Bouncing in with 4 Great Basketball Books
By now you likely know that I am a WORD NERD, but did you also know that I am a HUGE college basketball fan? It all started back when I was in college and dating a boy obsessed with March Madness. I swear I could have stood in front of the TV with a piping hot pizza and a hundred dollar bill clutched in my outstretched hand and all he would have said is, “Ummm, can you move to the left? The game is on.”
Even though I was a “short girl” who was terrible at ball sports (okay, both of those things are still true) I refused to be left out. I wanted in on the action. So I learned everything I could about the teams involved, the seed ranking process, the history of the tournament, EVERYTHING. (I also learned that this wasn’t the guy for me, but that’s not really the point of this blog post.)
The point is I now love reading and college basketball. I’m not alone. March Madness has become the #1 sporting event in the nation… bigger than the World Series. Bigger than the Super Bowl. Even people who hate sports get into the action, blindly filling out brackets and cheering for teams they’ve never even heard of (much the way I did my first few years following the tournament). The point is… there is a tangible buzz around college basketball this time of year and it can be used as a great tool to hook sports loving readers. Here are 4 amazing middle grade basketball books featuring a wide variety of formats (novel, graphic novel, novel in verse) and casts of characters who all have one thing in common - they LOVE basketball.
This first book combines both of my loves… writing and basketball. This story is all about two young writers who win their way to the Final Four by entering a sports writing contest. The winners, Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson, are opposites in about every way, except that they both love writing and basketball. When they arrive at the tournament and stubble upon the BIGGEST SPORTS SCANDAL EVER, they need to pull together to solve the mystery before it wrecks everything. Sports fans will love the name dropping of real coaches, reporters and players. Readers will love how the story keeps them turning the pages. Perhaps the best thing about this book is that it’s the first in the Sports Beat series. If readers enjoy their time with Stevie and Susan Carol, they can join them at the Super Bowl, Olympics, World Series and other amazing sporting events.
Listen to the first chapter here.
Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang
Okay, I lied. I said all of the characters loved basketball, but Gene Luen Yang is the narrator and main character of his book Dragon Hoops and he didn’t start out loving basketball. In fact, as a kid, he hated it. But when the basketball team at the high school where he taught math was poised to go to the state championship, he got sucked in… not only to the game, but the history of it. Part graphic novel memoir, part sports story, part history book, this basketball book is a slam dunk on all three accounts.
Listen to the first chapter here.
Nikki on the Line By Barbara Caroll Roberts
I loved this book. It has intense basketball action, relatable tween/teen troubles, and characters so real, you’d swear you knew them. The thing Nikki wants more than anything else in life is to make the roster of an elite club basketball team called, The Action. But when she hustles hard and gets her wish, it’s not as great as she thought. Or at least, it was no longer as easy and fun as basketball had always been. Nikki has to decide if all the sacrifices she’s made to get there are worth it. And then there’s the cute boy in science, the best friend drama, her librarian mother who doesn’t get sports at all, and her extremely energetic little brother. R-E-A-L. This book spells out the life of a middle school elite athlete to a T and is an excellent read for anyone striving to excel in their sport of choice, while simultaneously also trying to survive 8th grade.
First Chapter Friday read aloud video releasing on 3/18/21. Check back to my channel then!
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
This is by far the most popular basketball on the list. For a lot of reasons. #1, it won the Newbery Award back in 2015. It’s also unique because it’s a novel in verse… aka: a story told in poems. But it’s not just any novel in verse… its more like a novel in rap. The poems sound like songs, songs you might hear on the radio. It is modern and fresh and unlike any other book I’ve ever encountered. And kids LOVE it. The author, Kwame Alexander, tells a story about going on a school visit and the librarian having to lock up copies of The Crossover, because boys were stealing copies and reading it to girls. Now I don’t know about you, but to me, that is the ultimate level of success as a middle grade/young adult author. This novel in verse about two basketball loving brothers will grab the attention of even your most reluctant readers.
First Chapter Friday read aloud video releasing on 3/25/21. Check back to my channel then!
Do you have any basketball books I can add to my list? Make your suggestion in the comments below.
If you want even more March Madness goodness (and also a few facts to help you fill out your bracket!) give this trivia video a try! Perfect for Trivia Tuesday, Fun Friday or anytime of the week you want to add a little fun to your day.
Happy reading and basketball watching!
Amanda
P.S. Go Bucky!
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