* "This upbeat offering promises profiles of 15 disabled athletes but delivers even more... Readers will come away with an enhanced understanding of the scope of adaptive sports (BMX, surfing, CrossFit) and great respect for these dedicated, tenacious athletes." — Booklist, starred review
"As a young girl growing up with a disability, I needed a book like TENACIOUS. The messages I received from the world were largely negative. I'm so grateful that through these athletes in this book, disabled children and their families will learn that they can be disabled AND live a life full of joy." — Stephanie Wheeler, Paralympic gold medalist, Head coach
"This is precisely the book I dreamed of growing up as a young girl with a disability. It shows what is possible to achieve and acknowledges the very real hard points, while fostering and supporting healthy, positive disability identity development." — Dr. Anjali Forber-Pratt, Paralympic medalist and disability activist
"An eye-opening look at disabled athletes who turn the stigma of disability on its head. Libraries looking to add titles on adaptive equipment, games and events that are inclusive, or robust bios of great athletes will find this worth buying." — School Library Journal
"MBD's expressive, energetic portraits of athletes in motion, overlaid by brief, italicized rhyming text, nearly fill each single-page profile... Each spread provides more biographical details and includes quotes from the subjects, who share their daily joys and challenges... An eclectic, encouraging lineup." — Kirkus Reviews
"[An] intersectionally inclusive portrait of the ever-growing world of adaptive sports." — Publishers Weekly
Bookstagang Best Books of the Year 2023 - Bookstagang CCBC Choices Recommended 2024 - Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) Delaware Diamonds Awards Nominee 2024 - Diamond State Literacy Association Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Book Award Honor 2023 - California Reading Association Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Keystone to Reading Book Award Nominee 2024 - Keystone State Literacy Association Notable Books for a Global Society Winner 2024 - International Literacy Association (ILA)
2023-03-29
Profiles of 15 disabled athletes.
A racially diverse “crew” of softball and basketball players, handcyclists, and more navigates disabilities such as limb difference, spina bifida, and visual impairment. Adult subjects include Samoan adaptive surfing champion Meira Va’a Nelson, partially paralyzed at age 14; children include Annabelle Geib, a White-presenting middle schooler who has spastic diplegia cerebral palsy and dances ballet, tap, and hip-hop using a walker and leg braces. MBD’s expressive, energetic portraits of athletes in motion, overlaid by brief, italicized rhyming text, nearly fill each single-page profile. Text curving across the page urges, “Pick up speed before the pit. / Then take your leap! And never quit” as John Register, a Black Paralympic long jumper leaps across the page, his prosthetic outstretched. Each spread provides more biographical details and includes quotes from the subjects, who share their daily joys and challenges. The intended audience is unclear. The rhyming text appears to address younger readers, while the wordier sections, with their complex, informative sentences, clearly target older readers. Older readers may find the singsong rhymes stilted, and younger readers may not understand such jargon-tinged lines as “Drop in, pop it, grind the rail. Take a risk! Let skills prevail.” However, older readers who can reconcile the uneven tone will enjoy meeting these talented athletes. In an author’s note, Prevo, herself a disabled athlete, explains concepts such as ableism and includes notes on inclusive language. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An eclectic, encouraging lineup. (resources, glossary, timeline, bibliography) (Collective biography. 7-10)
