From Challenge to Champion by Skyler Trepel

Today's read dives into the world of sports, which is awesome! There always seems to be a lack of sport directed books for the younger reading audience levels. This one is aimed at chapter book readers, which really made me smile. Now, let's see if it's as good as I hope it will be.

FROM CHALLENGE TO CHAMPION

23 Inspiring Sports Stories for New Readers

by Skyler Trepel

Illustrated by Lorenzo Fornaciari

Z Kids

Children's Nonfiction

144 pages

ages 6 to 9

COMING MARCH 25!!!

Awaken your child’s inner champion—and love of reading—with these motivational sports stories for kids ages 6–9.

Do you have a sports-obsessed kid eager to learn more about their favorite stars? Thrill them with From Challenge to Champion, a collection of stories about legendary athletes from soccer, basketball, gymnastics, baseball, and more. They’ll learn how these athletes overcame incredible challenges—whether injury, doubt, burnout, or difficult beginnings—and emerged victorious. From Simone Biles and Serena Williams to Lionel Messi and LeBron James, each athlete’s tale is a testament to hard work and perseverance that is sure to inspire and empower your child. Perfect for bedtime reading, classroom libraries, or as a gift to young readers, this book is sure to become a treasured early chapter book.

What’s inside?
12 uplifting sports heroes. Dive into the lives of LeBron James, Serena Williams, Michael Jordan, Simone Biles, Jessica Long, Megan Rapinoe, Jackie Robinson, Allyson Felix, Patrick Mahomes, Chloe Kim, Tom Brady, and Lionel Messi—top athletes from America’s most beloved sports.

Life lessons that go beyond sports. Valuable insights on resilience, growth mindset, and the importance of believing in oneself inspire young readers to go after their own dreams.

Additional athletes to know and love. 12 more short biographies of breakout stars like Caitlin Clark, Coco Gauff, and C. J. Stroud.

Easy-to-read format that’s a slam dunk for new readers. Short chapters, fun illustrations, and simple language keep kids engaged and motivated to read more.

GOODREADS

MY TIDBITS

The tales of twelve sport heroes brings inspiration and shows that hard work and determination can pay off.

Twelve athletes are presented in these pages, some often mention and others will be new. Each one is a hero in their sport...and this covers a broad range of types. From soccer to gymnastics and more, these athletes come from every direction and offer diversity in other ways as well. This makes for a well-rounded list. At the end of the read, twelve more athletes are mentioned along with a shorter summary of their accomplishments.

Each athlete begins with a list of facts and statistics as to name, size, and such. This is a nice way to give readers a quick and enjoyable run-down of the individual before diving into the story surrounding their struggles and victories. This later part is written in third-person and brings across the information in a way, which keeps younger readers in mind. This flows well enough and brings across the material in an understandable way. The vocabulary, font size, and sentence length isn't necessarily for 'new' readers, but rather, fits those who have a good grip on their words and are dipping their toes into the lower end of more difficult middle grade reads already (I'd slide it to 8 to 10 more). The illustrations also add a nice touch to help make each athlete easier to connect with. 

It's a lovely book for sport fans, who are curious about life stories behind athletes.