Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




Pioneering Women Athletes in Picture Books


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Cover art for WILMA UNLIMITED
CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 1996
by Kathleen Krull, illustrated by David Diaz

"Rudolph died in 1994; her post-Olympic accomplishments are described in an afterword. (Picture book/biography. 6-9)"
 Only after reading this book does the subtitle—``How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman''—appear rife with understatement. Read full book review >
Cover art for AMERICA'S CHAMPION SWIMMER
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2000
by David A. Adler, illustrated by Terry Widener

"A welcome addition to the growing body of works about female athletes. (Picture book/biography. 59)"
The author and illustrator (The Babe & I, 1999, Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man, 1997) team up for a third time in this engaging picture book biography of the first woman to swim the English Channel. Read full book review >
Cover art for DIRT ON THEIR SKIRTS
ADULT
Released: March 1, 2000

"That doesn't detract from a book that reminds readers not to restrict their dreams on the basis of gender. (Picture book. 4-8)"
During WWII, as men went overseas, women assumed many of their jobs; Rappaport and Callan enthusiastically invent a fictional witness to that historical moment when baseball, too, was taken over by women. Read full book review >
Cover art for HOOPS WITH SWOOPES
CHILDREN'S
Released: July 1, 2001

"The whole arresting package is absolutely a three-pointer. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-8)"
A celebration of sheer physicality in motion. Read full book review >
Cover art for GIRL WONDER
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2003
by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Terry Widener

"A pleasure to look at and read aloud, this concludes with a timeline about women in baseball and, on the back cover, a wonderful black-and-white photograph of Alta Weiss preparing to pitch. (Picture book. 4-9)"
A winning author-illustrator team hits a home run with this top-notch tale about Alta Weiss, who played semi-pro baseball in early 1900s. Read full book review >
Cover art for MIGHTY JACKIE
CHILDREN'S
Released: Feb. 1, 2004
by Marissa Moss, illustrated by C.F. Payne

"Intriguing, but inadequate. (bibliography) (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-10)"
Unlike most girls, Jackie Mitchell was encouraged to play baseball. Read full book review >