BONUS REVIEW: The Long-Lost Secret Diary of the World’s Worst Olympic Athlete by Tim Collins

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and North Star Editions in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary


Alexander is an nonathletic boy with big dreams. He wants to be a renowned hero. There’s even an oracle who says he will one day.

Then Alexander gets the chance to help Dracon who is travelling to the Olympics. Alexander is sure he can learn to do well in the various activities Dracon will do  in the Pentathlon. But he’s just awful at all of them.

This is especially bad news when Dracon falls ill and can’t compete. What will Alexander do in a contest against skilled, adult men? And why did Dracon get sick at the worst possible time?

Review


There are several other books in this series, but this is the first I have read. The diary format for this means everything is told after the fact, so some of the action is lost in the retelling. But the advantages – getting Alexander’s take on events and his thoughts and feelings – outweigh the disadvantages.

The story is reasonably engaging, although possibly predictable for some readers. There’s a slow build up to the big action of the story, but the final contest and the resolution were enjoyable.

Kids who love the Olympics and are missing the games this year might enjoy this story and the extensive end notes on the Olympics. There are also mid-chapter notes, but they are placed in a way that they are informative instead of interrupting the flow of the story. I really appreciated that detail.

Hand this to fans of diary-format stories as well as fans of the Olympic games. (As Olympians competed in the nude, illustrations include some bare backsides.)

Rating: ♥♥½*

*♥♥½ = Mostly solid to solid

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: Fun Sports Books for Kids

 

You can’t go wrong with books for kids that focus on the sports they love – or even sports in general. Here are some of my favorite sports books to share with kids.

innings-and-outs-of-baseballThe Innings and Outs of Baseball (Science of Fun Stuff) – I love this early reader series – Science of Fun Stuff and History of Fun Stuff. This particular book focuses on the history of baseball. After the epic World Series victory by the Chicago Cubs this year, baseball is as popular as ever.

 

 

babymouse-goes-for-the-gold

Babymouse 20: Babymouse Goes for the Gold – If you haven’t read a Babymouse graphic novel before, you’re missing out. They are FUN, with great pop culture references throughout each story. This particular one focuses on the Olympics.

 

 

jump-shot

Jump Shot (Barber Game Time Books) – I have enjoyed this series about twin brothers, based on the real-life athletes, Tiki and Ronde Barber. They have books about baseball, football and basketball, but this one is my favorite.

 

 

fantasy-league left-out

Two of the most prolific writers of sports books for kids are Mike Lupica and Tim Green.  Fantasy League – Our family has played fantasy football for years. That made this book extra fun to read. Even though it is written for kids, my husband and I both enjoyed it. It’s about a kid who is amazing at fantasy football. Then he gets to try his skills with an actual football team. Left Out – I haven’t read this one yet, but I have it on my TBR pile. It focuses on a deaf kid who wants to play football and the challenges he faces. I’m really looking forward to reading this one.

athlete-vs-mathlete double-dribble time-out

This series is my favorite of all the sports books! This series is about a set of fraternal twins. One is a basketball star and the other is a star student. When the “smart one” gets recruited for the basketball team in book one, Athlete vs. Mathlete, it starts a series of identity struggles for the boys. “Who am I if I’m not the ‘athletic one’ any more?” In book two, Athlete vs. Mathlete: Double Dribble, the question becomes, “Who are we if we aren’t the best twins in basketball?” And book three, Athlete vs. Mathlete: Time-Out, puts the focus back on the original twins as they try to find their place at a competitive summer sports camp. These would be great for a classroom read aloud where students could talk about the identity struggles of the boys.

what-is-the-world-series what-is-the-super-bowl what-are-the-summer-olympics

Finally, there’s the Who Was series of books. The original series focused on biographies, but they have expanded into Where Is, which looks at amazing places around the world, and What Is which looks at different periods in history and other things. The What Is series includes these sports titles: What Is the World Series? (What Was…?),What Is the Super Bowl? (What Was…?), What Are the Summer Olympics? (What Was…?).

 

Do you have any sports lovers in your life?