Wilma Rudolph (On My Own Biography) - Softcover

Sherrow, Victoria

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0606255990 ISBN 13: 9780606255998

Publisher: Demco Media, 2000

Synopsis

A biography of the African-American woman who overcame crippling polio as a child to become the first woman to win three gold medals in track in a single Olympics.

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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: Demco Media
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0606255990
• ISBN 13: 9780606255998
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Johnson Larry