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The start of June should have been the start of a summer of sport. The European Football Championships followed by the Olympics. Events that have been postponed for obvious reasons.
The children and I were watching some old Olympic YouTube videos this week and it got me thinking about sports more. We have some fab books with a sport theme so I wanted to write a quick post to share some of these.
Just because the sports events are postponed, doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy learning about the great events of the past.
For a great all-rounder, Sportopedia is the perfect introduction to the world of sports. Some 60+ sports are represented in this book with information provided about the rules of different sports, any jargon that might be useful, the kit worn by players and little facts and figures. It’s well-illustrated and packed full of information. It’s well put together and splits the sports into different types such as motor, racket or ball sports.
We have used this book recently when D became interested in Cricket; we have a couple of cricket teams near us and he wanted to understand more about the game. He was able to research it himself using this book and we talked about how cricket differed to other games we have played or watched.
A new one for us is The Big Book of Football which was aimed to support the lead up to the European Championships. It’s written by the team from Mundial and it’s packed full of information about both the men and women’s game. It’s stylishly illustrated and D, in particular, enjoyed the classic kits section. There’s lots of information covering the basics of the game all the way to the greatest players. Stadiums and tournaments are covered as well as what the matchday experience looks like. A mighty tome for any footy mad child.
This book is packed full of information and Mundial bring with them a real authority on all football matters. I really like how the serious stuff like the rules and the tactics are intertwined with the things we all remember such as the greatest haircuts and iconic celebrations.
For a more historical look, Ancient Games is a fascinating look at the history of sport and gaming.
It is fascinating and there is a lot in here that I didn’t know and it’s a fabulous history book that looks at the history of games across a wide range of histories and cultures. I really like this book and it’s inspired me to look out for the other two books in this series (Ancient Wonders and Ancient Warriors). I like how it has a timeline at the back which takes the reader all the way from sporting figures that appeared on cave paintings to the modern Olympic games, charting milestones and the different ancient civilizations as it does. It’s a fascinating read.
Finally, the Football School series of books are fantastic for using football as a tool to explain a range of other topics. D really enjoys these books and they’re always in his regular reading pile. They’re particularly good for reluctant readers and have lots of funny snippets of information in as well as keeping the topics fun and football-themed.
Whilst big international sporting events might be on hold right now, there’s still plenty of classic games to watch as well as learning about the world of sports.
They look really good and I would think the football ball will be read many times by Daniel and Emma.