Books by genre
Top 12 sports books for kids ages 7 to 14
Sports books can pull in readers who don't think of themselves as readers. Fiction and true stories are mixed here and several are novels in verse. Look for the flags on grief and racism in a few of the picks.
Titles were chosen from award winners, ALSC notable lists and long-running library favorites, then each title and author was checked against Open Library in Oct 2026. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.
The Kid Who Only Hit Homers
Matt Christopher · Ages 7-10
A kid with no baseball skill meets an odd man who helps him. A short, easy sports read.
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Heat
Mike Lupica · Ages 10-13
Michael is a Cuban-American pitcher whose age and his father's death are questioned. A reliable baseball novel.
Watch for: A parent's death.
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Travel Team
Mike Lupica · Ages 10-13
A boy too short for the team keeps playing basketball. A popular middle-grade pick.
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The Crossover
Kwame Alexander · Ages 10-14
Twin brothers play basketball while their family faces a crisis. Newbery Medal, written in verse.
Watch for: A parent's illness and death.
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Ghost
Jason Reynolds · Ages 10-14
A boy with a past runs from trouble and into a track team. First of the Track series.
Watch for: A father who shot at him.
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Shoeless Joe & Me
Dan Gutman · Ages 8-12
A boy travels through time to stop the Black Sox scandal. One of the Baseball Card Adventures.
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The Boy Who Saved Baseball
John H. Ritter · Ages 10-13
A boy helps a team save its field in a small California town. Fun and slightly tall.
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Baseball Saved Us
Ken Mochizuki · Ages 6-10
In a Japanese American internment camp, a boy finds a way to join a baseball team. A picture book.
Watch for: Racism and internment.
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Wilma Unlimited
Kathleen Krull · Ages 6-10
How Wilma Rudolph overcame polio to win three Olympic gold medals. A picture book biography.
Watch for: Illness.
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Roller Girl
Victoria Jamieson · Ages 9-13
Astrid joins a roller derby camp and drifts from her best friend. A graphic novel and Newbery Honor.
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Hoops
Walter Dean Myers · Ages 12-16
A teen talented at basketball faces a gambling scandal. Gritty and well-regarded.
Watch for: Violence, language.
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Slam!
Walter Dean Myers · Ages 12-16
A star player faces a hard coach and a hard life in Harlem.
Watch for: Language and mature themes.
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More lists
Top 13 novels in verse for kids and teens
Verse novels tell a full story in short lines.
Top 12 biographies and memoirs for ages 10 to 14
These are longer biographies and young-reader editions of adult memoirs.
Top 14 funny books for kids ages 6 to 12
Funny books are how many reluctant readers become readers.
Top 14 adventure books for kids ages 6 to 12
Adventure stories put a child in a hard place with a problem to solve: a wilderness, an island, a quest, a chase.
Top 12 fantasy books for ages 6 to 8
These are talking animals, magic doorways and small heroes, written plainly enough for new independent readers or good as a read-aloud.
Top 15 fantasy books for ages 9 to 12
The middle-grade years are the peak of fantasy reading.
Top 14 fantasy books for younger teens (ages 12 and up)
These are the bridge from children's fantasy to adult epic fantasy.
Top 11 fairy tale collections and retellings for kids
Fairy tales come in two kinds here: the old collections, and newer novels that retell or play with them.