Wilma Rudolph (On My Own Biography) - Softcover

Sherrow, Victoria

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1575054426 ISBN 13: 9781575054421

Publisher: First Avenue Editions ™, 2000

Synopsis

In 1946, six-year-old Wilma Rudolph dreamed of walking and playing like other children, but a sickness called polio had damaged her left leg. Wilma spent hours each week doing painful exercises at a hospital for African American patients. The rest of the time, she was forced to wear a heavy and cumbersome leg-brace. Still, Wilma never gave up. She knew she could walk again, and if she could walk, maybe she could run. Author Victoria Sherrow tells how Wilma Rudolph's determination led her to the 1956 and 1960 Olympics where she gained fame as a champion runner. Larry Johnson's rich illustrations help to capture this true story of heroic strength and fearlessness.

About this title

About the Author:

VICTORIA SHERROW is the author of For Appearance's Sake: The Historical Encyclopedia of Good Looks, Beauty, and Grooming (2001), Encyclopedia of Youth and War: Young People as Participants and Victims (1999), and Women and the Military: An Encyclopedia (1996), a 1996 RUSA Outstanding Reference Source award winner. 

From School Library Journal:

Grade 2-3-An easy-to-read biography of an amazing athlete. The text discusses Rudolph's premature birth, getting polio at age four, and problems exacerbated by "color laws" and prejudice. Sherrow recounts how Rudolph was forced to make a 50-mile bus trip twice a week to Nashville for treatment because it was the nearest hospital that would admit black people. The author also describes her subject's struggle to walk at age seven, and her triumph at 16, when she became the youngest member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic Team. Excellent, full-color drawings appear on every page; a chronology highlights Rudolph's life from 1940 to her death in November, 1995 (actually, she died in November, 1994). The book is similar in scope to Kathleen Krull's Wilma Unlimited (Harcourt, 1996), which is aimed at a slightly older audience. However, Krull puts a heavier emphasis on the athlete's physical challenges and David Diaz's illustrations are more stylized and less realistic. Both books are worthy additions to any biography section.
Kate Kohlbeck, Randall School, Waukesha, WI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: First Avenue Editions ™
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1575054426
• ISBN 13: 9781575054421
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 48
• Illustrator: Johnson Larry