Amazing Athletes: 40 Inspiring Icons
by Jean-Michel Billioud (Author)
Records smashed... incredible athletic feats... Medals won... The top 40 Olympic athletes of all time are here!
In this fun, fact-packed book from the 40 Inspiring Icons series, learn how these athletic stars became the best in the world. Relive Usain Bolt's astonishing record-breaking runs, learn about Charlotte Cooper, the first ever female Olympic champion, meet the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time, Michael Phelps, and see some of the most impressive wins in history. From Nawal El Moutawakel, the first female Muslim born on the continent of Africa to become an Olympic champion, to gymnastic prodigy Simone Biles, whose skills on the vault and the floor are admired all over the world, these are the 40 Olympic Athletes to be learned about by all Spyrídon Loúis; Charlotte Cooper; Madge Syers; Jim Thorp; Paavo Nuurmi; Johnny Weissmuller; Mildred Didrickson; Jesse Owens; Marjorie Gestring; Francina Blankers-Koen; Micheline Ostermeyer; Emil Zatopek; Betty Cuthbert; Wilma Rudolph; Abebe Bikila; Tommie Smith; Bob Beamon; Mark Spitz; Nadia Comaneci; Sebastian Coe; Birgit Fisher; Daley Thompson; Nawal El Moutawakil; Carl Lewis; Steve Redgrave; Marie-Jo Pérec; Valentina Vezzali; Michael Johnson; Maria Mutola; Cathy Freeman; Yelena Isinbayeva; Michael Phelps; Tony Estanguet; Usain Bolt; Teddy Riner; Mo Farah; Isabell Werth; Simone Biles; Trisha Zorn; Michael Edgson; Ellie Simmonds; Jonas Jacobsson.
Each spread presents a single athlete, highlighting key facts about their careers, honors, stats and legendary performances, along with a fun, illustrated depiction of them. Every athlete is a winner in their own way, but who will you choose as your hero? Each book in the 40 Inspiring Icons series introduces readers to a fascinating non-fiction subject through its 40 most famous people or groups. Explore these other great topics through their most interesting icons: People of Peace, Super Scientists, Soccer Stars, Music Legends, Black Music Greats and Greek Gods and Heroes.
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School Library Journal
Gr 4 Up--This collection of amazing Olympic athletes provides a litany of facts that will fascinate and inform readers. Billioud profiles standout athletes from 40 different Olympic games, starting with 24-year-old Spyridon Louis in 1896 at the first "modern-day Summer Olympics" and ending with four-time gold medalist Simone Biles. Billioud offers an inclusive collection; he includes an equal amount of women and men and many athletes of color. Each individual is represented by a digital illustration, with arrows indicating compelling facts about the athlete or their sport. Text boxes explain what made the athlete worthy of inclusion. Younger readers may find the format slightly confusing, as the boxes are of various sizes and fonts, with inconsistent icons throughout. The only misinformed entry is the one for American athlete Tommie Smith; it states that his raised black glove on the 1968 gold medal podium stood for "Black Power." In fact, according to a 2016 interview with Smithsonian magazine, Smith said the gesture wasn't necessarily representative of "Black Power" or "militancy"; rather, it was a call for human rights and the "need to move forward proactively." If readers are looking for a "best of" list of Olympic athletes, they may have found it in this collection but will need to conduct further research for more substantial information. VERDICT Purchase where Olympic-themed sections need beefing up in preparation for Tokyo 2021.--Kerri Williams, Center Moriches Free P.L., NY
Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
Jean-Michel Billioud studied at the Institut Français de Presse and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. He has since published a hundred non-fiction books on various themes with two obsessions: explaining things as simply as possible and rescuing from oblivion what time wants to erase. He lives in France.
Gonoh is a French illustrator based in Paris. He studied illustration and worked as a graphic designer in different agencies before turning exclusively to illustration. He has worked with Decathlon, ADP, BNP Paribas, Télérama, and Brasserie La Parisienne.
JNF007100 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Sports & Recreation
JNF054110 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Sports & Recreation | Olympics
Athletes
Sports
Olympic athletes
Olympics
