I have been looking for this book for a long time. I have read through almost all the children's, young adult and adult sports books I could find at the library and through booksellers. Nothing has been as thorough, interesting or well illustrated as this book. I tutor student's from grade 4 - grade 11 in writing. This process involves finding information in anywhere from one paragraph to several pages that students read as a reference for their own writing. Working primarily with boys I have tried for years to find a good football reference book to hold their interest. Writing is difficult for them and if I can find something that they are interested in it is easier to engage them and teach strategies.
Personally football has never been very interesting to me. This book helped to change that. It puts a history and a story to a phenomenom that I never understood why others could find it fascinating.
There are chapters on the early days and the signing of an agreement to try and organize a sport that was starting to gain attention while losing money for those in charge. There are chapters on famous players, the start of the championship games and the Super Bowl, the changing of rules, the famous "Ice Bowl", coaches and team owners, the plays of famous teams.
I highly recommend it for school libraries in elementary and middle schools and for families with children grades 3 - 7. You will love the illustrations, be surprised and laugh at the stories that are told.

A wonderful look at the history of the NFL & its greatest hits. James Ransome’s illustrations are a great accompaniment to Bowen’s accessible text.

Gridiron is structured in Quarters. Each quarter talks about a segment of football history. I am not terribly knowledgeable about football, but being a Northeast Ohioan every child made the trip to Canton, Ohio and the Football Hall of Fame. The stories and history were intriguing and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the book.

The author handled many sensitive subjects like CTE and racism in the league. Gave glory stories of teams and players. Ransome's illustrations paired perfectly with the narrative.

This would be a great addition to a school library and public library collection.