Book picks similar to
Soccer Star by Mina Javaherbin


picture-books
sports
picture-book
soccer

Biblioburro: A True Story from Colombia


Jeanette Winter - 2010
    What to do? Then he comes up with the perfect solution—a traveling library! He buys two donkeys—Alfa and Beto—and travels with them throughout the land, bringing books and reading to the children in faraway villages. Beautiful!Complete with an author's note about the real man on whom this story is based.

A Boy Like You


Frank Murphy - 2019
    A Boy Like You encourages every boy to embrace all the things that make him unique, to be brave and ask for help, to tell his own story and listen to the stories of those around him. In an age when boys are expected to fit into a particular mold, this book celebrates all the wonderful ways to be a boy.

All the Way to Havana


Margarita Engle - 2017
    Along the way, they experience the sights and sounds of the streets--neighbors talking, musicians performing, and beautiful, colorful cars putt-putting and bumpety-bumping along. In the end, though, it's their old car, Cara Cara, that the boy loves best.

The Soccer Fence: A story of friendship, hope, and apartheid in South Africa


Phil Bildner - 2014
    He dreamed of playing on a real pitch with the boys from another part of the city, but apartheid made that impossible. Then, in 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison, and apartheid began to crumble. The march toward freedom in South Africa was a slow one, but when the beloved Bafana Bafana national soccer team won the African Cup of Nations, Hector realized that dreams once impossible could now come true. This poignant story of friendship artfully depicts a brief but critical moment in South Africa’s history and the unique role that sports can play in bringing people together.

The Quickest Kid in Clarksville


Pat Zietlow Miller - 2016
    Alta can only think about one thing: Wilma Rudolph, three-time Olympic gold medalist. She'll be riding on a float tomorrow. See, Alta is the quickest kid in Clarksville, Tennessee, just like Wilma once was. It doesn't matter that Alta's shoes have holes because Wilma came from hard times, too. But what happens when a new girl with shiny new shoes comes along and challenges Alta to a race? Will she still be the quickest kid? The Quickest Kid in Clarksville is a timeless story of dreams, determination, and the power of friendship.

Is There Really a Human Race?


Jamie Lee Curtis - 2006
    Is the human race an obstacle course? Is it a spirit? Does he get his own lane? Does he get his own coach?Written with Jamie Lee Curtis's humor and heart and illustrated with Laura Cornell's worldly wit, Is There Really a Human Race? Is all about relishing the journey and making good choices along the way—because how we live and how we love is how we learn to make the world a better place, one small step at a time.

Once Upon a Time


Niki Daly - 2003
    She tells Sarie wonderful stories and she and Sarie start to read together. Niki Daly's story will encourage any child who shares Sarie's reluctance to read.

All Because You Matter


Tami Charles - 2020
    A love letter to Black and brown children everywhere: reminding them how much they matter, that they have always mattered, and they always will.Tami Charles pens a text that is part love letter, part anthem, assuring readers that they always have, and always will, matter.

black is brown is tan


Arnold Adoff - 1973
    White-skinned daddy, not white like milk or snow, lighter than brown, With pinks and tiny tans, whose face gets tomato red when he puffs and yells their children into bed. Children who are all the colors of the race, growing up happy in a house full of love. This is the way it is for them; this is the way they are, but the joy they feel extends to every reader of this book.Black is brown is tan is a story poem about being, a beautiful true song about a family delighting in each other and in the good things of the earth.

Along the Tapajós


Fernando Vilela - 2014
    Here, the homes are on stilts and everyone travels around by boat—even to school! When the rainy season comes, they must leave their village and relocate to higher ground for a while. But after moving this year, Cauã and Inaê realize they’ve left behind something important: their pet tortoise, Titi! Unlike turtles, tortoises can’t swim, and Cauã and Inaê are really worried. So the pair sneaks back at night on a journey along the river to rescue him. Will they be able to save Titi?This picture book, first published in Brazil, offers kids a unique look into the lives of children who live along Brazil’s beautiful Tapajós River.

Windows


Julia Denos - 2017
    Anything can happen on such a walk: you might pass a cat, or a friend, or even an early raccoon. And as you go down your street and around the corner, the windows around you light up one by one until you are walking through a maze of paper lanterns, each one granting you a brief, glowing snapshot of your neighbors as families come together and folks settle in for the night. With a setting that feels both specific and universal and a story full of homages to The Snowy Day, Julia Denos and E. B. Goodale have created a singular book — at once about the idea of home and the magic of curiosity, but also about how a sense of safety and belonging is something to which every child is entitled.

Tomás and the Library Lady


Pat Mora - 1997
    Colon's beautiful scratchboard illustrations, in his textured, glowingly colored, rhythmic style, capture the warmth and the dreams that the boy finds in the world of books. A 1999-2000 Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List Book.

Niño Wrestles the World


Yuyi Morales - 2013
    . . Niño!Fwap! Slish! Bloop! Krunch! He takes down his competition in a single move!No opponent is too big a challenge for the cunning skills of Niño—popsicle eater, toy lover, somersault expert, and world champion lucha libre competitor!A Neal Porter Book

What If...


Samantha Berger - 2018
    This girl is determined to express herself! If she can't draw her dreams, she'll sculpt or build, carve or collage. If she can't do that, she'll turn her world into a canvas. And if everything around her is taken away, she'll sing, dance, and dream... Stunning mixed media illustrations, lyrical text, and a breathtaking gatefold conjure powerful magic in this heartfelt affirmation of art, imagination, and the resilience of the human spirit.

All the World


Liz Garton Scanlon - 2009
     It is there. It is everywhere. All the world is right where you are. Now. Following a circle of family and friends through the course of a day from morning till night, this book affirms the importance of all things great and small in our world, from the tiniest shell on the beach, to warm family connections, to the widest sunset sky