Tag: sports

Annette Feels Free: The True Story of Annette Kellerman, World- Class Swimmer, Fashion Pioneer, and Real-Life Mermaid (Katie Mazeika)

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Hello, friends! Our book today is Annette Feels Free: The True Story of Annette Kellerman, World- Class Swimmer, Fashion Pioneer, and Real-Life Mermaid by Katie Mazeika.

Growing up in Australia, Annette loved to sing and dance, but an illness in childhood weakened her legs to the point of requiring apparatus in order to walk. Hoping to help her regain her love of movement, her parents took her swimming, where she was not only able to strengthen her legs, but to develop a new passion for movement through water. Whether competing in races or performing “ornamental swimming,” a style of underwater ballet she would go on to develop over her entire life, Annette broke records, raised eyebrows, fought unfair laws, inspired fashion trends, and changed the world of swimming, especially for women, forever.

A fascinating story of a lesser-known feminist icon. Not only a groundbreaking disabled female athlete and artist, Annette Kellerman also reinvented swimming fashion for women, which was cumbersome and even dangerously restrictive at the time. Her story and the breadth of her achievements are truly interesting to learn, and Mazeika does a wonderful job in getting all the noteworthy elements of Kellerman’s life story to shine equally while leaving a final product balanced, well-paced, and occasionally exhilarating. The art is also well done, managing to convey aquatic grace and endurance, as well as Kellerman’s determination and talent. One greatly-appreciated page is one that includes swimmer in hijab while explaining that women should be able to wear whatever makes them feel comfortable while swimming; it’s a small but important note on inclusively and body autonomy. The length is great for a storytime, and JJ and I both enjoyed it – overall, a wonderful look at a disabled, female pioneer and the impact of her life’s work. Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by a representative of the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

Sports Heroes: Inspiring Tales of Athletes Who Stood Up and Stood Out (Mia Cassany & Iker Ayestaran)

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Hello, friends! Our book today is Sports Heroes: Inspiring Tales of Athletes Who Stood Up and Stood Out by Mia Cassany and Iker Ayestaran, translated by Howard Curtis, a collection of groundbreaking and change-making figures in the world of sports.

The world of professional sports is all about perseverance and achievement, especially for those who embody the new, the different, or the unconventional. This selection of sixteen mini-biographies introduces young readers to athletes who broke the mold in some way, whether they were innovators like Dick Fosbury and Sonja Henie, barrier-breakers like Jackie Robinson and Katherine Switzer, or incredible achievers like Nadia Comăneci and Pelé.

Intriguing yet limited. While the stories covered in this compendium are most certainly interesting and inspiring, there are noticeable gaps in both the information provided in their blurbs and in diversity of representation. Very brief bios (3-5 paragraphs apiece) often feel rushed and/or incomplete, and frequently end abruptly without exploring the impact of the facts or theme presented (such as the fact that cyclist Gino Bartali spent the WWII years of his competitive career as a smuggler working to liberate 800 Jewish people, something only mentioned briefly in the penultimate sentence of the last paragraph of his page). There is also a notable lack of diversity: most of the athletes featured are male, most are white, half are American, and none have disabilities. Otherwise, Ayestaran’s boldly-colored mid-century-style illustrations are very appealing, the length is fine for an older elementary or middle-grade reader, and JJ enjoyed the stories I read to her, but I can’t help but feel like we’ve seen this genre done better and more thoroughly in other titles. Overall, a nice place to begin learning about athletic innovators, but incomplete on its own. Baby Bookworm approved, but barely.

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

There Goes Patti McGee!: The Story of the First Women’s National Skateboard Champion (Tootie Nienow)

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Hello, friends! Our book today is There Goes Patti McGee!: The Story of the First Women’s National Skateboard Champion, written by Tootie Nienow and illustrated by Erika Medina.

