The legendary, record-breaking Hall of Fame pitcher tells his inspiring story Mariano Rivera never dreamed of becoming a professional athlete. He didn't grow up collecting baseball cards, playing Little League, or cheering on his home team at the World Series. He had never heard of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, or Mickey Mantle. One day, that all changed. From a childhood playing pickup games in Panama to an epic career with the New York Yankees, Mariano's rise to greatness has been anything but ordinary. He's the guy on the mound who doesn't hear the crowd, just the sound of the ump calling, Strike! The teammate you can rely on, even when the bases are loaded in the bottom of the ninth. Whether you know him as Mo or as the Sandman, Mariano is The Closer, and this is his story. Full of tips for young athletes and tales from the Yankee clubhouse, The Closer: Young Readers Edition is an inspiring story of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication that have defined the life of a baseball legend.

"No Ordinary Family," is a story, a true story, about young girls that came together and played softball as a team called the Arkansas Playmakers. I had a fellow author read an early copy before it was sent to the publisher. I asked him to look it over and then get back to me with ways the manuscript could be improved. He had many good ideas, and I hope I was able to implement them to his satisfaction. However, he had one question? Were these girls real? Yes. "Their names, too?" he asked. Yes. The story is real, and unlike "Dragnet" the names were not changed. I did not know what I was getting myself into when I chose this assignment; but, I hope everyone that reads this book will come to understand that not everything has to be a soap opera or a world of drama queens. There are parents that coach hard, but remain parents and see the world as one of many colors not just black and white where winning is everything. Fortunately for the Arkansas Playmakers, the parents and the girls have come together to form a unique family that lives, loves, plays and enjoys life together. This book is their story. It is a story of a brother and a sister, girls that came together to form a team but eventually became sisters first and foremost, the bond between softball fathers and their softball daughters and what makes a team a championship team (on and off the field). It is about how a team became part of a small, rural community in the southeastern corner of Arkansas. I hope those that read this book, find it enjoyable and worth your time and effort.

The London Olympics 2012 offers up-to-the-minute information about this forthcoming world event, including the countdown to 2012, an overview of Olympic venues for 2012, athletes to watch, and sports that will be featuring. It also includes Going for Gold fact boxes, a map of Olympic venues and a timeline of Olympic history.

Winner of the CLPE Award for Children's Poetry 2020. This dazzling poetry collection bubbles with excitement and creativity, capturing the sheer joy of the natural world. Discover parades of beast-doodles, preposterous penguins, talking blossoms, playful birds, humble fleas and a host of other exotic and everyday creatures who jump off the page and into our hearts. Thought-provoking, delightfully original and beautifully illustrated, Cherry Moon will encourage children of every age to explore the power, enchantment and wonderfulness of poetry and nature.

A biography focusing on the childhood of the legendaryu football coach at Notre Dame, who won fame for his insistence on good sportsmanship and his football strategy.

Relive women's footballing history with Brandi Chastain's 1999 World Cup penalty. Slam the ball home with Michael Jordan. Scale mountain heights with Marielle Goitschel. Flip through the air with Simone Biles. Take a front-row seat and relive history's greatest sporting moments as they happened. This richly illustrated book showcases the defining moment of notable athletes from around the world in more than twenty sports, making it a treasure trove for all the family to share.

For many sports fans there's no such thing as too much hockey. And in I Spy with My Little Eye Hockey, young readers get double the fun. Matt Napier, author of Z is for Zamboni: A Hockey Alphabet, teams up with photographer David Milne to create a visual puzzle book that challenges the deductive skills and sharp eyes of young readers. Dual look-alike photographs are filled with hockey masks, sticks, pucks, even miniature ice rinks and trading cards. But one of the scenes has been slightly altered. Can you see the changes? How many can you find? Poetic clues help young fans and seasoned veterans find the various differences between each pair of scenes. From the number of Zambonis on the ice to the sweaters hung in a locker room, hockey fans of all ages will enjoy this new way of spying the game!

You are about to embark on a dangerous adventure. With this game in a book, use the pop-out Survival Spinner to learn your fate as you face peril after peril in a wild, rugged landscape. You become lost in the mountains after an emergency landing. Among the snowy peaks, you are at risk from dangers including falling victim to hypothermia, being buried by an avalanche or stumbling into a deep crevasse. In your backpack, you have a sleeping bag, a thermal roll-mat, a bottle of water, a bag of nuts, waterproof matches, a pair of binoculars, a camera, a first aid kit and an old survival journal belonging to your grandfather. As you confront each life-threatening challenge in this adventure-filled game book, place the Survival Spinner found inside the cover of the book on one of the circles on your current page, and spin. The place where the spinner points when it stops tells you if you have survived, are still living but injured or that you have perished, with a corresponding page number to turn to for each fate. Throughout, you will learn about real-life survival techniques, including how to: Make a snow shelter Build a fire Survive a bear attack Treat a wound Use the sun and moon to navigate Cross a frozen lake Harrowing tales of real-life wilderness survivors provide glimmers of hope as you deal with the consequences of your choices. One bad decision could lead to disaster... Frozen Mountain is the debut book in the exhilarating Spin to Survive series. Discover real-life survival tips and stories as you navigate your own perilous journey through the wilderness guided by your decisions and the removable Survival Spinner. Have you got what it takes to survive?