When eighth-grader Roy Morelli's divorced parents find out he is failing history, they ban him from playing on his beloved all-star baseball team, and, even worse, he winds up being tutored by his father's new girlfriend.

Want to identify fiction books that boys in grades three through nine will find irresistible? This guide reveals dozens of worthwhile recommendations in categories ranging from adventure stories and sports novels to horror, humorous, and science fiction books. In Get Those Guys Reading!: Fiction and Series Books that Boys Will Love, authors Kathleen A. Baxter and Marcia A. Kochel provide compelling and current reading suggestions for younger boys—information that educators, librarians, and parents alike are desperate for. Comprising titles that are almost all well-reviewed in at least one major professional journal, or that are such big hits with kids that they've received the "stamp of approval" from the most important reviewers, this book will be invaluable to anyone whose goal is to help boys develop a healthy enthusiasm for reading. It includes chapters on adventure books; animal stories; graphic novels; historical fiction; humorous books; mystery, horror, and suspense titles; science fiction and fantasy; and sports novels. Within each chapter, the selections are further divided into books for younger readers (grades 3–6) and titles for older boys in grades 5–8. Elementary and middle school librarians and teachers, public librarians, Title One teachers, and parents of boys in grades 3–9 will all benefit greatly from having this book at hand.

For every athlete or sports fanatic who knows she's just as good as the guys. This is for fans of The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, Grace, Gold, and Glory by Gabrielle Douglass and Breakaway: Beyond the Goal by Alex Morgan. The summer before Caleb and Tessa enter high school, friendship has blossomed into a relationship . . . and their playful sports days are coming to an end. Caleb is getting ready to try out for the football team, and Tessa is training for cross-country. But all their structured plans derail in the final flag game when they lose. Tessa doesn’t want to end her career as a loser. She really enjoys playing, and if she’s being honest, she likes it even more than running cross-country. So what if she decided to play football instead? What would happen between her and Caleb? Or between her two best friends, who are counting on her to try out for cross-country with them? And will her parents be upset that she’s decided to take her hobby to the next level? This summer Caleb and Tessa figure out just what it means to be a boyfriend, girlfriend, teammate, best friend, and someone worth cheering for. “A great next choice for readers who have enjoyed Catherine Gilbert Murdock’s Dairy Queen and Miranda Kenneally’s Catching Jordan.”—SLJ “Fast-paced football action, realistic family drama, and sweet romance…[will have] readers looking for girl-powered sports stories…find[ing] plenty to like.”—Booklist “Tessa's ferocious competitiveness is appealing.”—Kirkus Reviews “[The Football Girl] serve[s] to illuminate the appropriately complicated emotions both of a young romance and of pursuing a dream. Heldring writes with insight and restraint.”—The Horn Book

The League "will keep sports fans reading” when all one boy wants is to play in a summer football league even though it's the roughest and most secretive rogue league in town (Kirkus Reviews). And don't miss Thatcher Heldring's newest novel, The Football Girl--about a girl who follows her passion for the game and tries out for the football team! Two teams. One summer. No rules. Wyatt Parker is tired of getting picked on by bullies and ignored by girls. He hopes playing football will toughen him up and impress his next-door neighbor Evan, who has her eye on the town’s star quarterback. His older brother, Aaron has an even better idea: if Wyatt ditches the lame golf camp his parents signed him up for, he can play with Aaron in the League of Pain, the roughest and most secretive rogue football league in town. Now Wyatt has a choice. He can play by the rules like he always does, or he can steal back his neighbor, accept the penalties of the game, and have the winning summer he's been waiting for all year. "With its focus on bullying, a first crush, changing friendships, and coming of age, this book is a solid choice for reluctant readers who also happen to love football."–SLJ "Heldring’s latest novel conveys well the allure of contact sports, particularly tackle football, and the appeal of evasive tactics, particularly lying to your parents."–Booklist "Wyatt is a strong, multidimensional character, and the tension is palpable as he strives to keep his secret. Secondary characters are varied if not very fully developed early in the book."– Kirkus Reviews

Fourteen-year-old Wyatt, hoping to impress a girl and ward off a bully, decides to join his older brother's summer football league, "The League of Pain," against the advice of his parents, who think golf is the right sport for him.

Fans of John Feinstein and Matt de la Peña will love Toby Wheeler's dreams of being a basketball star that Phil Jackson says is "a truly great basketball story." And don't miss Thatcher Heldring's newest novel, The Football Girl--about a girl who follows her passion for the game and tries out for the football team! When Toby Wheeler has a chance to join the junior high basketball team, he’s eager to prove he can keep up with his best friend, JJ. But practice doesn’t go quite as Toby has planned, and when the coach announces the lineup, Toby’s hopes of playing ball with JJ are history: he’s an eighth-grade benchwarmer! "A truly great basketball story. Every hoops fan will love this book.”—Phil Jackson, former head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and member of the NBA Hall of Fame "This novel will appeal to readers who are looking for something one step beyond Matt Christopher's books."—SLJ "This engaging sports story gains depth from subplots involving Toby's tricky relationships with his former best friend and with the coach's daughter."–The Horn Book "Looking for something to do during halftime of the March Madness basketball games? Read this book.”-The Washington Post "With so much written about the friction between girl friends, it's good to have a book that acknowledges that left-out feeling happens to boys, too."–Booklist