Synopsis: The breakthrough modern sports novel The Contender shows readers the true meaning of being a hero.This acclaimed novel by celebrated sportswriter Robert Lipsyte, the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in YA fiction, is the story of a young boxer in Harlem who overcomes hardships and finds hope in the ring on his path to becoming a contender.Alfred Brooks is scared. He’s a high-school dropout, and his grocery…

Synopsis: The screenplay for the heartfelt, five-time Emmy Award–winning movie Brian’s Song about two Chicago Bears players who developed an unlikely, lifelong friendship before an untimely tragedy ripped them apartTwo men. One named Gale Sayers, the other Brian Piccolo. They came from different parts of the country. They competed fiercely for the same job. One liked to talk; the other was shy. One was white; the other black. They made history as the…

Synopsis: When a hard ball is coming at you fast, and when it's dancing, too, every single nerve in your body is alert and ready. Your eyes are wide open, and the adrenaline is pumping. It's not a feeling you want to give up, any more than you want to get off a roller coaster.In his senior year of high school, late-bloomer Ryan Ward has just begun to feel the magic of baseball: the magic of catching a wicked slider, of throwing a runner out, of training…

Synopsis: A modern-day classic underdog story to share with middle graders alongside such favorites as Wonder, Holes, and Bridge to Terabithia.Paul Fisher sees the world from behind glasses so thick he looks like a bug-eyed alien. But he’s not so blind that he can’t see there are some very unusual things about his family’s new home in Tangerine County, Florida.Where else does a sinkhole swallow the local school, fire burn underground for years, and…

Synopsis: These six stories from acclaimed author Chris Crutcher are about athletes, but are not simply sports stories.Here he presents characters from some of his best–loved novels, as well as creating some unforgettable new personalities, in tales of love, death, bigotry, heroism, and coming of age.Ages 11+