Hey, I’m not completely inept at sports… I can follow basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, and some others pretty well! Just not, you know, the most popular sport in America. I’ve asked friends to explain it to me, but it just doesn’t never gets through. Since this Sunday is THE BIG GAME, I thought I’d tackle this problem the old-fashioned book-nerd way. By reading about it. (And yes, I realize that making a football pun was very old-fashioned and book-nerdy.)

Check out my new reading list — I might not be able to finish them all by Sunday, but at least I’ll be prepared for next year!

Football Genius by Tim Green (former Atlanta Falcons linebacker)
After watching a couple plays, Troy White knows the outcome of every football game — not just a guess, but an accurate prediction of each play. He wants to help his favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons (of course), but that might come at a price…

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Kickoff! by Tiki Barber (former New York Giant) and Ronde Barber (Tampa Bay Buccaneer)
Junior high is a few days off, and that doesn’t just mean new books and backpacks… For Tiki and Ronde, it means finally playing for the Hidden Valley Eagles, their junior high! Even though Tiki and Ronde are both giant buccaneers now, they were once young students like you.

Getting a little overloaded by puns? Okay…

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The Great Quarterback Switch by Matt Christopher
Twin brothers Michael and Tom Curtis both love football — but sadly, Michael has to watch from the sidelines in a wheelchair. Their neighbor Ollie claims that if they concentrate hard enough — especially because they have a special bond as twins — they can communicate telephatically with each other. So how does that play out on the field?

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Special Mention: Kick the Football, Charlie Brown! by Charles M. Schultz and Judy Katschke
This book might be a breeze of a read for many Kidsmomo-ers, but I just can’t resist mentioning poor Charlie Brown. Why, Lucy, WHHHHHHHY?!

What are your favorite football-related books? Let me know in the comments so I can add it to my to-read list!

—Nancy

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Even though she’s lived in the USA most of her life, sometimes Nancy still gets “football” confused with what Americans call “soccer”… even though she played soccer* growing up. No, it doesn’t make any sense.

*Go Stingrays 1991!

More about Nancy »

So grab your cleats/mitt/helmet/bobsled and take a listen:

(13:09) 
Download the MP3 (12.6 MB)
• Sports memories from us and Avi! — aka our mystery book revealed
• In the outfield, over hill, and on the gridiron — our sports book picks, plus one from you (Out Standing in My Field, Stone Fox, and Million-Dollar Throw)
• Nancy’s past as a sports champion (WHA?!)

And don’t forget: in honor of Valentine’s Day, our next theme is romance! So watch our latest Mystery Book Theater video and check out these books involving romance that’ll make you swoon — in a good way.
— Nancy and Karen

PS – In Part 1 of the podcast, Karen mentions her favorite scuba diving experience and Nancy mentions an embarrassing snowboarding moment. Here’s digital proof of both (in the video, Nancy’s the one in white):

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This book is about a boy named Nate “Brady” who has a chance to win a million dollars at a patriots game. His best friend has an eye condition that someday she will go blind. Will Nate make the through and help his friend get her eyesight back?

What happens when you take a group of kids who hate sports, and you force them to play soccer against actual teams from other schools? Disaster, that’s what.

Watch the video for Avi’s S.O.R. Losers to see how their first game unfolds…

Consider these the MVPs of the sports book world (not necessarily in medal order):

Fiction:

1. Out Standing In My Field by Patrick Jennings (Karen’s pick)
2. Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner (Nancy’s pick)
3. Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica
4. Baseball Card Adventures series by Dan Gutman
5. There’s a Girl in my Hammerlock by Jerry Spinelli
6. Football Hero by Tim Green
7. Summerland by Michael Chabon
8. The Kid Who Only Hit Homers by Matt Christopher
9. The Melting of Maggie Bean by Tricia Rayburn
10. The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter
11. In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
12. My Thirteenth Season by Kristi Roberts
13. Surfer Dog by Elizabeth Spurr
14. The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane
15. Bat 6 by Virginia Euwer Wolff
16. Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
17. Skinnybones by Barbara Park

Nonfiction:

1. Freeze Frame: A Photographic History of the Winter Olympics written by Sue Macy, photos by Peggy Fleming
2. How Hockey Works by Keltie Thomas
3. The Greatest: Muhammad Ali by Walter Dean Myers
4. Nascar (DK Eyewitness Books) by James Buckley
5. The Greatest Moments in Sports by Len Berman
6. Sports Illustrated Kids Year In Sports 2009

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your favorite sports book!

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your favorite sports book!

UPDATE 2/9/10: We revealed the answer to our Sports Mystery Book Theater in the “We Are THE CHAMPIONS!” Podcast, so take a listen if you want to know the answer. Or just tune in if you want to hear about Karen’s ridiculous sports injury.