Celebrate the Summer Games

These picks from the children's and adult nonfiction shelves highlight athletes and events from past Olympic Games, and even consider the impact of the Games themselves. Within each age group, the books are listed in order by date, with the sport listed after, if applicable. Enjoy these sporting picks!

Kids

• The Wildest Race Ever, Meghan McCarthy, (1904/marathon), print 
• Duke Kahanamoku, Laurie Calkhoven, (1912, 1920, 1924/swimming), print
• Who Was Jesse Owens?, James Buckley Jr, (1936/track), print | ebook | eaudio
• Sakamoto’s Swim Club, Julie Abery & Chris Sasaki, (1948/swimming), print | ebook
• Touch the Sky: Alice Coachman, Olympic High Jumper, Ann Malaspina, (1948/track & field), print
  
• ​Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice, Tommie Smith, et al., (1968/track & field), print | ebook
• Inaugural Ballers: The True Story of the First U.S. Women's Olympic Basketball Team, Andrew Maraniss, (1976/basketball), print | ebook | eaudio
• Michael Phelps, USA Today, (2004-2016/swimming), print 
• I Am a Promise, Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce, (2008-2020/track & field), print
• The Fab Five, Christine Dzidrums, (2012/gymnastics), print
• Aly Raisman, Miranda Marshak, (2012/gymnastics), print
• Katie Ledecky, Shana Corey, (2012-2024/swimming), print
• Courage to Soar, Simone Biles, (2016-2024/gymnastics), print | eaudio
• I Got This, Laurie Hernandez, (2016/gymnastics), print
• Proud (Young Readers Edition), Ibtihaj Muhammad, (2016/fencing), print | eaudio

Adults

• Path Lit By Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe, David Maraniss, (1912/track & field), print | audio cd | ebook | eaudio
• Fire on the Track: Betty Robinson and the Triumph of the Early Olympic Women, Roseanne Montillo, (1928 & 1936/track & field), print
• The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown, (1936/rowing), print | large print | ebook | eaudio | blu-ray 
• Olympic Pride, American Prejudice, Deborah Riley Draper, (1936), print | dvd
• Berlin 1936, Oliver Hilmes, (1936), print
• Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics, Jeremy Schaap, (1936/track & field), print | ebook
• Rome 1960, David Maraniss, (1960), print | eaudio
• Tokyo Olympiad, (1964), blu-ray
• Dream Team, Jack McCallum, (1992/basketball), print | ebook | eaudio
• It’s Not about Perfect, Shannon Miller, (1992-1996/gymnastics), print | ebook | eaudio
• Off Balance, Dominique Moceanu, (1996/gymnastics), print
• The National Team, Caitlin Murray, (1996-2012/soccer), print | ebook
• Just Add Water, Katie Ledecky, (2012-2024/swimming), print
• One Life, Megan Rapinoe, (2012/soccer), print | eaudio
• The Race to Be Myself, Caster Semenya, (2012-2016/track & field), print 
• Proud, Ibtihaj Muhammad, (2016/fencing), print | eaudio
• Coming Home, Brittney Griner, (2016-2024/basketball), print | ebook
• Dear Black Girls, A’ja Wilson, (2020-2024/basketball), print | eaudio