Beyond the Gameis a 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 NFL star Pat Tillman, who gave up his NFL career to enlist in the army.

In this chapter book biography by acclaimed author Andrew Maraniss, readers learn more about the life and work of Pat Tillman—an NFL player who left his career with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the army after 9/11, and ultimately was killed by friendly fire.

After 9/11, Pat Tillman felt it was his duty as an American to stand up for the country, even though he was a pro football player in the prime of his career. He was someone who matched his toughness on the field with a soft heart, someone who always stood up for the underdog, and someone who felt an obligation to do the right thing—not depend on other people to do it. And for all his actions, Tillman often questioned his role in the military and the war—revealing the depths of his integrity and the ethical way he lived his life.

Through his actions and his legacy, Pat Tillman 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.

New York Times Best Seller
2015 RFK Book Awards Special Recognition
2015 Lillian Smith Book Award
2015 AAUP Books Committee “Outstanding” Title

When Strong Inside was first published ten years ago, no one could have predicted the impact the book would have on Vanderbilt University, Nashville, and communities across the nation. What began as a biography of Perry Wallace—the first African American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference (SEC)—became a catalyst for meaningful change and reconciliation between Wallace and the city that had rejected him. In this tenth-anniversary edition, scholars of race and sports Louis Moore and Derrick E. White provide a new foreword that places the story in the context of the study of sports and society, and author Andrew Maraniss adds a concluding chapter filling readers in on how events unfolded between Strong Inside’s publication in 2014 and Perry Wallace’s death in 2017 and exploring Wallace’s continuing legacy.

Wallace entered kindergarten the year that Brown v. Board of Education upended “separate but equal.” As a twelve-year-old, he sneaked downtown to watch the sit-ins at Nashville’s lunch counters. A week after Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Wallace entered high school, and later saw the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts. On March 19, 1966, his Pearl High School basketball team won Tennessee’s first integrated state tournament—the same day Adolph Rupp’s all-white Kentucky Wildcats lost to the all-Black Texas Western Miners in an iconic NCAA title game.

The world seemed to be opening up at just the right time, and when Vanderbilt recruited him, Wallace courageously accepted the assignment to desegregate the SEC. His experiences on campus and in the hostile gymnasiums of the Deep South turned out to be nothing like he ever imagined.

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.

*”Rivaling the nonfiction works of Steve Sheinkin and Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat….Even readers who don’t appreciate sports will find this story a page-turner.” —School Library Connection, starred review

From the New York Times bestselling author of Strong Inside comes the remarkable true story of the birth of Olympic basketball at the 1936 Summer Games in Hitler’s Germany. Perfect for fans of The Boys in the Boat and Unbroken.

On a scorching hot day in July 1936, thousands of people cheered as the U.S. Olympic teams boarded the S.S. Manhattan, bound for Berlin. Among the athletes were the 14 players representing the first-ever U.S. Olympic basketball team. As thousands of supporters waved American flags on the docks, it was easy to miss the one courageous man holding a BOYCOTT NAZI GERMANY sign. But it was too late for a boycott now; the ship had already left the harbor.

1936 was a turbulent time in world history. Adolf Hitler had gained power in Germany three years earlier. Jewish people and political opponents of the Nazis were the targets of vicious mistreatment, yet were unaware of the horrors that awaited them in the coming years. But the Olympians on board the S.S. Manhattan and other international visitors wouldn’t see any signs of trouble in Berlin. Streets were swept, storefronts were painted, and every German citizen greeted them with a smile. Like a movie set, it was all just a facade, meant to distract from the terrible things happening behind the scenes.

This is the incredible true story of basketball, from its invention by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891, to the sport’s Olympic debut in Berlin and the eclectic mix of people, events and propaganda on both sides of the Atlantic that made it all possible. Includes photos throughout, a Who’s-Who of the 1936 Olympics, bibliography, and index.

The inspirational true story of the first African American to play college basketball in the deeply segregated Southeastern Conference–a powerful moment in Black history.

Perry Wallace was born at an historic crossroads in U.S. history. He entered kindergarten the year that the Brown v. Board of Education decision led to integrated schools, allowing blacks and whites to learn side by side. A week after Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Wallace enrolled in high school and his sensational jumping, dunking, and rebounding abilities quickly earned him the attention of college basketball recruiters from top schools across the nation. In his senior year his Pearl High School basketball team won Tennessee’s first racially-integrated state tournament.

The world seemed to be opening up at just the right time, and when Vanderbilt University recruited Wallace to play basketball, he courageously accepted the assignment to desegregate the Southeastern Conference. The hateful experiences he would endure on campus and in the hostile gymnasiums of the Deep South turned out to be the stuff of nightmares. Yet Wallace persisted, endured, and met this unthinkable challenge head on. This insightful biography digs deep beneath the surface to reveal a complicated, profound, and inspiring story of an athlete turned civil rights trailblazer.