Game On! Compelling Middle Grade Books for Sports Fans

Kicking off this list with an award-winning classic! This debut novel-in-verse tells the story of 12-year-old Josh and his twin brother, Jordan. They have mad skills on the basketball court, but off the court, growing up and figuring out life isn’t as easy.

Bonus: This was adapted into a TV series on Disney+, and NBA legend LeBron James is one of the executive producers.

This National Book Award finalist is a graphic novel about a young girl who learns to face her fears. Bree doesn’t feel comfortable around the water, but unfortunately, swimming is the only available elective at her new school. So with the help of her elderly neighbor Etta, she learns to swim and becomes quite good at it. But now the pressure is on for Bree to help the Mighty Manatees beat their rival swim team. Can Bree make it happen?

Who better to tell a story about playing baseball than an actual major league baseball star? Jeter, the New York Yankees’ 14-time All-Star and five-time World Series winner, has penned a novel for young readers about his big dreams in middle school of playing for the Yankees. Derek wants to play shortstop for the team, but is stuck on second. However, he won’t let any obstacles get in the way of making his dreams a reality.

This is a fun graphic novel based on a true story, about a young girl who joins an all-girls, hijab-wearing basketball team at her new school. Aliya is excited to start basketball at her new school in Wisconsin, but she quickly learns her new team is nothing like her last one. This team isn’t very good, and Aliya butts heads with one of the other girls. But as the season goes on, they all learn to work together and turn their team around!

When Addie Ramírez’s stepfather suggests that he adopt her, Addie thinks again about her father and everything she doesn’t know about him, save a single photo her mother keeps hidden. So she does some investigating and meets the Bravos, her luchador relatives, whose world revolves around wrestling. Now Addie’s world has expanded to include paternal grandparents and cousins, as well as wrestling. As she learns more about where she came from, Addie discovers that finding out who you are is the hardest thing to pin down.

This was another National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature, and it’s the first in the Track series. Ghost is one of the most talented runners on his elite middle school track team. But his reasons for running may slow him down if he can’t outrun the ghosts of his past.

Bicycle—yes, that’s really her name—has grown up with Sister Wanda at the Mostly Silent Monastery in Washington, D.C. Bicycle enjoys her life as it is, but Sister Wanda thinks she needs to make more friends, and tells Bicycle that she has signed her up for camp. Unhappy, Bicycle instead takes off on her bike, determined to ride across the country to meet her idol, a famous cyclist. Along the way, she learns to depend on help from others and even makes a few friends. (Don’t really run away from home, kids.)

To end, a sweet graphic novel about things lost and found. Grace is unhappy about her split from her best friend, Ava, and how she can’t seem to connect with her mom. And since band was Ava’s favorite place, Grace needs a new hobby and new friends. So she takes up fencing, hoping that the finesse and poise the fencers exhibit will help her find the calm she needs. (Plus, she gets to poke things with a stick.)