Picture Books | Middle School | Young Adult

Literature to engage readers of all ages through the theme of sports with a connection to social justice issues. Find more resources on the people's history of sports at our Zinn Education Project website.

Babu's Song

By Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen, Aaron Boyd

Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl's Baseball Dream

By Crystal Hubbard, Randy Duburck

Clemente!

By Willie Perdomo, Bryan Collier (Illustrator)

Happy Like Soccer

By Maribeth Boelts, Lauren Castillo (Illustrator)

Hope for Haiti

By Jesse Joshua Watson, Jesse Joshua Watson (Illustrator)

Keep Your Ear on the Ball

By Genevieve Petrillo, Lea Lyon (Illustrator)

Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask

By Xavier Garza

Mina vs. the Monsoon

By Rukhsanna Guidroz, Debasmita Dasgupta

Out of Breath: Kendra's Big Secret *

Destiney Mayhew, Aderemi Abosede, Kairon Cunningham

Rudas: Nino's Horrendous Hermanitas*

By Yuyi Morales

Soccer Star

By Mina Javaherbin, Renato Alarcao (Illustrator)

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball

By Kadir Nelson

Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman

By Kathleen Krull, David Diaz (Illustrator)

42 is Not Just a Number*

By Doreen Rappaport

Bat 6

By Virginia Euwer Wolff

The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World

By John Carlos, Dave Zirin (With), Cornel West (Foreword by)

Keeper

By Mal Peet

Keeping Score

By Linda Sue Park

A Little Piece of Ground

By Elizabeth Laird, Sonia Nimr (With)

Maximilian & the Mystery of the Guardian Angel: A Bilingual Lucha Libre Thriller

By Xavier Garza, Xavier Garza (Illustrator)

Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow*

By James Sturm, Rich Tommaso (Illustrator)

Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh*

By Uma Krishnaswami

A Strong Right Arm: The Story of Mamie "Peanut" Johnson

By Michelle Y. Green, Kadir Nelson (Illustrator)

Tangerine

By Edward Bloor

Brazil's Dance with the Devil: The World Cup, the Olympics, and the Fight for Democracy

By Dave Zirin

Jim Brown: Last Man Standing

By Dave Zirin

A People's History of Sports in the United States: 250 Years of Politics, Protest, People, and Play

By Dave Zirin

Soccer in Sun and Shadow

By Eduardo Galeano

Things That Make White People Uncomfortable

By Michael Bennett, Dave Zirin, Martellus Bennett (Foreword by)

What's My Name, Fool?: Sports and Resistance in the United States

By Dave Zirin

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