Illustrated by Melanie Rose

Author Brad Herzog brings his well-received prose and soccer knowledge together with Melanie Rose's charming and realistic illustrations to detail every facet of the game. Each letter has a simple rhyme for young readers:

""J is for the Jerseys that soccer players wear.
But often in the World Cup, opponents tend to share.
In a gesture of respect after a game ends,
They simply swap their jerseys as if they are old friends.""

For older readers the expository text gives specific details about goaltending, referees, the World Cup, and many other aspects. "K is for Kick" follows the wildly popular "Z is for Zamboni."

Skateboarding is one of the fastest-growing activities for youth in America and throughout the world. This fun and exhilarating activity is a great way of fighting childhood obesity while providing a practical method of transportation. The increased popularity of skateboarding has created an unprecedented demand for more skateparks, sound instruction, and access to safe opportunities for skating. Skateboarding: Instruction, Programming, and Park Design provides safe and effective skateboarding instruction and programming as well as information on building and managing skateparks. You'll get all the tools you need to do everything from teaching fundamental skateboarding skills to designing and running a park to meet the needs of your community.

In Skateboarding: Instruction, Programming, and Park Design, author Ben Wixon, an experienced skateboarder, instructor, and skatepark consultant and advocate, provides you with

-a full curriculum with progressive lesson plans and practice strategies to help you teach skateboarding safely and correctly;

-guidance through the planning and design process, including an overview of the pros and cons of various skatepark styles and construction types;

-information on key management issues such as supervision, staffing, scheduling, and maintenance; and

-strategies for managing risk through appropriate skateboarding instruction, supervision, and park maintenance.

Proper instruction in skateboarding fundamentals is the first step in providing a safe experience for all participants. Skateboarding begins with a ready-to-use curriculum that can be implemented in a variety of settings, including schools, public parks, and camps. The step-by-step lesson plans make it easy to teach everything from basic techniques to intermediate and advanced skills. The lesson plans are educationally sound, meet NASPE standards, and can be used either in or out of a skatepark. The curriculum also includes practice strategies to help participants acquire new skills and perfect their techniques, and it even includes guidelines on safety and skatepark etiquette so students will learn that avoiding risk is an important part of skateboarding fun. The book's glossary makes technical jargon and skateboarding slang easy to understand for administrators and new instructors and gives them insight into the idiosyncrasies of skateboarding culture.

Skateboarding also features thorough coverage of skatepark management and administration. Wixon offers expert advice on planning and designing a skatepark. He presents factors and questions to consider, information on the various types of skateparks so you can choose the one that best fits your needs, and help with budgeting for construction and maintenance costs. You will also find tools and resources to help you manage both new and existing facilities. Skateboarding covers the most essential management areas. You'll find recommendations on scheduling and programming, staffing and supervision guidelines, and instructions on establishing a maintenance routine. The book also contains helpful forms, including participation waivers and safety and maintenance checklists, and a list of recommended vendors to make it easy to order the equipment you need. Throughout the book you'll find tips for managing risk and promoting safety in the skatepark.

Skateboarding is the perfect all-in-one resource for administrators, youth instructors, and physical educators. It offers all the information you'll need to design, supervise, and maintain a skatepark as well as create skateboarding programs for the youth in your community.

Young sports fans will love reading about the best players in their favorite leagues. Accessible text and action photos highlight the skills and accomplishments of past and present stars of pro hockey, soccer, NASCAR, and other sports. Presents some of world soccer's greatest players and their achievements, including Lionel Messi, James Rodriguez, and Carli Lloyd.

"Strike - you're out " "He's safe " "Homerun " Every October, millions of baseball fans around the country anxiously wait to see which team wins baseball's biggest championship. But the original games of the 1900s hardly look like they do today. Take a look back over one hundred years and discover the history of baseball's greatest series. With triumphs, heartbreak, and superstitious curses, this action-packed book brings America's Pastime to life.

Beginning readers can learn all about what happens at karate class in this Pre-level 1 Ready-to-Read with sweet text and photographs of young martial artists-in-training

Competition is the name of the game in sports. But without a doubt, the fiercest battles are fought when longtime rivals come face to face. Here are in-depth looks at five such legendary rivalries:
The Yankees versus the Red Sox
The Celtics versus the Lakers
The United versus the Galaxy
The Canadiens versus the Bruins
The Bears versus the Packers.
Each section is packed with intense play-by-play game action, recaps of classic moments that sparked the feuds and insights into heated clashes. And because it's Matt Christopher, young readers know they're getting the best sports writing on the shelf

Now anyone can be one of the "boys or girls of summer" and get a home plate view of America's favorite pastime in H is for Home Run: A Baseball Alphabet. This new offering in our line of children's alphabet books brings the game of baseball to entertaining and informative life. Sports writer Brad Herzog pairs easy-to-read rhymes with detailed expository so that readers are pitched baseball's facts, faces, history, and places from A-Z.

After Sam's father died, he became so wrapped up in the Brooklyn Dodgers that he could describe every game they'd played in the past four years. Nobody was very interested, until Sam met Davy. They came from different races, religions, and generations. But it didn't take long before they had a friendship that went well beyond baseball.

An excellent book in every way ... Best of all, the book is accessible to early readers. Superb coverage of a popular sport.
--School library Journal (starred review)

This indispensable guide is simply the best book for beginners to the sport of artistic gymnastics. Illustrated with stunning full-color photographs of gymnasts balancing, tumbling and jumping, The Gymnastics Book features skilled guidance from a medal-winning, record-breaking gymnast who is now a noted instructor.

The topics covered in detail include:

• Finding a good gymnastics club
• Qualities to look for in a coach
• Warm-up and cool-down exercises
• Entering competitive gymnastics
• Managing victories and losses
• The importance of family and friends
• Nutrition and apparel
• Financial aspects
• A typical day of training for competition.

The book is also filled with anecdotes and advice from Olympic stars, taking beginners behind the scenes and offering a no-holds-barred account of life as a competitive gymnast. New gymnasts featured include:

• Shallon Olsen: At just 11 years old she ranked first overall in her age category. She now has the 2016 Olympics games in her sights.
• Kyle Shewfelt: To date, Kyle is the only Olympic Gold Medalist (2004, Athens) from Canada.
• Emily Boycott: A Special Olympics athlete and 27 years old, her team took home five gold medals from the 2007 Beijing Olympics.