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Beyond the Game: Maya Moore
Beyond the Game is a new nonfiction chapter book series about athletes who have stepped up beyond sports to make a difference in the world, from acclaimed author Andrew Maraniss and illustrator DeAndra Hodge. This is the story of WNBA star Maya Moore and her social justice work.
Before she became one of the most famous basketball players on the planet, before she began speaking out for prison reform, Maya Moore was just a kid.
In this chapter book biography by acclaimed author Andrew Maraniss, readers learn more about the life and work of Maya Moore—from growing up with a single mother in Jefferson City, Missouri, to her journey to becoming a star player at UCONN and the WNBA, to her social justice fighting for prison reform and speaking up for Black Lives Matter.
While known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Maya Moore has changed the world beyond sports.
Complete with black-and-white illustrations throughout, statistics, resources, and ways for kids to make a difference on their own—Beyond the Game is a giftable and inspirational series for every reader.
Before she became one of the most famous basketball players on the planet, before she began speaking out for prison reform, Maya Moore was just a kid.
In this chapter book biography by acclaimed author Andrew Maraniss, readers learn more about the life and work of Maya Moore—from growing up with a single mother in Jefferson City, Missouri, to her journey to becoming a star player at UCONN and the WNBA, to her social justice fighting for prison reform and speaking up for Black Lives Matter.
While known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Maya Moore has changed the world beyond sports.
Complete with black-and-white illustrations throughout, statistics, resources, and ways for kids to make a difference on their own—Beyond the Game is a giftable and inspirational series for every reader.
95 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 5, 2024
About the author
Andrew Maraniss
26 books55 followersAndrew Maraniss is the New York Times bestselling author of STRONG INSIDE, a biography of Perry Wallace, the first African American basketball player in the SEC. The original, adult edition of the book received the Lillian Smith Book Award and the RFK Book Awards' Special Recognition Prize, while the Middle Grade adaptation was named one of the Top Biographies and Top Sports Books for Youth by the American Library Association. Andrew's next book (Nov. 2019) GAMES OF DECEPTION, is the true story of the first U.S. Olympic basketball team, at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. Andrew is a contributor to ESPN's race and sports website, TheUndefeated.com, and is a Visiting Author at Vanderbilt University Athletics. He lives in Brentwood, Tenn., with his wife and two young children. Follow him on Twitter @trublu24.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 11, 2024
Children's biography. I had never heard of Maya Moore, but was curious to check out this sports biography as that is often a high interest topic for this age group (late elementary to middle). This book walks through Maya's life, from her toddler size basketball hoop to keep her out of her mother's hair, all the way through college and the WNBA. Throughout the book, Maya's character is emphasized, how she excelled in school, created cheers to build team morale, and wanted to be a force for positive change in the world. Maya befriended Jonathan, a black man who had been serving jail time since his teens for a crime he didn't commit. Maya was determined to do whatever she could to help him, and eventually quit her basketball career to do so full time. She eventually succeeded, getting Jonathan a retrial in light of new evidence. The two ended up getting married.
Extensive back matter includes college and WNBA stats, Olympic stats, lists of NCAA and WNBA champions during her career, some stats on the US prison population, a glossary, and resources for families. Short chapters with one full-page black and white illustration per chapter. This inspiring biography showed how Maya became one of the best in her game, but also (as the series title implies) how she made a difference Beyond the Game. I look forward to reading more of this series.
Extensive back matter includes college and WNBA stats, Olympic stats, lists of NCAA and WNBA champions during her career, some stats on the US prison population, a glossary, and resources for families. Short chapters with one full-page black and white illustration per chapter. This inspiring biography showed how Maya became one of the best in her game, but also (as the series title implies) how she made a difference Beyond the Game. I look forward to reading more of this series.
December 17, 2023
E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus
This highly illustrated biography comes in at just under 100 pages. We learn about the life and athletic career of Maya Moore, who was born in 1989 and played college and professional ball. When she retired, she worked hard to get a wrongfully imprisoned friend exonerated. After he got out, she turned her talents to working on other social justice issues.
Strengths: I had never heard of Maya Moore, but her story is similar to Marks' fictional From the Desk of Zoe Washington , which also examined wrongful incarceration and racism within the justice system. The illustrations add a lot, and young readers will enjoy the fast paced story that involves not only sports but also activism. The basketball statistics at the back are great as well.
Weaknesses: I am looking forward to seeing the physical copy of this; the E ARC had to be accessed through a drop box, which made it harder to read.
What I really think: I really enjoy Maraniss' work and will purchase this series even though it is slightly young for my students. Sports biographies are always very popular, and I love that this goes "beyond the game" and talks about the ways that sports figures try to make the world a better place.
This highly illustrated biography comes in at just under 100 pages. We learn about the life and athletic career of Maya Moore, who was born in 1989 and played college and professional ball. When she retired, she worked hard to get a wrongfully imprisoned friend exonerated. After he got out, she turned her talents to working on other social justice issues.
Strengths: I had never heard of Maya Moore, but her story is similar to Marks' fictional From the Desk of Zoe Washington , which also examined wrongful incarceration and racism within the justice system. The illustrations add a lot, and young readers will enjoy the fast paced story that involves not only sports but also activism. The basketball statistics at the back are great as well.
Weaknesses: I am looking forward to seeing the physical copy of this; the E ARC had to be accessed through a drop box, which made it harder to read.
What I really think: I really enjoy Maraniss' work and will purchase this series even though it is slightly young for my students. Sports biographies are always very popular, and I love that this goes "beyond the game" and talks about the ways that sports figures try to make the world a better place.
May 14, 2025
Fantastic short biography of Maya Moore -- I learned a lot from it. Her story is powerful, and I really appreciated both the extensive illustrations and the accommodating reading level. A lot packed into a short book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews