Running is the first sport a child invents without being taught. Long before anyone hands them a stopwatch, kids race to the mailbox, race the dog, race a sibling to the car and then argue about who called it. The books here follow that instinct all the way out — into a school race with real competition in it, onto a track team with a coach and a clipboard, up to a starting line where somebody has trained for years and still isn't sure. What running books do better than almost any other sport is show the unglamorous middle: the miles nobody watches, the side stitch, the day you come in fourth.
Bookroo's collection of 71 running books covers footrace fables, first cross country seasons, and the runners kids actually ask about — Wilma Rudolph, Jesse Owens, Terry Fox, Fauja Singh, Bobbi Gibb. Our editors picked thirteen favorites below, arranged youngest to oldest, so you can start where your reader is and keep going. Below that, browse every running picture book, or head straight to the chapter books and middle grade novels for readers ready for a whole season.
The hare has the whole race won and decides there is time for a nap.
A boy runs a message down the Inka Trail and keeps stopping to help animals along the way.
Alta is the quickest kid in Clarksville until a girl with brand-new shoes moves in.
A girl who was told she would never walk again wins three Olympic golds.
At 100 years old, Fauja Singh runs a marathon.
Terry Fox's best friend watches him decide to run across Canada on one leg.
In 1966 women were not allowed in the Boston Marathon, so Bobbi Gibb hid in the bushes at the start.
Solomon has twenty miles of Ethiopian road between his collapsed grandfather and help.
Geronimo Stilton is entered in a marathon by mistake and trains in a full panic.
Annie runs barefoot beside her friend Max while everything at home rearranges itself.
The smallest, least athletic kid in seventh grade is drafted onto the cross country team.
Ghost has been running since the night he and his mother ran out of the house.
A track star loses her leg in a bus accident and starts counting what is left.
Footraces, fun runs, first pairs of real running shoes, and the true stories of runners who kept going long after everyone expected them to stop — ages 3–8.
A stray dog joins an ultramarathon runner, forging an unbreakable bond.
A woman defies the odds to run the Boston Marathon, changing the sport forever.
A young athlete defies racism and sets world records at the 1936 Olympics.
Defy prejudice and break records at the 1936 Olympics.
An unlikely runner surprises everyone in a race from Melbourne to Sydney.
A reluctant runner faces a mean teammate on Field Day. Can she overcome her fears?
A plane crash can't stop her Olympic dreams. Will she run again?
A chaotic 1904 Olympic marathon with unexpected twists and unlikely competitors.
A race mishap leaves Emma relying on Dixie to save the day.
A child's imagination races as Daddy runs faster than ever.
Raymond races through life, meeting friends and challenges at lightning speed.
A young athlete's race is a mess of mistakes. Can she turn failure into triumph?
Track teams, cross country seasons, relay meltdowns, marathon mishaps, and novels about kids who run for reasons that have nothing to do with a medal — ages 7–13.
In 1970 Alabama, Lu's running talent challenges racial divides and tests her friendships.
A boy's legendary runs challenge a racially divided town's boundaries.
A young runner finds hope in her ancestor's wartime diaries.
A secret burdens Rain as her family moves to the city, threatening to unravel everything.
Mr. Putter must finish second in a marathon to win a coveted train set. Can he do it?
Lu faces unexpected hurdles on and off the track to discover what true victory means.
A young girl runs a magical race to save the day.
Can Patty outrun her fears and learn to trust her team?
A sharecropper's son defies odds, challenging racial supremacy at the 1936 Olympics.
Sunny must find his place on the track team without running. Can he redefine his path and heal his past?
Auma's dreams clash with family duty as AIDS ravages her village.
A boy must invent a country to compete in a race and face his best friend.
