Olympic Reads

Learn more about the Summer Olympics with these reads for adults, teens, and kids. Available to borrow at SCLS.

Updated August 9, 2024
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The suspect : an Olympic bombing, the FBI, the media, and Richard Jewell, the man caught in the middle
Alexander, Kent
Paper Book
A based-on source for the Warner Bros. film Richard Jewell, starring Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde, and Paul Walter Hauser​ "Meticulously reported, bracingly written, full of memorable and bizarre characters, the book casts a...
On your mark, get set, gold! :
Allen, Scott,
Paper Book
Packed with awe-inspiring facts, this hilariously informative guide will make readers laugh their sports socks off! From boxing to boccia, find out just what it takes to compete in every sport in the summer games. You'll discover what makes each sport great -- and not so great -- as well as what...
In the water they can't see you cry : a memoir
Beard, Amanda.
Audiobook
At the tender age of fourteen, Amanda Beard walked onto the pool deck at the Atlanta Olympics carrying her teddy bear, Harold, and left with two silvers and a gold medal. She competed in three more Olympic games, winning a total of seven medals, and enjoyed a lucrative modeling career on the side....
Courage to soar :
Biles, Simone,
Paper Book
In Courage to Soar, the official autobiography from four-time Olympic gold-winning and record-setting American gymnast Simone Biles, Simone shares how her faith, family, passion, and perseverance has made her one of the top athletes and gymnasts in the world--and how you too can...
The boys in the boat : nine Americans and their epic quest for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Brown, Daniel
Paper Book
Now a Major Motion Picture Directed by George Clooney The #1 New York Times-bestselling story about the American Olympic rowing triumph in Nazi Germany--from the author of Facing the Mountain. For readers of Unbroken, out of the depths of the...
Jesse Owens /
Buckley, James,
Paper Book
Discover the inspiring story of Jesse Owens, African American track-and-field athlete and Olympic gold medalist, in this fascinating kids' biography. Jesse Owens is one of the most famous athletes of all time, but he experienced discrimination throughout his athletic career, such...
The three-year swim club : the untold story of Maui's Sugar Ditch kids and their quest for Olympic glory
Checkoway, Julie
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling inspirational story of impoverished children who transformed themselves into world-class swimmers. In 1937, a schoolteacher on the island of Maui challenged a group of poverty-stricken sugar plantation kids to swim upstream against the...
She persisted in sports : American Olympians who changed the game
Clinton, Chelsea
Paper Book
From Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger, the #1 New York Times bestselling team behind She Persisted, comes a new book featuring women athletes who overcame and inspired--perfect for fans of the Olympics! Throughout history, women have been told that they couldn't...
Team sports of the summer games
Derr, Aaron
Paper Book
Only a few countries were represented by athletes at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens. But now, more than 10,000 athletes from more than 200 countries compete in the Summer Olympic Games. These athletes compete in more than 300 events. The games showcase the strength, skills,...
Grace, gold, & glory :
Douglas, Gabrielle,
Paper Book
The inspiring autobiography from Gabrielle Douglas--the first African-American gymnast in Olympic history to become the individual All-Around champion--revealing her journey from the time she first entered a gym to her gold-medal-winning performances. In the 2012 London Olympics, US...
Olympic pride, American prejudice :
Draper, Deborah Riley,
Paper Book
Discover the astonishing, inspirational, and largely unknown true story of the eighteen African American athletes who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, defying the racism of both Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South. Set against the turbulent backdrop of a segregated...
The games :
Goldblatt, David,
Paper Book
The definitive sports and social history of the modern Olympic games--by a New York Times best-selling sportswriter. A Boston Globe Best Book of 2016 A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2016 For millions of people around the world, the...
The longest race :
Goucher, Kara.
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In "one of the most important athlete memoirs of its generation" (Kate Fagan, #1 New York Times bestselling author), Olympian Kara Goucher reveals her experience of living through and speaking out about one of the biggest...
What are the Summer Olympics? /
Herman, Gail,
Paper Book
Back in 775 BC, athletes from all over Ancient Greece came together to compete in various games. The contests were held every four years and winning athletes brought honor and respect to their homelands. The tradition of the Olympic Games faded over time until 1896, when they were...
Unbroken :
Hillenbrand, Laura.
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The incredible true story of survival and salvation that is the basis for two major motion pictures: Unbroken and Unbroken: Path to Redemption. "Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic."--The Wall Street...
