Fred Bowen is back with more soccer action—and a mystery—in his newest Sports Story, perfect for fans of Mike Lupica and Tim Green.While soccer-playing twins Aiden and Ava lead their teams to a championship season, they try to solve the mystery of their town's missing soccer trophy.Thirteen-year-old twins Aiden and Ava and their good friend Daniel, all avid soccer players, have just learned their county league soccer trophy mysteriously disappeared forty years ago from the town library. It was never recovered. So between games and practices for the town's soccer championships, the three friends try to solve the case.But will these amateur detectives be able to unravel the mystery and find someone who had both motive and opportunity to commit the crime? Will their teams make it all the way to the championships? In this story, Bowen tackles important topics like equal recognition for women in sports. The afterword provides more information about the real-life...

A baseball book full of on the field action perfect for middle grade readers."Strike one is the best pitch in baseball." Mike loves pitching, and he loves knowing his team counts on him to deliver wins. But Mike's father starts to worry that Mike is getting too carried away with baseball and not spending time working at after school jobs and developing a sense of responsibility. Can Mike and his father reach a compromise in order to let Mike play the game he loves and help his team win the league championship? Read “The Real Story” of Harvey Haddix, who pitched a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves in 1959 and LOST. Baseball fans will love this extra dive into sports history.

A high school athlete must choose between track and football in this novel—perfect for fans of Mike Lupica and Tim Green—by the author of Perfect Game.Ninth-grader Tim Beeman is eager to find his place at his elite new school. When he breaks the record for the fifty-yard dash during the first week of classes, he reveals his special talent: speed. Before long, the track and football teams are both urging him to join their ranks. But where will he feel most comfortable, and be able to put his running skills to best use?Tim is torn. He would definitely be an asset to the track team, but he's drawn to the more prestigious football program. He's eager to join such a popular group and feels he has a lot to offer them, but he can't shake a lingering fear of being injured. How can Tim make the most of his talents and at the same time satisfy his own needs?In Speed Demon, Fred Bowen, author and Washington...

Chris wants to be a star scorer like his brother—so why does his coach keep him waiting on the bench?Chris comes from a sports-loving family. His brother is the star scorer on the high school team, and is being recruited by Division 3 colleges. Chris longs to earn the same adulation, and he’s a good scorer for his junior high team. But why won’t his coach start him? He’s better on defense than his rival, Carlos, and nearly as good a shooter. Soon Chris becomes obsessed with earning a place in his team’s starting lineup. He does everything he can think of—including being an invaluable player every time he comes in. But nothing seems to get Coach’s attention. Even after he learns the history of the valuable “6th man,” Chris can’t seem to let it go. How will he ever be a big scoring star? For every kid who hates to read but loves basketball, comes a suspenseful novel with plenty of...

The Tigers are in trouble.Baseball season is underway and Coach Skelly just quit.When Scott and his teammates can't find anyone to coach the team, it looks as if the Tigers' season might be over before it really begins.But then the Tigers have an idea: what if one of them became coach? After all, some of the biggest names in baseball history were player-coaches. Why not a kid coach?

Can street ball and technical play mix it up on the court and score wins for the team? Can Ben convince Hud to leave his hotshot style back on the pickup court?Ben and Logan are looking forward to basketball season playing on the Roosevelt High School freshman team. Ben figures he's a shoo-in to play shooting guard and Logan will be the team's center. But their perfect team still needs a perfect point guard.The two boys discover Antonio Hud Hudson at the local rec center, where fast-paced pickup games are the rule. Hud looks like just what the team needs—an instinctive passer with fancy moves. Even better, Hud is coming to Roosevelt!Roosevelt's tough coach has one rule for the boys: no pickup basketball. Later, when Ben finds Hud playing at the rec center—in violation of the rules—he has to make a decision. Does he turn Hud in, or does he keep his mouth shut? As captain, can Ben somehow help Hud balance his passion for the game and his dedication to...

The Franklin High Panthers need a new quarterback. Freshman Jesse Wagner knows the plays, but he feels he is too small to be QB material. Jesse's brother Jay has a problem of his own: his college coach wants him to switch from quarterback to safety. The brothers agree on a deal: Jesse will try out for quarterback, and Jay will try playing safety. Meanwhile, Jesse and his teammates recruit an unlikely kicker for their team—a girl named Savannah.

There's "plenty of soccer action" in this story of a middle schooler who has to figure out how to balance good sportsmanship with the goal of winning (Booklist). Eighth-grader Nate Osborne is a forward on his U-14 soccer team, the Strikers. He and the rest of his teammates are very competitive—especially when it comes to their rivals, the Monarchs. They want the Monarchs to lose so badly that they'll even root against them when they play other teams. Then, during a game between the Strikers and the Monarchs, a boy on the opposing team gets injured, and Nate must decide between going for a goal or kicking the ball out of bounds as an act of sportsmanship. His aunt, who's also a soccer player, has taught him the importance of fair play, but when Nate stops the clock and sacrifices his chance to win the game, his teammates just don't understand. From the author of the Sports Stories and All-Star Sport Stories series, as well as the kids'...

Josh and his talented travel league soccer teammates are having trouble coming together as a successful team—until he convinces them to try team-building exercises.Thirteen-year-old Josh tries out for the United, an elite travel league soccer team, and is thrilled when he makes the cut. But once the season is underway, he discovers that the practices are grueling and the other team members are prone to hogging the ball. All the other players are talented, but they each seem to be playing for themselves and not for the team. They can't seem to pull together enough to win a single game. Tired of always being in the losers bracket, Josh begins to wonder if he made a mistake by leaving his old team and his buddies. Should he quit the United?But just when Josh is about to give up on his new team, he makes a discovery: While doing a homework assignment about the World Cup soccer championships, he learns that the 1999 United States Women's World Cup team faced similar...

Jake Daley loves baseball. He loves playing for the Red Sox in the Woodside Baseball League. He loves playing short stop. Most of all, he loves to win.So Jake is excited when new kid Adam Hull joins the team. Adam can do it all—pitch, hit and field. But soon Jake's excitement beings to fade. As the Red Sox rack up win after win, Adam's talents dominate every game. Jake can't help but wonder:Do he and the other players even matter?