Tenacious

Fifteen Adventures Alongside Disabled Athletes
By Patty Cisneros Prevo, Dion MBD
Hardcover: $20.95

Meet fifteen remarkable athletes who use adaptive equipment in this beautiful and truth-telling picture book.

Description

A downhill skier whose blindness has sharpened her communication skills. An adaptive surfer who shreds waves while sitting down. A young man who excels at wheelchair motocross–but struggles with math. Tenacious tells their stories and more, revealing the daily joys and challenges of life as an athlete with disabilities.

These competitors have won gold medals, set world records, climbed mountain peaks, claimed national championships, and many more extraordinary achievements. Get to know them in Tenacious!

About the Creators

Patty Cisneros Prevo

Patty Cisneros Prevo is a first-generation Latina, writer, two-time Paralympic gold medalist, and proud mom and partner. She also works as the University of Wisconsin Health Program Manager of DEI. Her manuscript for Tenacious won the 2018 Lee & Low New Voices Award Honor and marks her debut as an author. Learn more about her at pattycisnerosprevo.com.

Dion MBD

Dion MBD or Dionisius Mehaga Bangun Djayasaputra, is an Indonesian illustrator and designer who lives and works between Brooklyn and Bandung. Dion received his Illustration BFA from Ringling College of Art Design in Florida where he grew his fascinations with clouds. Check out his website to learn more about him at dionmbd.com.

Awards

  • Notable Books for a Global Society Winner 2024

    International Literacy Association (ILA)

  • Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Book Award Honor 2023

    California Reading Association

  • Bookstagang Best Books of the Year 2023

    Bookstagang

  • Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

    Junior Library Guild

  • CCBC Choices Recommended 2024

    Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

  • Keystone to Reading Book Award Nominee 2024

    Keystone State Literacy Association

  • Delaware Diamonds Awards Nominee 2024

    Diamond State Literacy Association

Reviews

  • * "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
  • "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
  • "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
  • "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
  • "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

Hardcover

  • ISBN 9781643790985
  • Publication Date Jun 27, 2023
  • Trim Size 9.25 × 11 in
  • Weight 1 lbs
  • Page Count 40
  • Word Count 3119
  • Interests

  • Audience Children
  • BISAC Category 1 JNF / Disabilities & Special Needs
  • BISAC Category 2 JNF / Biography & Autobiography / Sports & Recreation
  • BISAC Category 3 JNF / Adventure & Adventurers
  • Themes Biography / Memoir, Disabilities, Diversity, Dreams & Aspirations, Identity / Self Esteem / Confidence, Informational / Expository Nonfiction, Multiple Ethnicities Represented, Nonfiction, Optimism / Enthusiasm, People In Motion, Persistence / Grit, Sports, Sports History
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 4 - 10
  • Grade Range Grades PreK - 5
  • Guided Reading X
  • ATOS Book Level 6.3
  • DRA 60
  • Interest Level Grades PreK - 6
  • Lexile Level 1040
  • Reading Level 6
  • Bebop Reading Fluent
  • This Book is Included in These Collections:

    • 73
      Immigrant Connection Family Resource Night
      Collection of 73 books: $1,227.40

      442 in stock

    ADA Site Compliance-Accessibility Policy