What reading level is the Sports Great series?

Sports Great books are at a grades 4–8 reading level (average grade level 5.9), and HootRated recommends the series for ages 9–12. There are 64 books in the series.

What order should I read the Sports Great books?

Series numbers aren't available for most Sports Great books, so HootRated lists them by publication date: Sports great Bo Jackson (1990); Sports great Darryl Strawberry (1990); Sports great Herschel Walker (1990); Sports great John Elway (1990); Sports great Roger Clemens (1990); and 59 more.

What age is the Sports Great series appropriate for?

HootRated recommends Sports Great for ages 9–12. Content is gentle to moderate (HootRated intensity 1–3 out of 5). Intensity varies from book to book, so check individual ratings in the list above.

Sports Great Books in Order

Sports Great is a 64-book series by Ron Knapp for ages 9–12, at a grades 4–8 reading level, with gentle to moderate content (HootRated intensity 1–3 out of 5).

Books: 64; By publication date
Reading level: Grades 4–8; Average grade level 5.9
Recommended ages: Ages 9–12; From HootRated age ratings
Content intensity: Gentle to moderate; HootRated 1–3 out of 5 · avg 1

Sports Great Reading Order

Series numbers aren't available for most Sports Great books, so they're listed by publication date (oldest first).

#	Title	Reading Level	Ages	Content
1	Sports great Bo Jackson 1990	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
2	Sports great Darryl Strawberry 1990 · John Albert Torres	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
3	Sports great Herschel Walker 1990 · Jim Benagh	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
4	Sports great John Elway 1990 · Larry Fox	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
5	Sports great Roger Clemens 1990 · John Devaney	Level 4-5	9-12	Gentle
6	Sports great Charles Barkley 1992 · Glen Macnow	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
7	Sports great David Robinson 1992 · Nathan Aaseng	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
8	Sports great Hakeem Olajuwon 1992	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
9	Sports great Isiah Thomas 1992	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
10	Sports great Joe Montana 1992 · Jack Kavanagh	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
11	Sports great Larry Bird 1992 · Jack Kavanagh	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
12	Sports great Magic Johnson 1992 · James Haskins	Level 6-7	9-12	Moderate
13	Sports great Michael Jordan 1992 · Nathan Aaseng	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
14	Sports great Patrick Ewing 1992 · Jack Kavanagh	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
15	Sports great Barry Sanders 1993	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
16	Sports great Bobby Bonilla 1993	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
17	Sports great Jerry Rice 1993 · Glenn Dickey	Level 4-5	9-12	Gentle
18	Sports great Jim Abbott 1993 · Jeff Savage	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
19	Sports great Kevin Mitchell 1993 · Glenn Dickey	Level 4	9-12	Mild
20	Sports great Kirby Puckett 1993 · Nathan Aaseng	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
21	Sports great Nolan Ryan 1993 · William W. Lace	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
22	Sports great Orel Hershiser 1993	Level 4-5	9-12	Gentle
23	Sports great Will Clark 1993	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
24	Sports great Jim Kelly 1995 · Denis J. Harrington	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
25	Sports great John Stockton 1995 · Nathan Aaseng	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
26	Sports great Karl Malone 1995 · Jeff Savage	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
27	Sports great Mario Lemieux 1995	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
28	Sports great Shaquille O'Neal 1995 · Michael John Sullivan	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
29	Sports great Steffi Graf 1995	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
30	Sports great Troy Aikman 1995 · Glen Macnow	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
31	Sports great Anfernee Hardaway 1996 · George R. Rekela	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
32	Sports great Dennis Rodman 1996 · Stew Thornley	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
33	Sports great Dominique Wilkins 1996 · Peter C. Bjarkman	Level 7-8	9-12	Gentle
34	Sports great Pete Sampras 1996 · Victoria Sherrow	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
35	Sports great Scottie Pippen 1996 · Peter C. Bjarkman	Level 7-8	9-12	Gentle
36	Sports great Wayne Gretzky 1996 · Ken Rappoport	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
37	Sports great Alonzo Mourning 1997 · Frank Fortunato	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
38	Sports great Eric Lindros 1997 · Ken Rappoport	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
39	Sports great Greg Maddux 1997 · Stew Thornley	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
40	Sports great Jerome Bettis 1997 · Stephen Majewski	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
41	Sports great Muggsy Bogues 1997 · George R. Rekela	Level 7-8	9-12	Gentle
42	Sports great Emmitt Smith 1998 · John F. Grabowski	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
43	Sports great Jason Kidd 1998 · John Albert Torres	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
44	Sports great Chris Webber 1999 · Glen Macnow	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
45	Sports great Juwan Howard 1999 · Jeff Savage	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
46	Sports great Michael Chang 1999 · Christin Ditchfield	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
47	Sports great Mitch Richmond 1999 · Carl W. Grody	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
48	Sports Great Ken Griffey, Jr. (Sports Great Books) 2000 · Jeff Savage	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
49	Sports Great Kevin Garnett (Sports Great Books) 2000 · Glen MacNow	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
50	Sports Great Kobe Bryant (Sports Great Books) 2000 · Glen MacNow	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
51	Sports Great Stephon Marbury (Sports Great Books) 2000 · Jeff Savage	Level 6	9-12	Gentle
52	Rebecca Lobo (Sports Great Books) 2001 · Jeff Savage	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
53	Sports Great Grant Hill (Sports Great Books) 2001 · John Albert Torres	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
54	Sports great Jeff Gordon 2001 · Glen Macnow	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
55	Sports great Tiger Woods 2001 · Glen Macnow	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
56	Sports great Tim Duncan 2002 · John Albert Torres	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
57	Allen Iverson (Sports Great Books) 2003 · Glen MacNow	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
58	Kurt Warner (Sports Great Books) 2003 · George R. Rekela	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
59	Donovan McNabb (Sports Great Books)	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle
60	Peyton Manning (Sports Great Books)	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
61	Sammy Sosa (Sports Great Books) John Albert Torres	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
62	Sports Great Daunte Culpepper (Sports Great Books) Ross Bernstein	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
63	Sports Great Dikembe Mutombo (Sports Great Books)	Level 6-7	9-12	Gentle
64	Sports Great Vince Carter (Sports Great Books)	Level 5-6	9-12	Gentle

