Tenacious

Review
By Booklist

This upbeat offering promises profiles of 15 disabled athletes but delivers even more. The picture-book format allows for cheerful, energetic illustrations of Paralympians and professional disabled athletes in action, and supports rhyming lyrics that swirl around the participants, celebrating their efforts and skill ("Sprinting meters, set your pace! / Push yourself with pride and grace"). Five or six standard text paragraphs follow with biographical details: the nature of each athlete's disability, how they were introduced to adaptive sports, summaries of their careers (including medals and world records; many excel in multiple areas), and personal insights offered through their descriptions of a "Daily Challenge" and a "Daily Joy." The athletes represent a diverse group, from a middle-school dancer and motivational speaker with cerebral palsy to a high-school wheelchair motorcrosser. Some players whose adaptive athletic careers started 20 or 30 years ago are now coaches or disability advocates. The author is a three-time women's basketball Paralympian gold-medal winner, and back matter includes her suggestions for preferred language choices, along with a glossary, a Paralympics time line, resources, and a bibliography. 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.