This series shares the stories of athletes from the worlds of soccer, football, snowboarding, and more. Each title takes a player and presents their biography and career highlights. The text is written at a third grade reading level with one-to-two brief paragraphs per page. The books successfully balance accessible, readable language with comprehensive information, and titles are chock-full of facts about the athletes. Layouts include full-page color photographs as well as engaging graphics. The titles have strong text features, such as a career time line, map of where each athlete played, and a “trophy shelf” highlighting honors they have received. VERDICT With in-depth information and engaging features, this series is a recommended addition to collections needing biographical hi-lo material.

When it comes to the world of sports, there’s no shortage of amazing players for fans to admire. The books in the Sports Superstars series let readers get up close to some of these famous athletes and learn more about their careers. Highly visual, this series keeps its stat-saturated text brief and places an emphasis on action-packed photos and colorful infographics. In Diana Taurasi, readers learn interesting facts about how this Phoenix Mercury guard became one of the top women’s basketball players in the world. Juan Soto follows the young Dominican’s rapid rise to baseball’s major leagues, where his talents as an outfielder and hitter have helped his team, the Washington Nationals, win the World Series. Simone Biles covers the astonishing number of medals—including 4 Olympic golds and 19 World Championship golds—won by this gymnast and her decision to prioritize her mental health during the 2020 Olympic Games. Steph Curry discusses this point guard’s knack for scoring 3-point- ers and how he led the Golden State Warriors to victory during the 2022 NBA Finals. Short and quick reads, these books are perfect for general sports lovers and those looking for introductory sports biographies. Readers will be drawn to this high-interest series and the inspiring players it showcases.

The brightest stars in sports are profiled in this visually appealing series. Each athlete is given a fairly thorough biographical treatment, such as NFL quarterbacks Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott, and Patrick Mahomes. All considered role models, their accomplishments are lauded before their future potential is assessed. Notably, Simone Biles’s gymnastics prowess and her advocacy for mental health and victims of abuse are praised. To- ward the back of each book, maps show the professional travels of each athlete, which is more interesting for stars of international renown like Lionel Messi, Serena Williams, and Shohei Ohtani than for homebodies like Steph Curry and Diana Taurasi. Leaning heavily on the energetic, brightly colored photos, the short blocks of text and factoid callouts are highlighted with graffiti-like graphics. The overall aesthetic is a bit busy, but for reluctant readers, there is much to draw the eye and the concise writing delivers the appropriate level of detail for browsers. VERDICT A first-purchase series full of flair.