Berlin 1936 : sixteen days in August
Hilmes, Oliver
Paper Book
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Guardian, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, and Financial Times A lively account of the 1936 Olympics told through the voices and stories of those who witnessed it, from an award-winning historian and biographer ...
Fast girls :
Hooper, Elise
Paper Book
ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE SUMMER BY POPSUGAR, FROLIC, PARADE, TRAVEL & LEISURE, SHE KNOWS, and SHE READS!  NAMED A REAL SIMPLE BEST BOOK OF 2020 (SO FAR). "Fast Girls is a compelling, thrilling look at what it takes to be a female Olympian in pre...
Women in sports : 50 fearless athletes who played to win
Ignotofsky, Rachel
Paper Book
A charmingly illustrated and inspiring book, Women in Sports highlights the achievements and stories of fifty notable women athletes--from well-known figures like tennis player Billie Jean King and gymnast Simone Biles, to lesser-known athletes like skateboarding pioneer Patti McGee and Toni...
All in :
King, Billie Jean
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER * An inspiring and intimate self-portrait of the champion of equality that encompasses her brilliant tennis career, unwavering activism, and an ongoing commitment to fairness and social justice. "A story about the personal strength, immense growth,...
Nazi games :
Large, David Clay.
Paper Book
Athletics and politics collide in a critical event for Nazi Germany and the contemporary world. The torch relay -- that staple of Olympic pageantry -- first opened the summer games in 1936 in Berlin. Proposed by the Nazi Propaganda Ministry, the relay was to carry the symbolism of a new...
Just add water :
Ledecky, Katie,
Paper Book
A New York Times bestselling memoir from Olympic gold medalist, world champion, and the most decorated US female Olympian in history: Katie Ledecky. Katie Ledecky has won more individual Olympic races than any female swimmer in history. She is a four-time Olympian, a nine...
Swifter, higher, stronger : a photographic history of the Summer Olympics
Macy, Sue.
Paper Book
Let the games begin again! Acclaimed sports writer Sue Macy's comprehensive portrait of the Summer Olympics has now been fully updated for the 2008 games in Beijing, China. This new edition includes a complete retrospective of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. The new text will also incorporate...
Simone Biles /
Magoon, Kekla.
Paper Book
Chelsea Clinton introduces tiny feminists, mini activists and little kids who are ready to take on the world to thirteen inspirational women who never took no for an answer, and who always, inevitably and without fail, persisted. Throughout United States history, there...
Path Lit by Lightning :
Maraniss, David
Paper Book
A riveting new biography of America's greatest all-around athlete by the bestselling author of the classic biography When Pride Still Mattered. Jim Thorpe rose to world fame as a mythic talent who excelled at every sport. He won gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon...
The Olympics encyclopedia /
McDougall, Chr?os,
Paper Book
This encyclopedia highlights more than 40 Olympic sports. Alongside both historic and recent photographs, readers will learn about the basics of each competition, its origin, how it has changed throughout the years, and the icons in each sport. In addition, this book provides information about the...
Hour of the Olympics /
Osborne, Mary Pope
Paper Book
The #1 bestselling chapter book series of all time celebrates 25 years with new covers and a new, easy-to-use numbering system! No girls allowed at the Olympic Games! That's the rule when the Magic Tree House whisks Jack and Annie back to ancient Greece. But when Annie tells jack to go...
The horsewoman : a novel
Patterson, James
Paper Book
This "hugely entertaining, riveting page-turner" (Louise Penny) follows the complicated relationship between mother and daughter as they face off in the Olympics--and into a ride they can barely control. Maggie Atwood and Becky McCabe, mother and daughter, both champion...
No limits : the will to succeed
Phelps, Michael
Paper Book
"When I'm focused, there is not one single thing, person, anything that can stand in the way of my doing something. There is not. If I want something bad enough, I feel I'm gonna get there."Michael Phelps is one of the greatest competitors the world has ever seen. From teen sensation in Sydney to...
One life /
Rapinoe, Megan,
Paper Book
Megan Rapinoe, Olympic gold medallist and two-time Women's World Cup champion, has become a galvanizing force for social change; here, she urges all of us to take up the mantle, with actions big and small, to continue the fight for justice and equality. Using anecdotes from her own life and career,...
Forward :
Wambach, Abby,
Audiobook
"Lucid and wrenching...Forward puts [Wambach's] achievement in context with painful and beautiful candor." --NPR "Forward is the powerful story of an athlete who has inspired girls all over the world to believe in themselves."  --Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO, New...
Epic athletes.
Wetzel, Dan,
Paper Book
Kicking off his new series of sports biographies for young readers, journalist Dan Wetzel tells the inspiring true life story of a US Women's Soccer star in Epic Athletes: Alex Morgan. Featuring graphic-style illustrations by Cory Thomas! Fierce...

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