Olympics!

by B.G. Hennessy

Captures the fun and excitement of the Olympics, from the training of runners, swimmers, gymnasts, and skaters from all over the world, to the workers who prepare uniforms, equipment, the Olympic torch, flags, and medals.

Genres: Sports, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

A LITTLE ABOUT ME

As a child I loved to draw-but I also loved books, especially picture books. I still remember certain illustrations, covers and bindings from books that were read to me as a young girl.
I’ve lived in many places: I grew up in Wantagh on Long Island, N.Y., graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts and attended St. Lawrence University in upstate New York.

At the University of Wisconsin in Madison, I majored in fine art and learned how to design, print and bind handmade books. I also took courses in Children’s Literature. The combination of form and content in the picture book format fascinated me and after graduation I headed for NYC where I worked for 17 years in children’s book publishing as a designer and art director. But I didn’t begin to write until I had children of my own.

My books have been published in many countries and in many different languages. You can find my books in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and Germany. Some of my books have been translated into German, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Tswana, Sesotho, and Zulu!

I now live with my family in Arizona. You can read more about me at my website: www.bghennessy.com

Reviews

[A Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite part of the book is probably the part that says, "There are many other people preparing for the Olympics, too" and then lists lots of sports equipment that needs to be made, along with flags and the Olympic medals. Then, on the following page, Hennessy goes on to talk about the work that architects and builders are doing in the host city, as well as "Farmers are growing flowers to give to the winners." I think this book is unique in that it acknowledges how the Olympics takes so many different parts of our community to make a success and how it touches so many different work fields, not just athletes. This book also talks about the Olympic Village and the symbolism of the Olympic rings. The book does say, "Each athlete does his or her best. Each team plays its hardest." Published in 1996, the book does use "his or her" and "its" where I would have written "their" instead.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The intro needs some revision, but otherwise very informative and well illustrated for young children.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very nice overview of the Olympics, including both summer and winter as well as a short page on the ancient games. I appreciated how the author includes everyone preparing for the games - the athletes, of course, but also those who are building stadiums and arenas, manufacturers of equipment and uniforms, even those transporting the participants to the Olympic village. There's talk of the opening ceremony, the flag, the torch, and the games themselves. Medals and national anthems. Even the feelings of athletes who might be disappointed to not win. Looks a little dated, but is still a good resource.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 3 out of 5]

OLYMPICS! is a solid, well written introduction to the Olympics. It covers the basic facts of the event from start to finish, giving examples from both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

[Chak · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Olympics" is a great overview book. It is great for ages 3-8. It takes a very simplistic, though holistic look at the Olympics. Both summer and winter Olympics are mentioned. There are brief mentions of many aspects of the Olympics, from preparation for the games, to practicing athletes to a brief mention of equipment and how much the host country needs to build and plan. I liked that they mention that some people lose and that is disappointing to them, but that winners and losers both are Olympians.

A great follow up book to this one, to give a little more of an in-depth look at the athletics of the summer Olympics is "The Summer Olympics" (part of the "True Book" series) by Bob Knotts.

[Ina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The winter olympics are coming and so I wanted to devote a story time to the olympics and various winter sports. This book gives a great overview of the olympic games, using simple appealing text and brightly colored detailed illustrations. All of the preparations, training, and the games themselves are explained in a way that even the youngest members of my story time audience enjoyed. There is a page on the history of the games as well.

[Melissa Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book if you are looking for a fun and interesting way to talk about the olympics with your students. It touches on each subject of the olympics in many different interesting ways that will keep students attention.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for introducing young children to the Olympics, with simple text and fun illustrations. I would love to own a copy, but it's out of print, so the available copies are exorbitantly priced. I'm glad our library had it--it's a gem.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little read about what happens in the Olympics. I read this book courtesy of my niece Lexi. She was so kind to let me read her book when I ran out of them on vacation.

[Sandybear76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book about the Olympics. It discusses the Summer and Winter Olympics.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dad read aloud. Everyone rated it 4 stars except Jacob rated it 2 stars. Good way to introduce what the Olympics is to young kids.

[Susam Martin]

cool