Book Review: KID ATHLETES: TRUE TALES OF CHILDHOOD FROM SPORTS LEGENDS

Most elite athletes have inspirational stories of how they became a world-class competitor. For some it’s natural ability plus determination, for others it’s childhood circumstances paired with unlikely opportunities. KIDATHLETES by David Stabler and illustrated by Doogie Horner is a part of the Kid Legends series and this collection of tales of sixteen famous athletes including these five female pioneers who are not only relatable but also sure to inspire sporty girls:

Billie Jean King (The Girl Who Ran on Racket Power)

Danica Patrick (Girl without Fear)

Gabrielle Douglas (Grace under Pressure)

Babe Didrikson Zaharias (A Girl for All Seasons)

Julie Krone (And the Marvelous Mischievous Pony)

I’ve always enjoyed “did you know” articles and books that share lesser known facts and tidbits. I have to say that KID ATHLETES, a biographical collection of famous men and women, did not disappoint.

NASCAR driver Danica Patrick may have been squeamish around bugs and swimming in the ocean as a little girl but at age nine a fearless Patrick discovered the thrill of driving fast in a go-kart. I learned something new; I did not know that her mom had worked as a snowmobile mechanic or that she left high school to move to England and join a race-racing team.

Before the infamous Bobby Riggs tennis match, Billie Jean King had to overcome roadblocks to competition placed by tennis official Perry Jones (also known as a “czar”) to compete. She also scrimped and saved loose change to buy her first tennis racket ($8).  I do have a critique with the opening of this entry: “Before Billie Jean King, tennis was a sport played by wealthy women in frilly white dresses She made it possible for anyone, from any background, to dream of one day winning the U.S. Open or Wimbledon championship.” While Billie Jean King certainly broke down barriers, Althea Gibson was winning Championships and breaking down barriers years earlier.

 

How many kids are drawn to a sport via the influenced of a sibling? Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas learned how to do a cartwheel from her older sister and that eventually led down a path to a gold medal in gymnastics at the 2012 Olympic Games. Throughout her career she shows poise and strength on gymnastics apparatus but choosing to ignore several incidents of bullying shows a different type of poise and strength.

Babe Didrikson Zaharias, considered the greatest female athlete of the twentieth century, was tough from the get-go – as a baby she defied the constrained of her crib and I doubt many athletes also could add to their resume they performed with a traveling circus.  

The first woman to be inducted into the Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame, Julie Krone was drawn to a pony named Filly as a child. This is a heartwarming tale that comes full circle and a delightful introduction to this trailblazing jockey, especially timely now that we’re in Triple Crown season.

What do these women have in common? They are all amazing athletes but first they were just a kid who you might have sat next to you in third grade or who lived in the house down the street. In addition to the easy-to-read narrative, the humorous drawings make this an entertaining, enjoyable read.

Ice Hockey: Low Score in the Nonfiction Net

A recent Team USA Sports Scene Weekly had a headline that caught my eye: “U.S. Women's Natl Team Wins Four Nations Cup: U.S. Comes From Behind to Defeat Canada 3-2 in OT.” The Four Nations Cup is a women’s ice hockey tournament held since 1996 and the U.S. has won the title six times.

I was curious about the number of books about girls playing ice hockey. Of course, the first one that came to mind was Sporty Girl Books contributor, Kristine Asselin’s YA romance ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT and GETTING IN THE GAME by Dawn FitzGerald, but when it comes to finding nonfiction titles it’s disappointing – most are pretty outdated.  A quick trip to my library and I found one book, GIRLS’ ICE HOCKEY: DOMINATING THE RINK by Tami Johnson published by Capstone Press. It’s a good introductory snapshot of the sport with information on rules, basic terminology, plus advice and a few profiles of players like Cammi Granato and Natalie Darwitz, but the publication date is 2008. Today, the sport has grown and new stars have emerged that warrant some new titles to be added to the shelves. Below are a few more nonfiction titles and some additional resources for teachers and parents.

Four additional nonfiction books

Breaking the Ice by Angela Ruggiero (2005)

Crashing the Net by Mary Turco (1999)

The Hockey Book for Girls by Stacy Wilson (2000)

H.E.A.R.T. by Cassie Campbell and Lorna Schultz Nicholson (2007)

Do you have a more recently published nonfiction title to add to this list? Please feel free to share the title in the comments section below.

Three activities for teachers (a hat trick!)

1. Invite a girl from a local high school, college, or professional ice-hockey team to visit your class. Ask them to bring their equipment bag so students can learn what they need to wear and why those bags are so heavy!

Tie in book:  Clothesline Clues to Sports People Play by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook (Charlesbridge 2015).

2. Ice Hockey terms include: assist, body check, goalie, wings, and penalty.

Do other sports use these terms?

3.  Okay, so this might be a stretch. Two people share the same name: Hilary Knight.  One is a writer/illustrator and the other is a two-time Olympic Ice-Hockey silver medalist who also scored the winning goal in the Four Nations Cup mentioned at the beginning of this entry.

Research both people and list their similarities and differences.

Overtime Notes

A recommended read for parents from USA Hockey: Pros/Cons: Should MyDaughter Play for a Girls’ Team or a Boys’ Team?

