Underdog Tales

The kids at Benjamin Banneker College Prep are a little… competitive. Okay. They’re a LOT competitive. The minute Principal Yee announces an epic competition for the golden B-B trophy, seventh-grader Frederick Douglass Zezzmer knows he has to win. But it won’t be easy. The competition doesn’t just include science, technology, engineering and math. It also has arts and sports. Not Doug’s best subjects… With only a week to go, Doug launches a quest to turn his team of outcasts into winners… and maybe even friends.

Neighborhood friends Jasper, Mo, and Ruby learn about facing insecurities and also teamwork, competition, and love for sports when they try out for an organized flag football team and play their first real game. Includes, football history, player biographies, and flag football rules.

A heartfelt and moving story about a deaf boy’s journey to change how others see him both on and off the football field.

Forced to take Physical Education Equivalency, aka “Slugfest,” in summer school so he can maintain his star spot on the JV football team, Yash recruits his fellow PE rejects to train with him and pass this course, an endeavor that turns into a summer he’ll never forget.

Hockey–and life–keep handing Evan and Bobby losses, but together, they find reasons to keep taking the ice in 1980s Michigan.

Smithy is excited to join a new soccer team. Though he knows the rules of the game inside out, he can’t understand why everyone is so excited about Bengo, a teammate who has missed the first few games of the season. When Bengo finally shows up, he doesn’t even start! Surely he can’t be that great. Then Bengo is called off the bench, and he’s easily the best player Smithy has ever seen–putting in perfect crosses and running their opponents ragged. So why does the coach continue to leave Bengo on the bench?

Bree can’t wait for her first day at her new middle school until she’s stuck with a swimming class that forces her to face one of her greatest fears. Luckily she has a new neighbor, an elderly occupant of her apartment building and former swim team captain, who is willing to help Bree learn how to swim.

Aliya is new to Wisconsin, and everything feels different than Florida. The Islamic school is bigger, the city is colder, and her new basketball team is … well, they stink. Aliya’s still excited to have teammates (although the team’s captain, Noura, isn’t really Aliya’s biggest fan), and their new coach really understands basketball (even if she doesn’t know much about being Muslim). This season should be a blast … if they could just start to win. Join Aliya and the Peace Academy on a headline-making season where they strengthen their skills and their Muslim identities–all while discovering that it takes more than talent to be great, and that teamwork and self-confidence can define true success.