I’m not as up on sports as some folks in my family (and most folks in my library) are, but that never stopped me from enjoying a good book to recommend. Here are some good ones to keep in mind.
Hut, Hut, Hike! (Sports Zone #1), by Andrew Maraniss/Illustrated by Aishwarya Tandon, (Sept. 2025, Scholastic Branches), $6.99, ISBN: 9781546120056
Ages 7-10
Nine-year-old Jasper is a football legend – in his own mind. When he and his dad play football in their living room, he’s a champ! But he quickly learns, when he and his friends Mo and Ruby try out for the flag football team, that he has a lot to learn. When Jasper’s team, the Frogs, plays their first game against the Beagles, Jasper is worried: will the coach bench him, or will he be able to play – and if he plays, will he do well? The Sports Zone series is a new series from Scholastic’s Branches line of chapter books and is a fun and easy read for newly independent readers. Maraniss creates situations that kids will see themselves in, including that nagging little voice that makes Jasper worry that he’s not good enough. Throw in two great friends and a coach who speaks in metaphors no one can seem to understand, and you have a story that readers will return to. Black-and-white artwork on every page includes graphic novel-type panels, breaking up the action into decodable chunks. Interesting sports facts run throughout. Fun questions and activities give the reader playful challenges.
The Sports Zone series has a book about soccer (Corner Kick!) out now, and one on baseball (Grand Slam!) coming in August. All of the books include this core group of characters, providing nice familiarity. Characters are diverse.
Mom Read It 