With the 2016 Rio Olympics starting this evening, there is a lot of excitement in the air about sports. Watching the Olympics is a great way to get kids excited about sports and introducing them to the wide variety of sports that are offered. I'm sure tonight's opening ceremony will be like nothing we have ever seen. Over the next several days, I hope you can find time to share the Olympics excitement with your child...rooting for your favorite team or learning about a sport you don't know anything about. That is why there is no better time to tell you about these books from National Geographic Kids.

EVERYTHING SPORTS offers vivid photography, bullet explanations, as well as facts and tidbits of information, to teach your child about their favorite sport or maybe one they have never heard of before. This isn't a book that just shares the rules of the game, but more a whole picture of sports....comparing professional play with a pick-up game in your neighborhood, looking at what it takes to be a champion, and debunking some common myths about sports.

I loved learning about the particulars of balls in different sports. I've recently become a bowler and had no idea what bowling balls were made of until reading this book. This book doesn't bog kids down with overwhelming facts but gives you the basics in amongst awesome photography to keep kids interested. The pages are thick and make it possible for even the youngest reader to flip through without damaging the book. There are also several quizzes in the book so readers can test their knowledge. It would be fun for the kids to quiz their parents on what they know before reading the book. There is even a referee quiz where you can see if you make the right call.

Shalise Manza Young shares her story of being a high school athlete and how one event pointed her in the direction of being a sports journalist. Her story teaches a lesson on how your worst moment can lead to something even better.

I appreciated the final article at the end of the book talking about the importance of sports and the benefits it can offer kids and adults. It is important to take sports seriously, especially as an athlete, but if it isn't fun, then it really isn't worth it. It is certainly exciting to attend a professional sporting event and even though these athletes spend hours every day training and working on their game, they wouldn't be out there if it wasn't fun.

If you have a hockey player, a gymnast, a martial artist, a go-cart racer, or any sport in between, this is a fun book to share with them because as a parent, you'll enjoy it too. ( )