Helen Stephens: The Fulton Flash

Notable Missourians

by Jason Offutt, John L. Hare (Illustrator)

Helen Stephens did not let a little thing like her school s lack of girl s sports and coaches stop her from matching the world record for the 50-yard dash when she was only fifteen. At the Olympics, she was only allowed to enter three events because she was a woman, but that didn t stop her from winning two gold medals. Though a woman had never run a professional basketball team before, that didn t stop Helen from creating and managing The Helen Stephens Olympic Co-Eds. Nothing could stop the Fulton Flash from achieving her dreams. This book is included in the nonfiction book series, Notable Missourians, for young readers in grades 4 to 6 about people who contributed to Missouri's history or culture and who were born or lived in Missouri.

50 pages, Hardcover

First published May 21, 2014

Reviews

[Brianna Steinman]

Great introductory piece on this phenomenal Missourian! I chose not to rate it, as it’s definitely geared toward a Young Reader audience. However, it includes a lot of valuable information - albeit a tad repetitive. The media is also nice - so cool to see pictures of Helen with Jesse Owens, at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and later in life.

[Pegi Ferrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Great information and illustrations. Repeats more than a bit.