More Than Sports Stories

Books about sports can capture the excitement of the big game, but the best sports books do something more. They depict teens living complex lives where involvement in sports is part of a larger coming of age process. Tune in to hear about works of sports fiction and nonfiction that explore issues of identity and belonging, courage and equal rights, and changes over time in American history and culture.

After listening to this episode, be sure to print out this list of recommended titles to take to the library or book seller.

Books featured in this episode:

• The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane (Knopf, 2009)
• Out of Order by A.M. Jenkins (HarperCollins, 2003)
• Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley (Little, Brown, 2008)
• Box Out by John Coy (Scholastic, 2008)
• Payback Time by Carl Deuker (Houghton Mifflin, 2010)
• Leverage by Joshua Cohen (Dutton, 2011)
• Now Is the Time for Running by Michael Williams (Little, Brown, 2011)
• Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along The Way) by Sue Macy (National Geographic, 2011)
• Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX, the Law that Changed the Future of Girls in America by Karen Blumenthal (Atheneum, 2005)