Are you looking for some baseball children’s books to use in your classroom that include literacy extension activities? This list may be just what you are looking for!
Baseball is an important sport for many people. It is filled with some exciting literacy experiences to explore. You may have had the opportunity to read some of these baseball books already, but hopefully some will be a new adventure for you and your kids. Explore with your children the sport of baseball by trying these engaging books and some of the extension activities suggested.
1. Goodnight Baseball by Michael Dahl
From the arrival at the stadium to the last goodnight, Goodnight Baseball is a sweet, nostalgic tale told in gentle, fun rhyme. It is all about the thrill of the game and a day at the ballpark.
The story follows a little boy who goes to a baseball game with his dad. He sees all the baseball sights, and even catches a home run. Then they go home for the night, and the second half of the book is told in “Good Night Moon” fashion, saying good night to all the things they saw and did at the baseball game.
Literacy Extensions:
- Classroom Book: “To Play Baseball”
- “Baseball Senses” Student Booklet
- Baseball Sequence Retelling Story Organizer
- Baseball Letter & Sound Match
2. Player in Pigtails by Shana Corey
A winning new picture book about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The story is written with sass and style by all-star Shana Corey with illustrations from promising young rookie Rebecca Gibbon.
Players in Pigtails is a fictionalized story of a girl named Katie. She loved baseball but didn’t love the things girls in the early 1940s were supposed to love. This included such things as cooking, sewing, and ballet. Katie even attempted to try out for her high school’s baseball team, but she was never given a chance to play.
Literacy Extensions:
- Baseball Writing Station Words
- Baseball Student Counting Booklet
- Baseball Paper Plate Art Project
- Baseball Roll & Cover Math Game
3. My Baseball Book by Gail Gibbons
Baseball is fun, but how does it work? Find all the basics in this lively guide for the youngest baseball fans from the Children’s Book Guild Award winner Gail Gibbons!
Find all the basics in this lively guide that includes a useful glossary at the end. The book provides and introduction to baseball, describing the equipment, playing field, rules, players, and process of the game.
Literacy Extensions:
- Baseball Literature List
- Student Booklet: “Playing Baseball”
- Baseball Counting: How Many Baseballs?” Google Slides
- My Baseball Story: Student Worksheets
4. Brothers at Bat by Audrey Vernick
Brothers at Bat is the true story of a family of 12 brothers, from a family of 16 children, who made history by being the longest playing all brother baseball team. In 1938, with their father as coach, the oldest nine brothers formed the first semi-pro team and played against other New Jersey teams.
They loved the game, but more important, they cared for and supported each other and stayed together as a team. Nothing life threw their way
could stop them.
Literacy Extensions:
- Classroom Book: “When I Play Baseball”
- Baseball Story Parts: Student Worksheet
- Baseball Roll It! Read It! Short Vowels
- Baseball Paper Plate Project
5. H is for Home Run: A Baseball Alphabet by Brad Herzog
This book is a new offering in a line of children’s alphabet books. It brings the game of baseball to entertaining and informative life. The author, who is also a sportswriter pairs easy-to-read rhymes with detailed expository.
The readers are pitched baseball’s facts, faces, history, and places from A-Z. Now anyone can get a home plate view of America’s favorite pastime in this book.
Literacy Extensions:
- “Baseball” Student Booklet
- Baseball Story Sequencing Student Worksheet
- Baseball Sight Word Match Game
- Baseball Number & Ten Frames BOOM
6. The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter
A tale of one boy’s struggle to preserve the spirit of the game he loves. The fate of the Dillontown team rests on the outcome of one baseball game, winner take all. Tom Gallagher is in a tight spot. If Tom’s team loses, they lose their field too. But how can they possibly win?
Just when everything seems hopeless, a mysterious boy named Cruz de la Cruz rides into town and claims to know the secret of hitting. He also knows the secrets of Dante Del Gato, Dillontown’s greatest hitter ever. Since he walked away from the game years ago, Del Gato hasn’t spoken a word to anyone. But now he might be Tom’s only hope for saving his hometown.
Literacy Extensions:
- Baseball Word Bank
- Baseball Literature Retelling Organizer Student Page
- Baseball Make a Short Vowel Word Game
- Baseball Roll & Cover Math Games
7. Becoming Babe Ruth by Matt Tavares
Before he is known as the Babe, George Herman Ruth is just a boy who lives in Baltimore and gets into a lot of trouble. But when he turns seven, his father brings him to the gates of Saint Mary’s Industrial School for Boys, and his life is changed forever.
At Saint Mary’s, he’s expected to study hard and follow a lot of rules. But there is one good thing about Saint Mary’s: almost every day, George gets to play baseball. Here, under the watchful eye of Brother Matthias, George evolves as a player and as a man. The author sheds light on an icon who learned early that life is what you make of it and sends home a message about honoring the place from which you came.
Literacy Extensions:
- “How to Play Baseball?” Classroom Book
- Baseball Acrostic Poem Art Project
- Baseball Sight Word Match Game
- Baseball Build 2 Addend Addition Number Sentences
8. Pete the Cat, Play Ball by James Dean
A Pete the Cat classic, with the beloved character Pete the Cat in a baseball game. Pete’s team, the Rocks, is playing the Rolls. But when the game doesn’t go Pete’s way, what will Pete do?
Pete the Cat loves baseball, but really isn’t very good at it. Three times in the story Pete messes up. He strikes out, he drops a fly ball, and he gets out at home plate. Each time, however, the author tells us “he is not sad. He did his best.” This repetitive line is perfect for students to read along with the teacher
Literacy Extensions:
- “Baseball Facts” Classroom Book
- Baseball Venn Diagram: Baseball vs Football
- Baseball Letter & Sound Match Game BOOM Cards
- Baseball Math Dice Games
Grab your Free, Baseball Roll & Cover Math Games Here!
Finally, there are so many baseball children’s books you can choose from. From baseball fiction to nonfiction, the list of books is endless. Remember to pick the books that best fit the needs of your students or children and support your learning activities. Happy Reading!
Find some more literacy and extension activities in my store, The Teaching Scene by Maureen.
To read more blog topics check out my blog, “A Guide to Using Literature-Based Units of Study.”
