Skip to Content

30+ Sports Picture Books (Certain to Get Them Reading!)

Sports picture books are a wonderful way to get your sports fans reading.

I was going to do a picture book list for each individual sport but there were simply not enough good books in each category to make that happen. I’m a tad fussy lol

So I went through the major sports and and created this best books for boys sports list instead.

Be sure to see the sports picture books series at the bottom as well because there are some neat books on less common sports such as wresting, golf, and car racing, and extreme sports that I know some boys will really like.

Over 30 sports picture books that they are going to go crazy for! Sports include the standards like baseball, football, basketball and hockey but there are also other sport books for wrestling, swimming, boarding, soccer and more! You are sure to find some titles that they will love!

This post may contain affiliate links which means we may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. All opinions are our own and we share things we think would be of interest to boys.

Sports Picture Books

Go through the list and find your boy’s favorite sport. Then take a look at the titles and description to find the perfect books to read to him.

Football Picture Books

  • Goodnight Football is a nice rhyming book about a boy who attends a evening football game and says goodnight to everything when they need to leave. They even get a goodnight moon in there 😉 A super choice for little football fans.
  • I am a fan of alphabet books and this is a very good series. The illustrations are beautiful. There is a nice easy to read rhyming text for younger readers and more detailed information, including history, trivia, memorable moments and more. Try T is for Touchdown: A Football Alphabet, you won’t be sorry. (note: there are more sports books in this wonderful series – see “series” below for more info)
  • This is a cute little father son title to try. Football With Dad shows a father and son sharing their love of football.
  • Oh boy – they are going to like this one. Combining dinosaurs and football, Dino-Football has the Redscales pitted against the Greenblades for an action packed dino-rific football game. (there are more dino- sports books, see “series” below)

Baseball Books

  • Well, I had to slip a Curious George book in because, I just love him. Curious George at the Baseball Game As you can imagine, no baseball game is the same with George in the stands.
  • A great book for showing that one’s talents matter even if they are not in the area of sports. In Randy Riley’s Really Big Hit Randy loves baseball, but he isn’t too good at it. Yet, he is really good at science. See how baseball and science come together in this neat story. p.s. there is a robot in there too!
  • From the charming illustrations to the great story of these brothers, Brothers at Bat: The True Story of an Amazing All-Brother Baseball Team is a hit (oh, yes, you knew I had to get in a little baseball humor there, right?!)
  • Abbot (a bear) and Costello (a rabbit) lead us through the classic Who’s on First comedy routine. Who’s on First? This is great!

Basketball Books

  • When my son was young, and he was interesting in a topic, I always check to see if Gail Gibbons had a book out on it. I love how she does such of good job of covering the basics. My Basketball Book is great for young boys who might enjoy learning more about the game of basketball. (Gail Gibbons has written other sports books, see “series” below for more info)
  • I can’t wait to see Midnight Madness at the Zoo. It has hidden pictures, counting and the animal illustrations are great.
  • Michael Jordan fans will enjoy Salt in His Shoes. Michael felt he was too short and because of this he couldn’t play well. He asked his mom how he could grow taller. This is written by his mother who was very supportive of his dreams.
  • Ever wonder how the game of basketball was invented? Well, it was out of frustration! Read Hoop Genius for the details of a teacher who needed to find something for a group of bored and rowdy boys to do.

Soccer & Hockey Books

  • If you are going to read about soccer, you might as well start with the all-time star. Pele, King of Soccer/Pele, El rey del futbol Painterly, flowing, swirling pictures illustrate this book that tells the story of a poor boy who goes on to be a soccer star. The book has both English and Spanish text.
  • For more soccer titles, see the series books listed at the bottom of this post.
  • Hockey Morning Noon and Night is a sweet look at a young boy’s obsession with hockey. He is all about hockey from morning to night.
  • This is a counting book done Hockey-style. Numbers are everywhere and I like how they take the game of hockey and show this in a neat way. Hat Tricks Count: A Hockey Number Book is likely to get your boys noticing numbers wherever they go.
  • First Hockey Words has the basic language of hockey. The team comprises of cute animals and words are defined through the pictures. Nicely done.

Sports Picture Book Series

Several of the books listed above for one of the sports are also available as other sports titles.

Book series get boys reading grab more here >>> Book Series for Boys

Whew! That is a lot of sports picture books for you all to take a look at.  Hopefully you will find something wonderful to read to/with your boys.

Need even more books? How about non-fiction football books for boys?!

Non-fiction football books guaranteed to get your football fan reading. Click picture to see book list.

Mother of 3

Wednesday 27th of January 2016

We love the DIno- sports series.

Sheila Rogers

Wednesday 27th of January 2016

They are pretty funny aren't they, Mother of 3. They have quite the selection of sports in that series too. Something for everyone.