Adventurous Patti McGee found her passion the day she saw a group of boys skateboard past her house. Building a skateboard out of roller skate wheels and a plank of wood, Patti taught herself how to skate by trying, zooming, and crashing. Despite taunts from adults and other girls as well as facing a nearly exclusively male skateboarding community, Patti carved herself a place in the early days of the sport, practicing hard and proving her skill, even earning a place on a thus-far all-male team. She became the first skateboarder – male or female – to perform a rolling handstand in competition, earning her a perfect score and a National trophy, and proving that skateboarding was a sport for everyone who had the courage to try, just like Patti.

Inspiring fun. This enthusiastic picture book biography does a good job of telling the story of McGee’s very early skate career by balancing the technical aspects of skateboarding with the specific challenges Patti faced as a female pioneer in a male-dominated sport. Backmatter provides further context and info on McGee’s later career, but aspects like era and setting are vague in the main text; this might make the story more relatable for modern readers but does lose some of the educational appeal. The cartoon illustrations are bright, sunny, and energetic, and cleverly integrate the names of skateboarding moves and tricks. The length is good for a storytime, and JJ enjoyed this one. Not an overly comprehensive look at McGee’s life, but an exciting and inspiring sports story for little bookworms, and it’s Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

Run Like A Girl: 50 Extraordinary and Inspiring Sportswomen (Danielle Brown)

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Hello, friends! Our book today is Run Like A Girl: 50 Extraordinary and Inspiring Sportswomen by Danielle Brown, a collection of mini-biographies of incredible female athletes from around the world.

“‘You run like a girl!’ – If you ever hear these words it’s time to smile and put on your game face,” begins the introduction to this awesome compendium of award-winning, accomplished athletes – all of whom also happen to be women. Readers can learn about fifty athletes from nearly as many different sports, from running to surfing to mountain climbing to basketball to cricket to jousting, and dozens more.

Empowering. Brown, a Paralympic athlete herself, gives readers a comprehensive collection of girl power role models; the athletes featured are from all around the world, representing a vast myriad of races, ages, nationalities, and abilities, from household names like Simone Biles and Bethany Hamilton to lesser-known champions like Sophie Christiansen and Dame Ellen MacArthur. Equally diverse are the disciplines represented, from well-known sports like soccer and gymnastics to less mainstream pursuits like heptathlon and fell running. Each two-page spread features a mini-biography as well as a quote, an info table, and interesting factoids, as well as a minimalist illustration of each athlete. The length makes this one best for older elementary or middle-grade bookworms – JJ was definitely through after a few entries – but it’s a great read for any kid, male or female, interested in sports. Overall, Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

World At Your Feet (Rob Parker)

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Hello, friends! Our book today is World At Your Feet, written by Rob Parker and illustrated by Lawerta, a clever look at some of the most famous goals in world soccer history.

Presented in a first person narrative, the reader is swept into sixteen of the most critical, masterful, and/or unbelievable soccer (or football, as the book hails from outside the US) goals of all time. In striking mid-century-modern-inspired illustrations, the reader follows the detailed rhyming text to put themselves in the game as each goal is set up and scored.

So there was a lot going on in this book, both good and bad (I should note here that I am complete soccer novice, which impacts this review). Each goal is described using soccer terms, which are likely easily understood for fans of the sport. I however, found myself getting lost in the language quite often, especially as I tried to work around the rhyme scheme while reading aloud. Often, I wasn’t quite sure exactly what I was saying as the language would become more and more technical. And as a novice, I would have loved to have more information about each of the goals – the players, the teams, what made the goal so striking – put into easily-understood layman’s terms. The art was a treat, colorful and featuring dynamic action, perfect for a book about soccer. But the length started to get a little much for JJ, especially since the language was so confusing at times. For a mega-fan of soccer, this would is an awesome book, but those unfamiliar with the sport will likely struggle. Still, a unique and loving tribute to the world’s favorite sport, and it’s Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the author in exchange for an honest review.)