Middle Grade Reads for the Olympics!

A month or so ago, Catherine Arguelles reached out to me and let me know that she was teaming up with a few other middle grade authors for a blog hop of their books about sports that are in the upcoming Olympics. I was very excited to hear this, especially since I have previously featured a few of the other authors before. Have a look at these great books by Catherine Arguelles, Sarah Kapit, Laura Shovan, Sally Englefried and Yamile Saied Mendez:

Thirteen-year-old Maddie just wants her classmate, Lucas, to leave her alone. He keeps asking her out—as if she hasn’t already said no a thousand times! Focusing on her competitive swim team, the Electric Eels, Maddie tries to ignore him, hoping he’ll go away.

But then, when someone starts sabotaging Maddie’s family-owned pool—glass on the deck, ketchup in the pool, followed by a “code brown”—Maddie worries it’s her “admirer” trying to get even. After Maddie’s parents rule the problems at the pool just harmless pranks, Maddie and her best friend Ez decide to investigate on their own. Could it be Lucas? And how can Maddie get him to leave her alone once and for all? The future of the Electric Eels and Maddie’s family legacy are on the line.

Vivy Cohen wants to play baseball. Ever since her hero, Major League star pitcher VJ Capello, taught her how to throw a knuckleball at a family fun day for kids with autism, she’s been perfecting her pitch. And now she knows she’s ready to play on a real team. When her social skills teacher makes her write a letter to someone she knows, she writes to VJ and tells him everything about how much she wants to pitch, and how her mom says she can’t because she’s a girl and because she has autism. And then two amazing things happen: Vivy meets a Little League coach who invites her to join his team, the Flying Squirrels. And VJ starts writing back.

Mikayla is a wrestler; when you grow up in a house full of brothers who are die-hard mat heads, it’s in your DNA. She even has a wrestling name: Mickey. Some people don’t want a girl on the team. But that won’t stop her. She’s determined to work hard, and win.

Lev is determined too–he’s going to make it to the state championship. He’s used to training with his two buddies as the Fearsome Threesome. But at the beginning of sixth grade, he’s paired with a new partner—a girl. This better not get in the way of his goal.

Mickey and Lev work hard together, and find a way to become friends. But at States, there can only be one winner.

This warmhearted, engaging novel by the author of the highly praised The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary explores competition among athletes, how it influences family and friendships, and what happens when one girl wants to break barriers in a sport dominated by boys.

Twelve-year-old Daphne reconciles with her father, who left her stranded three years ago, and learns forgiveness one fall at a time in this heartwarming debut by Sally Engelfried. For fans of The First Rule of Punk.

Daphne doesn’t want to be stuck in Oakland with her dad. She wants to get on the first plane to Prague, where her mom is shooting a movie. Armed with her grandparents’ phone number and strict instructions from her mom to call them if her dad starts drinking again, Daphne has no problem being cold to him. But there’s one thing Daphne can’t keep herself from joining her dad and her new friend Arlo at a weekly skate session. When her dad promises to teach her how to ollie and she lands the trick, Daphne starts to believe in him again. He starts to show up for her, and Daphne learns things are not as black and white with her dad as she used to think. The way Daphne’s dad tells it, skating is all about accepting failure and moving on. But can Daphne really let go of her dad’s past mistakes? Either way life is a lot like it’s all about getting back up after you fall.

At thirteen years old, Valeria “Magic” Salomón is already the best soccer player her town has ever seen. She has talent in spades and an abuelo whose tough-love coaching and lessons about “strength and honor” have made her the star of the Overlords, the top boys’ team in the state.

But everything changes at the State Cup semi-final when Valeria gets her first period while Wearing. White. Shorts. After her team is unexpectedly eliminated, she goes from their secret weapon to their scapegoat. Soon, she doesn’t have a team at all anymore. She’s not sure she has a relationship with her grandfather either.

Valeria’s a fighter, however. And with the help of her grandmother and support of her cheerleader BFF, she finds herself on a girls’ team for the first time. But the Amazons aren’t exactly excited to have her there. After all, Valeria’s spent years ignoring their existence. With the next tournament looming on the horizon, Valeria has a month to figure out her place on her new team and learn how to play like a girl.

Some of the authors also answered some interview questions:

How did you know you wanted to be an author?

Catherine Arguelles: I wanted to be an author when I was in elementary school–actually, I wanted to be Nancy Drew, but I couldn’t find any mysteries to solve. So I had to make up my own! Writing about kids who solve mysteries felt like the next best thing to being a kid who solves mysteries.

Sarah Kapit: I’ve wanted to be an author since I was an elementary school kid writing stories about magical school buses. (These stories may have been ripped off from the Magic School Bus franchise!) However, when I got older I thought that I couldn’t finish a book. I went to graduate school to become a historian, and only in my last year of graduate school did I start writing fiction again. That’s when I discovered that I can finish a book.

Laura Shovan: I always loved writing, but I knew I wanted to be an author when I read Jane Eyre in middle school. Charlotte Bronte transported me to the English moors — so much that I forgot I was in my house in suburban NJ! That’s when I realized how powerful language and stories can be.

Sally Englefried: I grew up in a family that loved books, so stories were always around and always important to me. I started making up my own stories very early on, but it took me many years to get to the point where I could commit to one idea and write it to its end.

What do you find most challenging about writing for a middle grade audience?

Catherine Arguelles: Adults. Adults who buy books for kids don’t always understand what kids want to read. The challenge is writing what kids want to read but also what adults want to buy.

Sarah Kapit: I think at times it can be hard to find the balance between stating your theme outright and trusting readers to figure out themes and messages for themselves. Also, I naturally curse a lot, so reining that in can be a challenge.

Laura Shovan: It can be challenging to tap into the emotions I felt in fifth, sixth, and seventh grade when friendships were shifting. But that’s one of the joys of middle grade too, because kids still resonate with those emotions.

Sally Englefried: I love getting into the mind of 11- or 12-year-olds, but sometimes it’s hard for me to keep the introspection and self-knowledge to a realistic level for the age group. I always have to go back and take a lot of inner dialogue out!

Which Olympic event are you most excited to see once the games start?

Catherine Arguelles: Swimming Medley Relays! In Flip Turns, Maddie and her friends talk a lot about the Medley Relay. In the event, four different swimmers each swim a different stroke: Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, Freestyle. Relays are the only real team events in swimming, and it’s fun to see how teammates encourage and challenge each other. It’s also exciting to watch because you never know how one swimmer might change the race.

Sarah Kapit: I’m a huge fan of artistic gymnastics, so I’m particularly excited for that. Simone Biles and the rest of the U.S. women’s team are fantastic! The sport has changed so much for the better, with more older women staying in the sport. I can’t wait to see what they all do this time around.

Laura Shovan: Women’s wrestling, of course! When I was writing Takedown, Helen Maroulis (from my home state, Maryland!) was making a run for the Gold. She became the first American woman to win an Olympic gold in wrestling.

Sally Englefried: The women’s skateboarding park finals. The 2020 Olympics were the first time skateboarding was included at the Olympics, and there was this fantastic moment when 15-year-old Misugu Okamoto fell down and her competitors lifted her up onto their shoulders. They won the Fair Play Award for it. I love competition and excellence, but I love good sportsmanship even more. I’m looking forward to seeing more of that this summer.

Order FLIP TURNS by Catherine Arguelles