10 winning children's books about sport
Published on: 18 July 2024
Finding books related to children's interests can be a fantastic way to get them reading. Here, author and Olympian Eloise Smith shares her favourite sporty stories for children.
As an Olympian, I know first-hand how sport transforms lives. It can build character, courage, and self-belief in ways little else can.
That's what inspired me to write Winner Takes Gold – a mystery about a young gymnast, Pearl, who dreams of winning gold in Paris. Sent to an elite training camp with her best friend Ryan, they discover someone is deliberately injuring the gymnasts. Will Pearl and Ryan find out who's doing it before they fall victim too? The story reminds us that sport offers so much more than medals: friendship, bravery, and a soul that sings.
With the Paris Olympics approaching, our lives will soon be filled with the real-life stories of unlikely champions, impossible comebacks, crushing defeats, and against-all-the-odds victories. There's hardly a better time to introduce young readers to books brimming with the high stakes drama of sport. Here's my top ten:
1. Kick by Mitch Johnson
IIllustration: Oriol Vidal
Sport: Football
This is a moving story about a young Indonesian sweatshop worker who spends his days making football trainers and his nights dreaming of becoming a football star. For him, football symbolises an escape from poverty and violence. Sensitively written and darkly gripping, this is sports fiction at its finest.
2. No Ballet Shoes in Syria by Catherine Bruton
Sport: Ballet
For a young Syrian refugee, ballet provides a precious reminder of her old life. However, it also becomes her one chance to avoid her family's deportation when she auditions for ballet school. Touching and beautiful, this story dances through heartache to hope.
3. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Sport: Basketball
A basketball story written in verse may seem a little niche. However, The Crossover is surprisingly easy to slip into reading and will transfix even the most reluctant reader. The writing style has a zingy immediacy that transports you deeply into the world of slam dunks and alley-oops. And yet, beyond the sweat and adrenaline, the story also tackles family dynamics, friendship and loss.
4. Tennis Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
Illustration: Jo Goodberry
Sport: Tennis
Part of Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes series, Tennis Shoes is a nostalgic romp set in the 1930s. Inspired by their tennis champion grandfather, the four Heath children decide to take up tennis. The twins show immediate talent, but Nicky's secret practice sessions soon make her a real contender. Who will win the big tournament? This quaint world of tennis whites, well-trimmed lawns, and afternoon tea is a charming dip into the past.
5. Gold Medal Mysteries: Thief on the Track by Ellie Robinson
Sport: Athletics
Three young sports fans at the Tokyo Games bond over cheering on their track heroes. However, when the winning runner has his medal stolen, they set out across the sports park to find the culprit. Written by a multi-gold medal winning Paralympian, Thief on the Track offers an insider's view of the Games as well as a twisty mystery.
6. Ghost by Jason Reynolds
Sport: Athletics
This pacey story about track running is the first in a series by American author Jason Reynolds. With a troubled home life and some bad habits, Ghost has huge hurdles to overcome to become a star sprinter. Can he persevere, control his anger, and become a true team player?
7. Armistice Runner by Tom Palmer
Illustration: Tom Clohosy Cole
Sport: Running
Tom Palmer is the prolific author of the Football Academy series, the Foul Play series and various historical novels. In Armistice Runner, he brings together both sports and historical fiction. It's a tale of two runners, separated by generations: Lily is a young runner struggling to win her cross-country races; her great-great-grandfather was a message runner in the trenches of the First World War. Thought-provoking and powerful, this story explores different kinds of bravery.
8. The One Dollar Horse By Lauren St John
Sport: Equestrian
This thrilling equine adventure tells the story of a girl with an impossible dream of winning the Badminton Horse Trials with a rescue horse. The backdrop of inner city London contrasts starkly with the rarefied world of equestrian. Full of gripping twists and turns, The One Dollar Horse is certainly not your average pony book.
9. The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams
Sport: Football
David Walliams' first novel is a funny, tender tale of a boy who likes football, wearing dresses, and especially playing football while wearing dresses. The story questions stereotypes about how sports stars should look and act. After all, why can't a footballing champ swish around in a skirt?
10. Sister To a Star By Eloise Smith
Sport: Fencing
Sister To A Star is my first novel, inspired by my experiences as an Olympic fencer. It's the story of twins with very different dreams; Evie wants to be a top fencer, while Tallulah is set on being a movie star. Both of their dreams will come true, but not how they'd expect, because it's lights, camera... kidnap! Can Evie use her sword skills to rescue her sister?
Winner Takes Gold and Sister To A Star by Eloise Smith are out now.
