5 Kid's Books About The Olympics

If someone were to ask me if we would ever achieve world peace, I would joke back that we do. Every four years, in the most human way possible—through competition, of course—when everyone comes together for the Olympic Games.

Every four years, we gather to fashion modern-day gladiator games, pitting each nation’s best athletes against each other. We solemnly shake hands with one hand and with the other count the number of medals each country has amassed. Yep, you guessed it—the cynicism of adulthood has slowly eroded the glamor and excitement of the Olympics for me.

Does that mean I won’t tune in and watch? You know I will. Even as I’ve become more jaded my heart still thrills at the Opening Ceremony where, even under its glittering guise, the promise of unity is enthralling. There’s so much spectacle at the heart of the Olympics and I am a mere human. I can’t turn away. (Especially since in my imagination the French opening ceremonies will have beret-ed people tossing baguettes into the crowd like candy. 😆)

So as we settle down to partake in the Summer Olympics hosted in Paris this year, here are my favorite children’s books that celebrate the Olympics' pomp and athletic feats.

Here is a round-up of Olympics-related content that I’ve enjoyed:

• If cute babies competed in the Olympics (the comments are hilarious)

• If you have kids born during the summer, lean into an Olympics-themed birthday party

• Fun Olympic-themed activities to do at home—my favorite is the last one which encourages kids to learn about different countries and cultures

Also, there are still a few days left in Week 1 of the Summer Reading Challenge. If you missed it, you can find it here!

The Frog Olympics

Written by Brian Moses and Illustrated by Amy Husband

Recommended Ages: 1-4 years old

It’s the lively rhyme and little bits that you learn about frogs that make this book so delightful. Frogs from all over the world gather together to participate in the Frog Olympics… from hopping out of bogs to trying to catch all the flies, the competition is fierce. The book does a wonderful job of capturing the excitement of gathering together and watching the various events. The book ends on a positive note—focusing not on the competitive nature of the Olympics but using it instead as a platform to marvel at all the physical feats humans—err, frogs—have accomplished and where there is still the opportunity to do more.

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Lucas at the Paralympics

Written by Igor Plohl and Illustrated by Urska Stropnik Sonc

Recommended Ages: 4-7 years old

Written by Igor Plohl who became paraplegic in his late 20s and spends much of his time raising awareness for spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities, this book explains all the different competitions in the Paralympics. Reading this book made me realize how limiting our perspective is on what bodies can do. Why do we use our hands for certain tasks and our feet for others? It’s our perspective that limits the true breadth and capabilities of our bodies. This book explains the rules and participation requirements for each sport and what play looks like. This is a light, easy read; informative in a way that isn’t dense or overwhelming. I will add that there is an attempt at a plot at the very beginning of the book but it fizzles out. Frankly, I forgot all about the “plot” until I went back for a re-read. So it doesn’t affect the reading experience but for readers who pay close attention to the details, this might be off-putting.

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Wei Skates On

Written by Nathan Chen and Illustrated by Lorraine Nam

Recommended Ages: 4-8 years old

Written by Olympic gold medalist, Nathan Chen, this book is a semi-autobiographical peek at his experience practicing to become an ice skating champion. The story focuses on winning so this could easily have slotted in perfectly well with the list I shared a few weeks ago about being a good sport but I thought it was better suited for this list instead. Sports champions are largely admired for their athletic prowess but the driving factor in their success is their mental strength. To be a competitor at that level means your mental focus and clarity are solid and unyielding. And that’s what I loved about this book. When Wei, our protagonist, fails to do as well as he hoped in his practices, he is visibly upset. Prompted by his mom, he discloses that he’s scared of not winning. Through his mom’s guidance, Wei reassesses what it means to win. At his competition, rather than worrying about whether or not he will win, he focuses on his abilities and how he feels when he competes. This book is a valuable reminder that so much of athletic success depends on the mental strength and fortitude of the athlete.

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Wilma Unlimited

Written by Kathleen Krull and Illustrated by David Diaz

Recommended Ages: 5-9 years old

We watch with bated breath when our favorite athletes come up to compete. Our focus hones in on that specific moment but for an athlete, it’s the culmination of every moment before. There is no overnight success and that’s certainly the case for a competitor at the Olympic level. In this beautifully illustrated book, we learn more about Wilma Rudolph the first American woman to have won 3 gold medals during a single Olympic Games, and her journey to get there. When Rudolph was born she was sickly and at a young age developed polio. This was in the 1940s and medical treatment wasn’t very advanced so Wilma was delivered the life-altering news that she would likely never walk again. But Wilma doesn’t let that limit her mobility—her diligence allows her to walk. Soon she is leading her basketball team to the state championships where a scout recruits her for the track team at Tennessee State University. Her journey is one of resilience and overcoming her doubts and fears. She’s won Olympic gold medals, yes, but she had real victory was won long before that. Diaz’s iconic style—mixed-media illustrations layering gouache artwork and photographic backgrounds—is stunning in its abstraction and boldness much like Rudolph herself.

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The First Olympic Games

Written by Jean Richards and Illustrated by Kat Thacker

Recommended Ages: 7-10 years old

This book certainly lives up to its name. It’s gruesome but satisfying in a way that only mythological tales can be. We learn of the father who chopped up his son to serve to the Olympian gods as supper and how the son was brought back to life and won the heart of a princess (at the cost of her father, the king’s, death). How together they hosted the very first Olympic Games that should have been carried forth for millennia but resumed when modern human history realized that the Olympic Games had indeed been real and not just the stuff of myth. It’s an en-GROSS-ing story (see what I did there?) with adventure and thrills. If you’ve got a myth-lover on your hands, this one will be a hit!

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There’s still time to participate in Week 1 of the Summer Reading Challenge!

Let’s talk…

• First of all, are you planning on watching the Olympics?

• Which sports do you like to follow at the Olympics?

• Have you ever actually been to the Olympics (lucky you!)? What was the experience like?

*Thank you for using (at no additional cost to you) the affiliate links in this post! :-)