Rip and Red

Rip and Red is a middle-grade children's book series written by Phil Bildner, illustrated by Tim Probert, and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The series consists of four books: A Whole New Ball Game (2015), Rookie of the Year (2016), Tournament of Champions (2017), and Most Valuable Players (2018). All four books are Junior Library Guild selections.^[1][2][3][4]

The title characters are fifth-grade students Mason "Rip" Irving and his best friend, Blake "Red" Daniels; Rip is an African American who loves playing basketball, while Red is autistic and a great free-throw shooter.^[5]

Overview

No.	Title	Publication date	Page No.	ISBN
1	A Whole New Ball Game	August 18, 2015	256	9780374301309
2	Rookie of the Year	July 12, 2016	272	9780374301347
3	Tournament of Champions	June 6, 2017	256	9780374305079
4	Most Valuable Players	May 29, 2018	240	9780374305109

A Whole New Ball Game (2015)

A Whole New Ballgame was published August 18, 2015.

School Library Journal called the book "[p]ure fun with a lot of heart."^[6] Kirkus Reviews noted that the "[c]artoony illustrations lend energy and personality to the likable cast of characters," making it a "school story with heart."^[5] Publishers Weekly^[7] and the Children’s Book Council^[8] also proffered positive reviews.

Accolades for A Whole New Ballgame

Year	Accolade	Result	Ref.
N/A	Junior Library Guild	Selection	[1]
2015	Cybils Awards for Middle Grade Fiction	Nominee
2016	Children's Book Council Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 3–5	Selection
2016-2017	Maine Student Book Award	Nominee	[9]
2017	Rhode Island Children's Book Award
2017-2018	Virginia Readers Choice (Elementary)
	Sunshine State Young Readers Award
2018	Nutmeg Book Award Intermediate
2018-2019	Oregon Battle of the Books

Rookie of the Year (2016)

Rookie of the Year was published July 12, 2016.

Both Kirkus Reviews^[10] and School Library Journal^[11] lauded Bildner's characters in Rookie of the Year.

Accolades for Rookie of the Year

Year	Accolade	Result	Ref.
N/A	Junior Library Guild	Selection	[2]
2017	Center for Children's Books Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 6–8	Selection	[2]
2018-2019	Young Hoosier Book Award	Nominee	[12]

Tournament of Champions (2017)

Tournament of Champions was published June 6, 2017. The book received a positive review from Kirkus^[13] and is a Junior Library Guild selection.^[3]

Most Valuable Players (2018)

Most Valuable Players was published May 29, 2018. The book is a Junior Library Guild selection.^[4]