Riot Recommendation

36+ Great Middle Grade Sports Reads Chosen by You

María Cristina García lives in New York with her favorite spouse, her favorite toddler, her favorite cat, and her second-favorite cat. When not ranking members of her household, she's catching up on Supergirl, strumming her mandolin, or trying to beat the clock on her library loans. Twitter: @MeowyCristina Blog: MeowyCristina.com

This Riot Recommendation of great middle grade sports books is sponsored by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, publisher of Kwame Alexander’s Rebound.

From the New York Times bestselling author Kwame Alexander comes Rebound, the prequel to his Newbery Award-winner, The Crossover. Before he’s Chuck “Da Man” Bell, proud father of Jordan and Josh Bell, Charlie is a kid who dreams of basketball glory. In his mind, he can steal, jump, dunk, and make the crowd go wild just like a pro-baller. But when tragedy strikes, Charlie can’t help but make all the wrong moves. Will a series of missteps keep him benched, or can he learn how to rebound?


Sports can be a thrilling subject. All the more so in middle grade, when the stakes of the big game are always high and every competition is a defining moment. We love losing ourselves in middle grade sports books, especially when we can read them along with the kids in our lives. So what are your favorites of the genre? That was the question, and below you’ll find just a smattering of your answers!

Million Dollar Goal series by Dan Gutman

Breaking the Ice by Gail Nall

Night Hoops by Carl Deuker

The Toilet Paper Tigers by Gordon Korman

Braced by Alyson Gerber

Double Dutch by Sharon M. Draper

Ten: A Soccer Story by Shamini Flint

Gabby Garcia’s Ultimate Playbook by Iva-Marie Palmer

Last Shot by John Feinstein

The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John Ritter

Junior Lifeguards: The Test by Elizabeth Doyle Carey

Soccer Chick Rules by Dawn Fitzgerald

Sugar and Ice by Kate Messner

Millicent Min, Girl Genius by Lisa Yee

Travel Team by Mike Lupica

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord

Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes

Gold Dust by Chris Lynch

The Way Home Looks Now by Wendy Wan-Long Shang

The Unlikely Story of a Pig in the City by Jodi Kendall

My 13th Season by Kristi Roberts

Keeping Score by Linda Sue Park

Vilonia Beebe Takes Charge by Kristin L. Gray

House of Sports by Marisabina Russo

Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh by Uma Krishnaswami

One-Handed Catch by MJ Auch

Golden Girl by Mari Mancusi

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson

Tangerine by Edward Bloor

The Mean Girl Meltdown by Lindsay Eyre

The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mike Cochrane

Heat by Michael Cadnum

Ultra by David Carroll

Track series by Jason Reynolds

Open Court by Carol Clippinger

Kick series by Alex Morgan