| ISBN:0147515688 |  |
| LANGUAGE:English |
" I think the only thing I didn't enjoy was the lack of a table of contents. It also was a little weird to only have one female athlete. At first I thought it had too many basketball players, then I realized the book is centered around the fact that each person had a very distinct problem as a youth. So there is a lot of variety surrounding that. All the boys at my school are begging me to get this one for the library now :) " Alana "Loni" said.
" Pretty fabulous. Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was that I wished they could've found at least one more female athlete to include. But it is spot on and will definitely find fans! " Shauna Yusko said.
" Exactly as promised and written in a kid appealing fashion. There's a common theme of, "I didn't let anybody tell me I couldn't be a star athlete" but there's also a common theme of hard work and perseverance and focus. Lots of kids will want to read this book. " Ms.Patterson said.
" I particularly like how the difficulties overcome vary so much: from Tourette's syndrome, to an unstable home life, to racial discrimination to simply being thought of as too small and weak to be a professional athlete. That, combined with the fact that overcoming that challenge is what made these athletes great, provides food for thought for anyone. " Mary said.
" This book was amazing if you like sports like me. It told you about how eleven sport pros overcame they're ruff and hard childhood. It features LeBron James, Steph Curry, Dwayne Wade and more. An example of one of these sport pros featured in the book is Serge Ibaka who in my opinion had the worst, hardest and most ruff child hood in the whole book. Want to know. Read to find out. If so enjoy. " Ryan O said.
"Okay, okay, so I didn't "read" the entire book, but I did skim a good chunk of it and really like this book as a non-fiction option for my students (especially some of my reluctant readers who enjoy sports). I read the first chapter about Team USA goalkeeper Tim Howard and how he deals with his OCD and Tourette's Syndrome in order to play professional soccer. The book also highlights Althea Gibson, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, and seven others. A wonderful read, especially for those students going through a hard time and want to feel that there is hope beyond the frustrations of life. " Maria Burnham said.
"Here's what I liked: Descriptions of how much each athlete overcome and the diverse issues each person dealt with--some of these were really horrible situations but the authors dealt with it in a way that kids can understand; very inspiring stories but told in such a down to earth way; loved the variety of the sports.
What I didn't like: There was one female athlete's story. Just one. Out of 11? I didn't realize that until the end of the book and if I hadn't enjoyed the stories I had read, I would have thrown the dang book out the window. And the other thing? It just would have been nice to have a photo of each athlete instead of just the three pictured on the cover." Holly said.
"No matter who you are, you will face hard things. This book highlights 11 athletes who overcame difficult challenges to find success and more importantly, inner strength. I was happy to see that poverty wasn't the only challenge in the book. Soccer player, Tim Howard, deals with Tourette syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder on a daily basis. He was ridiculed and belittled most of his childhood. He found a reprieve in sports. They were the one place he could focus on something other than his constant tics. With determination and hard work, Tim became one of the world's best goalies, even making 16 saves in one game during the 2014 World Cup! The remaining accounts are similar to Tim's and all are inspiring. One account includes dealing with sexual abuse. It is handled appropriately and with care. I was glad to see a female athlete included, but disappointed that it seemed Althea's main challenge was her own rebellious attitude. But that can be a huge obstacle to success, so it is a good lesson as well. Everyone, especially young people, can benefit from a role model, and this book is a great place to find one." Teresa Edmunds said.
