Book Talk Tuesday: Undefeated by Steve Sheinkin

Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin (grades 5 & up)

Did you know...

• that when football first started, forward passes were illegal?
• that when football first started, a play wasn't over until the player with the ball stopped moving?
• that the Carlisle Indian School was the first team to try trick plays and make football more interesting?
• that without the Carlisle Indian School, coach Pop Warner, and superstar athlete Jim Thorpe, football might not exist today?

This fascinating book shows how Pop Warner, Jim Thorpe, and the rest of the Carlisle Indian School underdogs transformed football and helped to make it into the sport we love today.  The Carlisle Indian School was a boarding school where many Native American children were sent by the U.S. government in an attempt to erase Indian cultures.  Life at the school was difficult and unbearable for many but the football team was the one bright spot.  The players there bravely took on the best teams such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.  As underdogs, they used speed and innovative thinking to beat the best teams in America.  Their story is not well known, but their contribution to football is undeniable.  This interesting book has short sections and lots of photographs which make it an easier book to read.  Undefeated is on the 2019 Rebecca Caudill list and is great for football fans, readers who like a good underdog story, or anyone wanting to learn more about history.

Happy Reading!