he finds his own way of making his mark.
F SLO	The Trading Game (age 9-12) by Alfred Slote family ... enterprise ... sports Andy loves to collect baseball cards, but most of all, he loves his grandfather, an ex-Major League baseball player who thinks that baseball card collecting is a useless hobby. When Andy must choose to either play by his grandfather's rules or do whatever it takes to trade for his grandfather's baseball card, he learns a valuable lesson on hero worship.
F TUN	The Kid Comes Back (age 9-12) by John Roberts Tunis war ... sports A baseball player heroically fights to overcome a handicap received in combat.
F NAM	Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear (age 9-12) by Lensey Namioka family ... friendship ... sports ... the arts Recently arrived in Seattle from China, musically untalented Yingtao is faced with giving a violin performance to attract new students for his father when he would rather be working on friendships and playing baseball.
F TUN	Go, Team, Go! (age 9-12) by John Roberts Tunis sports When one player from the overconfident team, the previous year's champions, is expelled for gambling and the other four are penalized for breaking training, they angrily quit the basketball varsity and leave the inferior B team defending the school's record.
F SOT	Baseball in April (age 9-12) by Gary Soto sports ... friendship ... growing up ... short stories In this unique collection of short stories, the small events of daily life reveal big themes--love and friendship, youth and growing up, success and failure. Calling on his own experiences of growing up in California's Central Valley, poet Gary Soto brings to life the joys and pains of young people everywhere. The smart, tough, vulnerable kids in these stories are Latino, but their dreams and desires belong to all of us.
F GUT	They Came From Center Field (age 9-12) by Dan Gutman humor ... science fiction ... sports A team of aliens and a team of kids play a game of baseball.
F AVI	S.O.R. Losers (age 9-12) by Avi humor ... sports The South Orange River (S.O.R.) School is big on sports and famous for not losing a game all season. That all changes when the school insists that some seventh-grader non-jocks form a soccer team. The new team is sure that losing their first game 32-0 will put an end to their athletic adventure, but no such luck. Their parents insist they try harder. The whole school cheers them on, and the finally score...for the other team. And only the eleven members of the S.O.R. Losers team know the secret of their outstanding "success."
F SMI	Bobby Baseball (age 9-12) by Robert Kimmel Smith identity ... enterprise ... sports Ten-year-old Bobby Ellis loves everything about baseball, from the hits to the hot dogs. That's why he calls himself Bobby Baseball! Every day he dreams of becoming a major league pitcher and joining the stars in the Baseball Hall of Fame. And what better place to start his career than right here on his own Kids Club team, the Hawks? But the Hawks' coach happens to be Bobby's father, who has other ideas.
F TUN	Highpockets (age 9-12) by John Roberts Tunis illness/loss ... friendship ... sports Cecil McDade ``Highpockets'' was a good baseball player, but he was all for himself, not a team player. Then, he accidentally ran over a young boy with a car and everything changed.
F SLO	Finding Buck McHenry (age 9-12) by Alfred Slote identity ... historical ... sports Eleven-year-old Jason, believing the school custodian Mack Henry to be Buck McHenry, a famous pitcher from the old Negro League, tries to enlist him as a coach for his Little League team by revealing his identity to the world.
F ROW	Quidditch Through the Ages (age 9-12) by J. K. Rowling fantasy ... sports ... magic The definitive guide to Quidditch, for all Harry Potter fans.
F RIT	The Boy Who Saved Baseball (age 9-12) by John Ritter enterprise ... humor ... sports Tom Gallagher finds himself in a tight spot. The fate of Dillontown rests on the outcome of one baseball game, winner take all. Maybe Tom has one hope: Cruz de la Cruz, the mysterious boy who has just ridden into town on horseback claiming to know the secret of hitting.
F GIF	All the Way Home (age 9-12) by Patricia Reilly Giff identity ... historical ... sports ... friendship ... family Brick Tiernan is devastated when fire destroys his family's apple orchard in Windy Hill, New York, in the summer of 1941. His parents are forced to take jobs in different cities, and Brick is sent to Brooklyn to live with Loretta, a family friend, until the family recovers front their financial loss. Brick feels homesick before he even gets to Brooklyn, but when he meets Martel, Loretta's adopted daughter, he discovers that they have things in common. Both are Dodgers fans, and Martel, who wonders about her real mother, has a mysterious connection to Windy Hill. In the final days of summer, Brick and Martel find a way to return to Windy Hill, where a kind elderly couple help them discover what they are each searching for-a sense of belonging and the real meaning of home.
F KOR	The Zucchini Warriors (age 9-12) by Gordon Korman humor ... school ... sports Roommates Bruno and Boots find obstacles in their way as they attempt to lead the Macdonald Hall Zucchini Warriors to a victorious football season and earn the reward of a new recreation center.
F GUT	Dan Gutman's Baseball Card Adventures (age 9-12) by Dan Gutman historical ... sports With the help of baseball cards and other memorabilia, Joey is able to travel through time to meet some of the greatest sports stars in history. title: Abner & Me: a Baseball Card Adventure title: Babe & Me: a Baseball Card Adventure title: Honus & Me: a Baseball Card Adventure title: Jackie & Me: a Baseball Card Adventure title: Mickey & Me: a Baseball Card Adventure title: Satch & Me: a Baseball Card Adventure title: Shoeless Joe & Me: a Baseball Card Adventure title: Jim and Me: a Baseball Card Adventure title: Ray and Me: a Baseball Card Adventure title: Roberto and Me

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