Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark's debut children's book is receiving extraordinary praise.
Clark added No. 1 New York Times best-selling author to her list of accomplishments after "EXTRAordinary! A Little EXTRA to Reach BIG Dreams" debuted atop the children’s picture books best-seller list on Wednesday, Nov. 11, a little more than a week after hitting shelves.
Clark celebrated the announcement on her Instagram account with several exclamation points. The Fever's official X page also sent Clark a congratulatory message, writing, "Another accolade for the resume."
The rhyming picture book, which Clark described as a "very personal story," was inspired by a purple and blue mirror that hung in her childhood bedroom in Des Moines, Iowa. The mirror was adorned
with other motivational messages, including "know love, learn lots, celebrate, watch sunsets, cherish family, set goals and eat chocolate."
"I had this mirror that my parents had made before I was even born, and my parents still have it in my childhood bedroom," Clark said during an appearance on the "Today" show on Nov. 3. "I think it's just all about doing a little extra to reach your dreams and your goals. And I feel like that's kind of a testament to not only my life, but obviously my professional career as well, playing basketball. So it's fun getting to share the story with everybody."
another accolade for the resume 🤩📚
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) November 12, 2026
congratulations on becoming a #1 New York Times bestselling author, CC 👏 pic.twitter.com/kEoSdanRGn
Clark revealed the children illustrated on the cover of the book include "easter eggs," with each jersey number representing a significant period of her life. The No. 22 jersey represents the number she wore at the University of Iowa and for the Indiana Fever. The No. 6 is a nod to her dad Brent Clark's number he wore while playing collegiate basketball at Simpson College.
"And then there's 11, which people oftentimes don't know. I actually wore 11 in high school. People think I wore 22," Caitlin Clark said. "And then 17, I think at the time when I was writing the book, I was trying out for Team USA as well, and my tryout number was 17, so I threw that in there."
Well, Clark went on to make the U.S. national team and helped the Americans win a gold medal at the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup in Berlin while wearing No. 12. She also turned in a career-best year in her third season with the Fever, where she recorded a career-high 22.3 points and 8.3 assists.
Clark said this is only the beginning of her career and the popularity of women's sports as a whole.
"One of my best memories as a young kid was going to my first WNBA game, and you didn't get to watch a lot of women's basketball on TV with ESPN here and there. And now every night you turn on a game and there's a nationally televised WNBA game," Clark said. "So I think we're just scratching the surface. Obviously, we've added even three teams since I first got in the league three years ago and going to continue to add more. I think by 2030 there's going to be 18 teams, Detroit, Philly, and a couple others. So super excited about that."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Caitlin Clark's children's book debuts atop New York Times best sellers list