Because I wondered how many states have girls' ice hockey programs, I found this on MaxPreps

Alaska (26)

Connecticut (46)

Illinois (1)

Maine (16)

Maryland (18)

Massachusetts (154)

Michigan (8)

Minnesota (167)

New Hampshire (19)

New Jersey (14)

New York (20)

Pennsylvania (7)

Rhode Island (10)

Vermont (16)

Wisconsin (25)

SOURCE: www.maxpreps.com

A source for information on women’s college hockey

U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) http://www.uscho.com/d1women/

Watching the Women's World Cup with Sporty Girl Books

The FIFA Women's World Cup is well underway. Here are some of our favorite soccer books for your sporty girl reader.

Winners Never Quit by Mia Hamm, Illustrated by Carol Thompson

Mia Hamm, American soccer champion tells a true–life–inspired story of learning that winning and losing aren't as important as being part of a team. Part autobiography, the book includes photos of how the author grew up with soccer. From School Library Journal, "Mia's favorite sport is soccer but she hates losing. In fact, she dislikes it so much that she quits in the middle of a game. Upset about her attitude, her siblings do not let her participate the next day. Mia learns quickly that there will be times when she will score a goal and those when she will not, but playing the game is the most fun of all."


Soccer Girl: Cassie's Story by Kara Douglass Thom

We love the Go! Go! Sports Girls. When Cassie’s best friend Anna introduces her to soccer, it’s only a matter of time before Cassie loves the sport as much as her friend does. Cassie wants to play with Anna, but they’re assigned to different teams. What will happen when their two teams compete?

The Kicks: Saving the Team by Alex Morgan
Twelve-year-old Devin loves to play soccer. If she hadn’t just left Connecticut to move across the country, she would have been named seventh-grade captain on her school soccer team. But now that Devin is starting seventh grade in Kentville, California, all bets are off. After all, some of the best players on the US national team come from California. She’s sure to have stiff competition. Or so she thinks.

Soccer Show-Off by Jake Maddox
Gina loves playing soccer, and she can't wait to join the team at her new school. But when Gina tries to be the star of the team, her new teammates don't exactly appreciate it. Gina has to learn that teamwork is more important than winning before she can go back on the field.

Beyond Lucky by Sarah Aronson
Ari Fish believes in two things: his hero-Wayne Timcoe, the greatest soccer goalie to ever come out of Somerset Valley-and luck. So when Ari finds a rare and valuable Wayne Timcoe trading card, he's sure his luck has changed for the better. Especially when he's picked to be the starting goalie on his team. But when the card is stolen-and his best friend and the new girl on the team accuse each other of taking it-suddenly Ari can't save a goal, everyone is fighting, and he doesn't know who, or what, to believe in. Before the team falls apart, Ari must learn how to make his own luck, and figure out what it truly means to be a hero.

What is your favorite sporty girl soccer book?

Behind the Doodle: Sally Ride

I love finding out when people I admire for their accomplishments turn out to also be athletes. Sally Ride became the first American woman to travel in space, and she also competed at the national level in tennis. This "Behind the Doodle" shows how Sally Ride broke barriers throughout her life. If you are interested in women in space, you should check out Tanya Lee Stone's Sibert Award winning book ALMOST ASTRONAUTS: 13 WOMEN WHO DARED TO DREAM. It's an inside look at the women who came before Sally Ride and what they did to make space travel a reality for Sally.

Sporty Book Review: Let Me Play, by Karen Blumenthal

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Nonfiction, history in particular, gives us a deeper understanding of the foundation upon which our experiences are built. Such is the case with Karen Blumenthal’s 2005, LET ME PLAY.

I finished this book a week ago but it has seeped so deeply into my consciousness that I continue to bring it up whenever possible. While the focus of the book is Title IX and its effects on sports programs for girls and women, it is much, much more. It is a book about how policy and politics matter to all of us.

The book, appropriate for grades five and up, begins with an easy-to-read survey of the early fight for women’s right from Seneca Falls in 1848, to Women’s Suffrage, to a quick summary of the 1930’s and 1940’s, to the effect of war on women and work. This quick historic review sets the stage for the 1963 Equal Pay Act and the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Blumenthal concentrates on Representative Edith Green and Representative Patsy Mink who worked tirelessly drafting, honing, and defending equal educational opportunities for women throughout their long tenures in the US Congress. The original intent of the Education Amendments of 1972 was not to equal the playing fields but the classrooms—educational programs for schools receiving federal money including admissions, scholarships, and teaching salaries. The opening of physical education and athletic programs was an unexpected bonus for all the girls and women who had been turned away from little league, track meets, swimming pools, and more.

LET ME PLAY highlights key political and sports players in sidebars called “Player Profiles.” In “Instant Replays,” we learn about key historical events. Throughout the book “Scorecards,” show statistics comparing the numbers of male and female participants in sports, admissions to undergrad, and admissions to select graduate programs. These statistics show the consistent progress of women in athletics and education. While these “Scorecards” are understated, they are inspiring and empowering to the reader.

There are many current female athletes, girls and women alike, who are ignorant about the fight that got us the freedoms we enjoy today. These athletes might not remember a world where the adults or men in women’s and girl’s lives wouldn’t let them play soccer, basketball, softball, rugby, or field hockey—a day when being feminine and fertile was more important than a woman’s talents and dreams. Those days were not so long ago, and many of the issues from the 1960’s, The Equal Pay Act, are still being challenged and fought in 2014. LET ME PLAY is the book that reminds those who may have forgotten, and teaches those who never knew, that we owe our freedoms to women and men who came before us.