The first children's book from superstar England striker, Ian Wright. Striking Out follows the journey of 13-year-old Jerome, who has a dream of becoming a world-class footballer. But with a difficult home life, Jerome can’t see how he’ll ever make this dream come true ... until he meets a mentor figure who can hopefully put him on the right track. From the winning writing team of Musa Okwonga and Ian Wright. Musa Okwonga is an author, poet, journalist and musician; he is a co-host of the Stadio football podcast. Ian Wright is one of the UK’s all-time leading goal scorers. He’s lifted the Premier League title, The FA Cup, the European Cup Winners’ Cup and won the Premier League golden boot.

Up until now, Billy Baggs's life has been loaded with nevers. Never been to a movie. Never played baseball with a real team. Never got over feeling guilty for the loss of his brother. But change is in the air. Billy discovers he has a natural talent for baseball, especially as a pitcher. Maybe, just maybe, there's more in store for him than life on the farm. But can Billy convince his father of that? Or is he destined to spend the rest of his life pitching nothing but hay?Teenager Billy Baggs is desperately needed on his family's struggling dairy farm, but he's also an extraordinarily gifted natural baseball player. How he struggles to reconcile his father's desire to keep him on the farm with his coach's interest in getting him on the field is at the heart of this ‘meaty story.… The complex characters grow and change in profoundly real ways.''K. ‘[With] flashes of humor, a wealth of lovingly recounted details evokes the difficult daily life on a small dairy farm.''Publishers Weekly. 1994 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA) 1994 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library) 1993 "Pick of the Lists" (ABA)

The high school hero offers to help his friend win the heart of the bad boy. But when he falls for her himself…? It’s no more Mr. Nice Guy. The Bad Boy... Simone has a plan. Well, her friends have a plan. The self-proclaimed Lonely Hearts Club has found a way for the awkward movie-quoting art geek to get the attention of the brooding bad boy in the band. This plan? It involves…studying. When they get their hands on a stack of old magazines filled with 'how to' articles, the answer is clear. If Simone can master the fine art of flirting, her crush won't stand a chance. Mr. Nice Guy... The school’s beloved starting pitcher might be popular, but the nerdy chick he’s been eating lunch with every day for years…? She won’t give him the time of day. Until he’s recruited by her friends to be her practice date, that is. Everyone knows that Andrew is a good guy. A nice guy. So of course he agrees to be Simone’s stand-in crush. But then he starts crushing on her himself… Now, all bets are off, because Andrew might be nice but he’s not that nice. And if playing dirty means stealing kisses, well…things are about to get messy. This is a free clean contemporary teen romance. Keywords: High school, YA, Young Adult, YA Books, Young Adult Romance, Teen Romance, High School Romance, Clean, Sweet, Free, Free Books, Free Books for Teens, Free YA Books for Teens, Young Adult Books Free, YA Books Free, Coming of Age, Opposites Attract, Enemies, Best Friends, Teen Books for Girls

Baseball Hall of Famer Leroy "Satchel" Paige (1906 - 1982) changed the face of the game in a career that spanned five decades. Much has been written about this larger-than-life pitcher, but when it comes to Paige, fact does not easily separate from fiction. He made a point of writing his own history . . . and then re-writing it. A tall, lanky fireballer, he was arguably the Negro League's hardest thrower, most entertaining storyteller and greatest gate attraction. Now the Center for Cartoon Studies turns a graphic novelist's eye to Paige's story. Told from the point of view of a sharecropper, this compelling narrative follows Paige from game to game as he travels throughout the segregated South. In stark prose and powerful graphics, author and artist share the story of a sports hero, role model, consummate showman, and era-defining American.

Baseball is her life, but a musician is strumming on her heartstrings. Will they strike a bad chord or make the perfect double play? Max Barlow never takes her eyes off the ball. With a rare college baseball scholarship up for grabs, she can’t afford to lose focus. But when she accidentally stumbles into the music room on her first day at Armitage High, she can’t help but notice the hot guitarist. And he’s made it clear he wouldn’t mind giving her lessons… Rock star Cairo Hale has a reputation for being able to play his way into any girl’s heart. But his streak comes to an end with tomboy baseball player Max. While she makes him promise to keep their lessons a secret, it turns out she’s an absolute natural. It looks like Cairo’s generous offer has blossomed into so much more… Max is torn between her team responsibilities, her newfound passion for the guitar… and her dreamy tutor. When she can no longer balance her double life, Max must make a choice that could change her future for good…

You won’t strike out with this book full of fun facts about baseball, soccer games, football fields, and more! Did you know that the most popular sport in the world is soccer? How about that if you are 7 feet tall or taller you have a 17% chance of playing in the NBA? Or that, in bowling, a “turkey” is when you get three strikes? Filled with tons of cool facts about sports, plus colorful, humorous illustrations, this book is sure to be a home run.

Yunis can't believe that he's United leading scorer. It should be the happiest time of his life, but his father wants him to give up football and work hard at school. Can Yunis convince his dad that he can do both, or will he have to hang up his boots forever? Stay on the ball this season with all the action from Football Academy.