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I hated organized sports as a kid and had no interest in participating in the activities my parents insisted on signing me up for, like soccer and T-ball. As you can probably guess, I was more interested in reading and playing “school” with my Cabbage Patch Kids. It wasn’t until I started running about nineteen years ago that I finally saw myself as an athlete. I’m still not a fan of team sports–participating in them or watching them–but I do enjoy reading stories about kids who are passionate about sports, especially when those sports are a bit offbeat. In this episode I spotlight five middle grade books featuring table tennis, synchronized swimming, roller derby, fencing, and baton twirling. Yep, you heard that right. Baton twirling. Whether you are an athlete or not, I hope these stories inspire you to try something new. Who knows? Maybe you’d dominate at ultimate Frisbee or competitive ballroom dance if you just gave it a chance.
Call Me Adnan by Reem Faruqi
Reem Faruqi’s novel in verse, Call Me Adnan, is a story about table tennis, family bonds, sibling relationships, unexpected loss, and the different ways grief impacts our lives. Published by Harper in 2023, this book ripped my heart out, while managing to leave me feeling hopeful.
Barely Floating by Lilliam Rivera
I listened to the audiobook of Barely Floating by Lilliam Rivera and it had me wishing for warm summer days splashing around the local pool instead of cold mornings walking around my neighborhood. Published in 2023 by Kokila, Barely Floating explores the world of synchronized swimming, while also examining complex topics like gender norms, fat politics, social activism, generational trauma, and morality.
The Derby Daredevils: Kenzie Kickstarts a Team by Kit Rosewater
It’s time to strap on your skates and think of your best punny nicknames! As a child of the 80s I fondly remember watching roller derby on TV, so I was pretty excited when the sport had a revival in the early 2000s. I love that roller derby is one of a few sports dominated by women and that it celebrates and encourages aggression, strength, speed and camaraderie, which isn’t always the case for female identifying athletes. The Derby Daredevils, a series written by Kit Rosewater and illustrated by Sophie Escabasse, delves into the world of roller derby as seen through the eyes of an unlikely team of fifth graders. The series consists of three titles, all published by Amulet Books, with each one centering around a different member of the team.
Black Brother, Black Brother by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Much like Barely Floating, Jewell Parker Rhodes’ Black Brother, Black Brother examines social injustice through the lens of competitive sports. Published by Little, Brown and Company in 2020, Black Brother, Black Brother centers around a middle schooler who becomes interested in fencing as a way to get revenge on a classmate who bullies him.
Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
In my eyes, Kate DiCamillo can do no wrong. I absolutely adore her Mercy Watson books, laughed out loud while reading Flora and Ulysses, cried while reading Edward Toulane, and fell in love with the spunky, endearing young women in the Three Rancheros series. Raymie Nightingale, the first book in that series, was published by Candlewick press in 2016, and features a lot of baton twirling, which might be the most offbeat of all the sports featured on this episode.
Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Happy Reading podcast. I hope you discovered some new books that you are excited to read or that you were reminded of some that have been hanging out on your TBR stack. If you know of other wonderful middle grade books that fit this episode’s theme, I’d love to hear about them. A few that I wanted to include in this episode but didn’t have time for are One Last Shot by John David Anderson, which centers around miniature golf, In Your Shoes by Donna Gephart, a book that takes place partly at a bowling alley, and Jayla Jumps In, Joy Jones’ story about double dutch jump roping. I continue to patiently wait for a middle grade book about the world of competitive croquet.
