CLIMB, DIVE, SKATE, AND RACE into the wide world of sports! This lively reference book, co-branded with ESPN, introduces young readers to a variety of sports from across the globe and explores how they are played. Whether a sport needs a ball or a stick, a pool or a field, a racquet or a ski pole, young readers can explore each sport’s history and the rules and skills that make that sport unique. From basketball to soccer, lacrosse to cricket, archery to diving, bowling to skateboarding, snowboarding to playground games, this lively reference book covers a variety of team and individual sports. Special sections look at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Whether you’re interested in team sports, solo sports, or watching from the stands, this book has something for everyone. Let’s play! Features include: Age-appropriate descriptions of dozens of sports, and the rules and skills that make each sport unique - Activities that encourage interactive learning and exercise - Simple text for reading aloud or for beginning readers - Fun facts on every spread - More than 200 incredible photos - Parent tips that extend the experience beyond the book Expand your collection with these popular titles from the best-selling National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book series: Little Kids First Big Book of Why - Little Kids First Big Book of Why 2 - Little Kids First Big Book of How - Little Kids First Big Book of Where - Little Kids First Big Book of Who - Little Kids First Big Book of the World - Little Kids First Big Book of Space - Little Kids First Big Book of Things That Go - Little Kids First Big Book of Animals - Little Kids First Big Book of Pets - And more! JAMES BUCKLEY, JR., is the author of more than 100 books for young readers on basketball, baseball, football, soccer, and more. A former editor at Sports Illustrated and NFL Publishing, he is also the author of the top-selling annual Scholastic Year in Sports. In the non-sports world, he has written a dozen titles in the New York Times best-selling Who Was...? biography series. He lives in Santa Barbara, California, where he runs the Shoreline Publishing Group, a leading producer of nonfiction for kids.