Beyond the Game: Maya Moore

by Andrew Maraniss, DeAndra Hodge (Illustrator)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593526187
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	03/05/2024
Series:	Beyond the Game: Athletes Change the World
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	7.70(w) x 5.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Andrew Maraniss writes sports- and social justice–related nonfiction for children, teens, and adults. His bestselling adult book, Strong Inside, received the Lillian Smith Book Award and the RFK Book Awards’ Special Recognition Prize. The middle grade adaptation was named a Book of the Year by the ALA. His next YA book, Games of Deception, received the Sydney Taylor Book Honor.

His YA biography, Singled Out, was named one of the 100 Best Baseball Books Ever Written by Esquire and was a Rainbow Book List selection. His latest YA book, Inaugural Ballers, was a School Library Journal Book of the Year.

You can visit Andrew Maraniss at AndrewMaraniss.com or follow him on Facebook @AndrewMaranissAuthor, on Twitter @TruBlu24, and on Instagram @AMaraniss.

DeAndra Hodge is an illustrator and a graphic designer originally from Huntsville, Alabama, currently based in Washington, DC. She graduated with a BA in fine art from the University of Montevallo. Her love of illustration began as a child, when she would make up her own stories and illustrations, often begging her teachers to share them with the class. She is most widely known as the illustrator of both the Kid Confident and the That Girl Lay Lay book series.

You can visit DeAndra Hodge at DeAndraHodgeArt.com or follow her on Instagram @DeAndraHodge_ and on Twitter @DeAndra_Hodge.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER ΟNE
Every Morning When three-­year-­old Maya Moore got out of bed, she treated the day as an opportunity for an adventure. Maya had so much energy that her mom, Kathryn, always knew where Maya was—even if she couldn’t see her, she could hear her.
There went Maya, running fast, screaming loud, knocking things over, having fun. She was an energetic toddler whose motor never stopped running.
Crash, bang, boom!
A little girl like that was a handful for a single mom.Working and raising a child by herself in Jefferson City, Missouri, Kathryn desperately needed a way to keep Maya busy and find an outlet for her energy.
One day, Kathryn made a simple decision that changed Maya’s life: she bought a small plastic basketball hoop and attached it to a door in their apartment.
From that day on, Maya spent hours running down the hall and shooting at her little hoop.
She fell in love with basketball.
Maya may have come into this world on June 11, 1989, but the day that basketball hoop appeared in her apartment was the day a superstar was born.

Editorial Reviews

2024-04-20
A profile of a WNBA star who gave up her professional career to focus on a humanitarian cause.

Maya Moore was a bona fide star—a noisy kid with “awesome stats” even as a middle schooler, who led her high school team to a 125-3 record and went on to spectacular exploits in both the WNBA and the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. But Maraniss commends her particularly here for suddenly retiring in 2019 to campaign for the release of Jonathan Irons, a Black man who at age 18 was unjustly convicted by an all-white jury of burglary and assault and sentenced to 50 years in prison. The two were later married. The author ends there but goes on to provide discussion questions and to urge readers to think and learn more about racial injustice. “Anyone can make a difference,” he closes. “And everyone should try.” Along the way, he points out the sexism that Moore observed; NBA games get far more exposure than WNBA games—a disparity that frustrated her (“The ball of momentum is deflating before my eyes”). In stiff but sincere monochrome illustrations, Hodge tracks Moore from a child to a sturdy, confident adult; aside from one image of a white basketball coach with a clownish face, figures in the illustrations are expressive and dark-skinned.

Message-driven but centered on a well-chosen example. (career stats, glossary, resource list) (Biography. 8-10)

Kirkus Reviews

"With wide-spaced lines of text and attractive, digital illustrations in black and white, the books in this series will appeal to young readers with an interest in basketball and how some of its brightest stars are using their wealth and influence to improve the lives of others. This series’ dual purpose offers a refreshing shift of emphasis from the usual sports biographies."—Booklist Reviews

From the Publisher