SPORTS SHORTS

Eight sports short stories cover the bases, from kickball to ballet, bombardment to running. Typical here is the geek or nerd who sometimes, somehow, finds a moment of greatness. Since several pieces are first or early sports memories, they are semi-autobiographical, allowing for some invention to round out authors’ recollections. Ultimately, sports are simply the vehicle for story, for reflections on life’s lessons and personal journeys. David Lubar, for example, went from middle-school sports washout to karate black belt. Tanya West contests the notion that sports are just for jocks and appreciates the value of backyard baseball and games of P-I-G. Baseball didn’t quite work out for Alexandra Siy as a kid, but as an adult, she planned to ride the unpaved Denali Highway with her daughter. Each story is followed by a brief author’s note. The stories are simply written and chatty and make good models for young writers with sports memories to embellish. Accessible to a wide range of sports enthusiasts, and appealing to older, struggling readers. (Fiction. 8-12)