Fantasy League by Mike Lupica

I wonder if all boys (and maybe girls, too) play fantasy football--making their own teams and getting points for how each player does.  Charlie loves football.  He is a guru at fantasy football, and his teams almost always win because he watches players and their stats very carefully.  He plays football at school, too, where he can see plays before they happen by playing close attention to how the teams line up for the plays.

Charlie's best friend, Anna, is also awfully smart about football.  It helps that her grandfather owns the L.A. Bulldogs, a professional football team.  When Charlie becomes friends with Anna's grandfather, he gets a chance to use his football smarts to help out his favorite team by making suggestions for players to sign.  Charlie learns that loving the game may not be enough, and it isn't always easy to go out on a limb with your hunches in Fantasy League by Mike Lupica (Lexile: 930; Interest Level: Grades 3-7). 

Even though it is a football story, I really enjoyed the friendships, the exploration of fame, and, yes, I admit it, even the sport itself.  All people enjoying the sport of football, or who ever wondered what it might be like to make big-league decisions, may enjoy this story. (304 pages)

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