Content Intensity Across the Series

Varies

Content intensity ranges from Gentle to Moderate across the series.

First book Latest book

Series books grow with readers — but that's also the trap. Most series start at one reading level and one content intensity and drift upward over the course of the run. Sports Great (64 books by Ron Knapp) lands at a grades 4–8 reading level, with average content intensity 1/5. Intensity varies from book to book, so check individual ratings in the list above.

The reading-order table above lists every book with per-volume reading level, age and intensity ratings so you can spot any escalation before it catches your reader off guard. For a deeper dive into how we score text difficulty vs. emotional weight separately — and why series readers especially benefit from that split — see our methodology page.

All Sports Great Books

Sports great Bo Jackson

Ron Knapp

Sports great Bo Jackson

Ron Knapp

Sports Great Books in Order

Sports Great Reading Order

Content Intensity Across the Series

All Sports Great Books

Sports great Bo Jackson

Sports great Darryl Strawberry

Sports great Herschel Walker

Sports great John Elway

Sports great Roger Clemens

Sports great Charles Barkley

Sports great David Robinson

Sports great Hakeem Olajuwon

Sports great Isiah Thomas

Sports great Joe Montana

Sports great Larry Bird

Sports great Magic Johnson

Sports great Michael Jordan

Sports great Patrick Ewing

Sports great Barry Sanders

Sports great Bobby Bonilla

Sports great Jerry Rice

Sports great Jim Abbott

Sports great Kevin Mitchell

Sports great Kirby Puckett

Sports great Nolan Ryan

Sports great Orel Hershiser

Sports great Will Clark

Sports great Jim Kelly

Sports great John Stockton

Sports great Karl Malone

Sports great Mario Lemieux

Sports great Shaquille O'Neal

Sports great Steffi Graf

Sports great Troy Aikman

Sports great Anfernee Hardaway

Sports great Dennis Rodman

Sports great Dominique Wilkins

Sports great Pete Sampras

Sports great Scottie Pippen

Sports great Wayne Gretzky

Sports great Alonzo Mourning

Sports great Eric Lindros

Sports great Greg Maddux

Sports great Jerome Bettis

Sports great Muggsy Bogues

Sports great Emmitt Smith

Sports great Jason Kidd

Sports great Chris Webber

Sports great Juwan Howard

Sports great Michael Chang

Sports great Mitch Richmond

Sports Great Ken Griffey, Jr. (Sports Great Books)

Sports Great Kevin Garnett (Sports Great Books)

Sports Great Kobe Bryant (Sports Great Books)

Sports Great Stephon Marbury (Sports Great Books)

Rebecca Lobo (Sports Great Books)

Sports Great Grant Hill (Sports Great Books)

Sports great Jeff Gordon

Sports great Tiger Woods

Sports great Tim Duncan

Allen Iverson (Sports Great Books)

Kurt Warner (Sports Great Books)

Donovan McNabb (Sports Great Books)

Peyton Manning (Sports Great Books)

Sammy Sosa (Sports Great Books)

Sports Great Daunte Culpepper (Sports Great Books)

Sports Great Dikembe Mutombo (Sports Great Books)

Sports Great Vince Carter (Sports Great Books)

Series Like Sports Great: What to Read Next

Questions about the Sports Great series