5 Books for Kids about Fall Sports

Dino-Soccer, by Lisa Wheeler and Barry Gott
This energetic and fun picture book imagines a soccer game between two teams of dinosaur athletes, the Biters and the Grazers. It’s told in clever rhymes and colorful, dynamic illustrations. From the moment the referee, a Dodo, flips the coin to begin the game, you will be riveted to see who wins. You might even find yourself backseat coaching, like hey, that Apatosaurus is so big, why don’t the Grazers stick him in goalie? He’d block the whole goal! Wheeler and Gott have teamed up for a whole series of sports-themed dinosaur books, including hockey, football, swimming, baseball, wrestling, skate boarding, basketball, and car racing.

Goodnight Football, by Michael Dahl and Christina Forshay
Goodnight Moon is an unforgettable classic, sure, but when fall rolls around, there’s another inanimate object that some kids might like to address their lullabies to: Football! Michael Dahl follows a hot-cocoa clutching family as they take in a football game, and Forshay captures the color and energy of the stadium. As the little boy leaves the stadium, he says goodnight to the players, mascot, and goalposts. Oh, and the moon too.

Goal!, by Sean Taylor and Caio Viela
Goal! is a great nonfiction book to share with your little soccer nut to show how kids around the world love the sport. The story includes photos of children playing soccer in many different countries, facts about the special flair each country brings to the game, and highlights such as the 13-year-old Souleymane Mamam from Togo who became the youngest person ever to play in a World Cup qualifying game.

Miss Nelson has a Field Day, by James Marshall
Miss Nelson is the sweetest teacher at Horace B. Smedley School, which sometimes causes her students to take advantage of her gentle nature and act crazy. Somehow, when Miss Nelson is out sick, the witchy-looking Miss Swamp always turns up as a substitute teacher to bring the class back into line. But what happens when the Horace B. Smedley football team is having a stinker of a season and its coach temporarily loses control of his faculties? Miss Swamp shows up to whip the team into shape, of course.

Cheesie Mack is Running Like Crazy by Steve Colter
When it comes to fall sports, football and soccer dominate picture books. But children who enjoy different fall sports can find what they’re looking for in chapter books, such as Cheesie Mack is Running Like Crazy. This is the third book in the Cheesie Mack series. It kicks off when Cheesie is starting middle school and decides to go out for the cross country team and run for class president. Hilarity—in the form of silly drawings, graphs, and lists—ensues.