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Topic: Olympics & Paralympics

Non-fiction

Slam the ball home with Michael Jordan. Scale mountain heights with Marielle Goitschel. Flip through the air with Simone Biles. Take a front-row seat and relive history’s greatest sporting moments as they happened. This richly illustrated book showcases the defining moment of notable athletes from around the world in more than twenty sports, making it a treasure trove for all the family to share.

Non-fiction

In this book from the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players of time.

Little Michael wanted to be the first at everything – especially if that meant beating his older brother. One day, he came home crying… he’d been rejected from the basketball team at school. With his mum’s message of ‘go out and earn it’ ringing in his ears, Michael practised all summer. Soon he was the star of the team , going from school, to college, to the Olympics.

After six titles, more than 1,000 games and exactly 32,292 points, MJ had become a sporting legend, who encouraged kids to ‘make it happen!’ This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back , including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the baller’s life.

Non-fiction

Find out all about Paralympic wheelchair sports and the people who participate in them in this exciting photo-illustrated book. Events covered include Paralympic basketball, tennis, rugby and fencing, with descriptions of their rules and how they differ from their Olympic counterparts. The accessible text includes a Q&A element, as well as information features such as a glossary and index.

Chapter book

It’s not the taking part, it’s the winning that counts for Patina!

Patty, as she’s known to her friends and family, has lost a lot in her life – her dad died when she was young, her mum has lost her legs and now she has to live with her uncle and his wife. On top of that Patty has to go to the poshest school that ever existed. Now her running team has become a relay team and independent “I can do everything by myself” Patty has to work with her team mates to win.

Chapter book

AJ’s grandfather has always been the one to keep his unusual family together, so when he dies things start to unravel at the edges. AJ is worried about his parents but they don’t really seem to notice. In order to deal with his grief and to keep his anxiety at bay, AJ does what he and his grandfather did best: running. Round and round the Olympic Park, aiming for the cross country trials. Running to escape, AJ only seems to be heading ever closer to disaster.

Running On Empty is a beautiful book about false starts and emotional journeys, with hope as the ultimate finishing line.

From the author of Little Bits of Sky and Talking to the Moon

Cover illustration by Rob Biddulph

Non-fictionPicturebook

Throughout history, women have been told that they couldn’t achieve their dreams, no matter how hard they tried. Women athletes have faced their own unique set of challenges, across countless sports and levels of play. In this third She Persisted book, Chelsea Clinton introduces readers to women who have excelled in their sports because of their persistence.

She Persisted in Sports is a book for everyone who has ever aimed for a goal and been told it wasn’t theirs to hit, for everyone who has ever raced for a finish line that seemed all too far away, and for everyone who has ever felt small or unimportant while out on the field.

Alexandra Boiger’s vibrant artwork accompanies this inspiring text that shows readers of all ages that, no matter what obstacles come their way, they have the power to persist and succeed.

This book features: Margaret Ives Abbott, Gertrude Ederle, Mildred “Babe” Didrikson Zaharias, Wilma Rudolph, Jean Driscoll, Mia Hamm (and the 1996 Olympic soccer team), Kristi Yamaguchi, Venus and Serena Williams, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings, Diana Taurasi, Simone Biles, Ibtihaj Muhammad and Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux.

Poetry

A brilliant, funny and inspiring collection of poems about sport by Brian Moses and Roger Stevens!

These are poems about winning and about taking part; poems about having all the right kit, but no talent; poems that show that coming first in the egg and spoon race really is as important to your mum and dad as being an Olympic athlete; poems about being a team player and poems about being an individual hero. In fact, this book is packed with sporting gems of all kinds.

Olympic Poems is perfect for any young poet or aspiring Olympian.

Non-fiction

Run with the Olympic athletes and sweat it out in the deadly ballgame courts of the Aztecs in this beautifully illustrated and informative guide to the sports and games that have entertained people for the past 2500 years.

How did the Vikings keep themselves occupied between raids? What tricks did medieval Japanese sumo wrestlers have to win their matches? With fascinating facts and detailed pictures, this book is the perfect guide to everything to do with games, from the tiniest chess pieces to the biggest sports tournaments.

Non-fiction

A celebration of the Paralympic Games! The profile of the Paralympics is on the rise and the 2020 Games in Tokyo are set to be the biggest yet, with over 4,400 athletes taking part in 537 medal events, from 5-a-side football to powerlifting and from badminton to boccia. Paralympic Power gives all the essential background information on the Paralympics, from how they originated to how the different events are categorised and staged.

Interviews with Paralympians both past and present reveal the personalities behind the Games.

Non-fiction

Women in Sport celebrates the success of the tough, bold and fearless women who paved the way for today’s athletes. The sportswomen featured include well-known figures like tennis player Serena Williams and broadcaster Clare Balding, as well as lesser-known pioneers like Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel, and Keiko Fukuda, the highest-ranked female judoka in history.

From the creator of the bestselling Women in Science , this richly illustrated book highlights the achievements and stories of fifty notable sportswomen from the 1800s to today, including trailblazers, Olympians and record-breakers in more than forty sports. It also contains infographics on topics such as muscle anatomy, pay and media statistics for female athletes, and influential women’s teams.

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