Best Basketball Books for Toddlers and Infants
Having recently become a father to a daughter, the impulse to begin reading to her has been one of my main goals. In a hope to better her understanding of the English language, and to better prepare her for her schooling days, I’ve become obsessed with books geared towards her young age.
However, quite bored with the Dr. Seuss and Sesame Street level books, I’ve begun researching more-and-more on books about basketball, geared towards toddlers and infants. And while she may not fully comprehend the words on the pages, at least one of us is enjoying our time reading the book.
Below, we are going to review the best basketball books for toddlers and infants and hope that these books will not only help your child develop a lifelong love of reading but also a lifelong love of basketball and all its glory.
Looking to teach your child how to play basketball? Consider these book on the best ways to learn how to play.
Why is Reading to Your Child Important?
Before we jump into the best basketball books for your toddler or infant, it’s important to step back and understand just why it’s so important to read to your child. At just a few months old, your child is able to look at pictures, listen to your voice, and point to objects on cardboard pages.
By reading to your child, particularly on a daily basis, you help them to build a more vivid imagination and to begin associating objects on a page with real-world ones. Similarly, by reading to your child, you help them build associations and a deeper understanding of colors, shapes, and objects, all of which are useful pieces of information for when they begin to talk.
In addition, by reading to your child, you help to build a deeper connection and bond between yourself and them. By reading, interacting, and playing with them, your child will be more likely to trust you and will have a more fulfilling relationship with you.
And lastly, by reading to your child, you help them to enjoy and find fun and enjoyment in traditionally difficult subjects. That is, by reading and making reading an enjoyable pastime, your child will find school and their eventual homework assignments, more fun and easier to do.
Goodnight Basketball
From tipoff to the final free throw, Goodnight Basketball follows a young boy as he says goodnight to his favorite sport. With rhyming text and colorful imagery, author Michael Dahl captures the thrill and excitement of the action on the court. This Sports Illustrated Kids picture book will have basketball fans everywhere cheering for bedtime!
My First Book of Basketball: A Rookie Book
My First Book of Basketball, the sixth book in the best-selling Rookie Book series from Sports Illustrated Kids, coaches young kids through the game of basketball with a visual retelling of a professional basketball game—from the jump ball to the game-winning basket!
Dribbling, passing, traveling, shooting, dunks, and more are all explained using a fun mix of Sports Illustrated action photography, simple text, a full glossary of terms, and awesome graphics. Illustrated “Rookie” characters—a girl, Gabby, and a boy, Sprat—appear on every page, providing fun facts and simple explanations to help kids better understand the game.
Perfect for emerging readers from preschool up, My First Book of Basketball is meant to be a shared reading experience between parents and their little rookies before, during, and after the game.
B is for Baller: The Ultimate Basketball Alphabet
Featuring dozens of iconic NBA superstars like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, and Steph Curry, B is for Baller is the ultimate alphabet book for young hoops fans—whether they’re taking their first shot at the ABCs or already perfecting their threes!
James Littlejohn’s words leap off the page and bring legends to life, while Matthew Shipley’s colorful, stylish illustrations are sure to delight fans young and old. What started as a successful Kickstarter project from two passionate NBA fans is now the perfect read for little ballers everywhere!
Little Basketball
Board Books for Little Sports! Now even the smallest of fans can enjoy a book about their favorite sport. Rhyming riddles accompanied by colorful artwork help introduce the game’s simplest, most basic elements. Brad Herzog lives on California’s Monterey Peninsula with his wife, Amy, and his two sons, Luke and Jesse.
As a freelance writer, he has won several awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, including a Grand Gold Medal for best magazine article of the year. Brad has published more than two dozen books, including two memoirs about his travels through small-town America.
A graduate of the Columbus College of Art & Design in Columbus, Ohio, Doug Bowles has been a freelance illustrator for 20 years. In addition to Doug’s illustrations for children, he enjoys working with a wide range of clients in the advertising, corporate and editorial communities. His work has been selected many times in the Society of Illustrators West competition, and he has had several gallery showings. Doug lives in Leawood, Kansas, with his wife and two children.
Curious George Joins The Team
Curious George has a playdate at a park designed for children of all abilities, perfect for his new friend, Tina, who uses a wheelchair. While they are playing together, Tina spots some kids playing her favorite game: basketball.
George jumps right into the action, but Tina is too shy to ask to join. George suspects Tina is just as good—even better—than the other kids. Can he come up with a way to show the players she’s got game and help her overcome her shyness? This story celebrates how kids of all abilities can play together!
My First Basketball Book
Game on! Perfect for parents to share with their toddlers, this simple board book introduces kids to very basic vocabulary associated with this popular sports. The contemporary design features one word per page, a nice big photo, and a diverse selection of children in the pictures. Plus, the covers are appealingly tactile, with deep embossing and eye-catching spot gloss. Kids will grab hold of it again and again.
Slam dunk! Baby basketballers will master the terms of the game, including shoot, swish, dribble, and rebound.
Dino-Basketball
When the carnivorous Meat face the herbivorous Grass Clippers, rims are sure to rattle! Ally-oops and rejections are the orders of the day as the dinos play a fast-paced full-court game. No one can establish a lead as the final seconds tick by. The fans are getting tense, and there’s a championship on the line. Which dino will step up and take it to the hoop?
Toddler Books About Basketball
With no text and just beautiful real life photographs, these books bring your little ones’ favourite subjects to life in a whole new way!
Sometimes children who are passionate about a subject just want to look at pictures, especially those little ones who are not yet reading! These books allow kids to have a completely independent reading experience.
But don’t let the lack of words fool you! The real photos in these books make great conversation starters and will also help your child to develop observation skills, language skills, vocabulary, color recognition and so much more!
Each book sports a glossy durable paperback cover and an interior of full color photographs. Over 100 photographs in all!
Perfect for sharing at reading time or all alone for a quiet individual activity time.
Be sure to clink on the series link on the books detail page to check out the books in the series as they become available to find a “just pictures” book that you or that special little one in your life will enjoy!
Makes a great gift for toddlers who like basketball and sports! This book would make a great companion book to other basketball or sports coloring books and story books!
Basketball Legends Alphabet
All of your favorite, and all-time best players, presented in alphabetical order. Helps both kids and toddlers to understand the letters of the alphabet while associating those letters with some of the all-time greats of the game.