Books About AAPI Athletes: 12 Titles for Kids, Teens, and Adults

Based on his own life experiences, Mochizuki’s picture book sheds light on both the sport of baseball and Japanese American internment camps during World War II. The protagonist, Shorty, and his family — along with thousands of other Japanese Americans — have been relocated to a camp in the middle of the hot, dusty desert with nothing to look forward to anymore. Shorty’s father solves the problem by building a baseball field inside the barbed wire fences and guard towers. Soon, Shorty and other camp residents get caught up in the games and begin to understand how a sport provides not only opportunities for distraction and victory, but most importantly, a way to gain dignity and self-respect.

The youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding gold medal, Chloe Kim, whose parents are from South Korea, pushed the boundaries of her sport to establish an unparalleled standard of skill and style. In addition to Chloe’s journey of dedication, this book offers full-color pictures, a glossary of terms, plus reading and teaching tips.

Check out more books about Chloe Kim:

Pro Sports Biographies: Chloe Kim by Elizabeth Raum 

Chloe Kim (My Early Library: My Itty-Bitty Bio) by Meeg Pincus and Jeff Bane

Who Is Chloe Kim? by Stefanie Loh (available for preorder)

Sammy Lee, a Korean American diver, was the first AAPI athlete to win an Olympic gold medal — and this biography shares his journey. Lee’s challenges started early. At 12 years old, he — like all people of color in 1932 — was only permitted to use the public swimming pool once a week. Still, he found a way to keep practicing, but was soon torn between his own dream of being an Olympian and his father’s hopes for him to become a doctor. This book tells the story of how Sammy Lee achieved both things and includes illustrations, glossary, recommended reading, and more.

Check out Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story, also written by Paula Yoo.

“Always dream” is the trademark phrase of Kristi Yamaguchi, the legendary Olympic champion, U.S. champion, and two-time world champion figure skater. Yamaguchi, a third generation Japanese American, writes about relying on her determination and love of the sport to overcome obstacles and tragedy during her successful skating career.

This anthology features the stories of 17 AAPI female athletes, including Chloe Kim (snowboarding), Julie Chu (hockey), Natasha Kai-Marks (soccer), and more extraordinary athletes across a variety of sports. Each woman has prevailed over her own obstacles in order to compete at the highest level.

In this memoir, Korean American tennis pro Michael Chang shares his life journey — on and off the court. Chang writes about how his parents, despite not having much in the way of resources, supported his and his brother’s development in tennis. In addition to descriptions of his training, his competitions, and his interactions and friendships with other tennis greats — including Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and John McEnroe — he also reflects on how his discipline, faith, and value system impacted his athletic career.

Written shortly after the NBA’s first American-born Taiwanese player, Jeremy Lin, rose to stardom during his success as a starting point guard with the Knicks, this biography reveals the story behind the player. Exploring how Lin’s faith, family, education, and cultural inheritance shaped his success, the book also includes interviews with basketball experts, AAPI thought leaders, and pastors.

“Why am I doing this?” This question, Olympic champion speed skater Apolo Ohno writes in his memoir, was the one he asked himself time and time again. The answer was always that he loved to skate. That passion helped Ohno — the son of a Japanese-born father — overcome uncertainty, loneliness, and his relentless inner critic to rise to incredible success as an athlete. In this book, Ohno describes how he had to learn to face his fiercest competitor — himself — in order to become a true champion.

This biography of Korean American golf phenom Michelle Wie was published shortly after she became the youngest female golfer to turn pro. It reveals the story behind her rise to success, including how she became the youngest player to qualify for an LPGA tournament, play in PGA Tour events, and win the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship. In addition to details about Wie’s life, the author, an experienced golf writer, provides interesting information about the sport itself.