Step up to the Plate

Home Run Kids’ Books About Baseball

The crack of the bat, the cheer of the crowd, the thrill of the game—baseball playoffs are in full swing! Whether your reader dreams of hitting a grand slam, cheering from the stands, or just enjoys a great story, these six baseball-themed books knock it out of the park. As we head into cozy season, enjoy these baseball-themed books!

As a reminder, if you are looking for specific book recommendations for the 8-12 year-old reader in your life, let me know and I’d love to help out!

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Ben Yokoyama and the Cookie of Perfection

(Not Quite Graphic Novel, Not Quite Book with No Pictures) When Ben's fortune cookie tells him that practice makes perfect, he refuses to settle for anything less. He will pursue perfection in every area of his life. Which is wildly successful, until he has to start giving up the things he loves most, like baseball. Will he be able to learn that perfectly imperfect is okay?

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Child of the Dream: A Memoir of 1963

(Memoir) A memoir from the daughter of baseball legend, Jackie Robinson. Sharon Robinson shares her story of the many opportunities she had as Robinson’s daughter, but also the challenges that came with that in the early 1960’s.

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The Hope of Elephants

(Novel in Verse) Cass and her parents haven’t let her dad’s cancer stop them from living life to the fullest, but now her Dad’s cancer is back. To make matters worse, Cass overhears the doctor say that she has a 50% chance of inheriting her dad's genetic mutation. There’s a genetic test Cass can take that will tell her for sure if she has this mutation and she wrestles with whether it’s better to know or not know. While she wrestles with this decision, she’s also determined to keep their World Series tradition alive despite the fact that her dad’s cancer is worse this time.

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Inside the Park

(Realistic Fiction) Home Alone meets baseball! Pumpsie has been waiting his entire life for his favorite team to make it to the playoffs. And this year they’re just one win away. But then Pumpsie accidentally gets trapped in Lookout Field the night before the last game of the season. For a baseball fan like Pumpsie, using the pro batting cages, running the bases, playing with the public address system, eating all the concession-stand junk food he can find is a dream come true . . . until he realizes he’s not alone in the stadium. Now it’s up to Pumpsie to save the Wildcats’ postseason chances.

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Penny from Heaven

(Historical Fiction, Newberry Honor) It’s 1953 and all 11-year-old Penny wants is a summer filled with butter pecan ice cream, swimming, and baseball. If only life were that easy. For starters, she can’t go swimming because her mother’s afraid she’ll catch polio at the pool. To make matters worse, her dog, Scarlett O'Hara, is sick. Her favorite uncle is living in a car. Her best friend is turning into a criminal. And no one will tell Penny the truth about how her father died.

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Year of the Meatball

(Realistic Fiction) Joey Marconi loved his life in the Bronx. But when his family moves to the country, Joey slides into a major slump. Then he meets Bobbi, a fellow baseball lover. They make a strong team, but when Bobbi buckles under the weight of being teased, Joey must decide where his true loyalties lie-with his new friend, or the biggest baseball game of his life.

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