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Althea Gibson: The Story of Tennis' Fleet-of-Foot Girl: The First Black Champion - A Picture Book Biography for Kids
A spirited picture book biography about Althea Gibson, the first black Wimbledon, French, and U.S. Open tennis champion, from debut author Megan Reid and Coretta Scott King Honor–winning illustrator Laura Freeman. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 4 to 6. It’s a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children.
Althea Gibson was the quickest, tallest, most fearless athlete in 1940s Harlem. She couldn’t sit still! When she put her mind to it, the fleet-of-foot girl reigned supreme at every sport—stickball with the boys, basketball with the girls, paddle tennis with anyone who would hit with her.
But being the quickest, tallest, most fearless player in Harlem wasn’t enough for Althea. She knew she could be a tennis champion.
Because of segregation, black people weren’t allowed to compete against white people in sports. Althea didn’t care. She just wanted to play tennis against the best athletes in the world. And with skill and determination, she did just that, eventually becoming the first black person—man or woman—to win a trophy at Wimbledon.
Althea Gibson: The Story of Tennis’ Fleet-of-Foot Girl chronicles this trailblazing athlete’s journey—and the talent, force of spirit, and energy that made it possible for her to break barriers and ascend to the top of the tennis world.
Althea Gibson was the quickest, tallest, most fearless athlete in 1940s Harlem. She couldn’t sit still! When she put her mind to it, the fleet-of-foot girl reigned supreme at every sport—stickball with the boys, basketball with the girls, paddle tennis with anyone who would hit with her.
But being the quickest, tallest, most fearless player in Harlem wasn’t enough for Althea. She knew she could be a tennis champion.
Because of segregation, black people weren’t allowed to compete against white people in sports. Althea didn’t care. She just wanted to play tennis against the best athletes in the world. And with skill and determination, she did just that, eventually becoming the first black person—man or woman—to win a trophy at Wimbledon.
Althea Gibson: The Story of Tennis’ Fleet-of-Foot Girl chronicles this trailblazing athlete’s journey—and the talent, force of spirit, and energy that made it possible for her to break barriers and ascend to the top of the tennis world.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 21, 2020
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June 20, 2020
This story of the great athlete and pathbreaker Althea Gibson, born in 1927, begins provocatively:
“The championships at Wimbledon, England, were where the most famous tennis athletes in the world competed to be the best.
Sharp white collars.
Sharp white pleats.
Sharp white lines.
But in 1940s Harlem, the quickest, tallest, most fearless athlete was Althea Gibson.”
We then learn how, while growing up in Harlem, Althea played stickball, basketball, and paddle tennis with anyone she could, and was always the best. She heard about a place where blacks could play tennis - the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club, and the managers let her get lessons in exchange for doing odd jobs around the club.
But as the author points out:
“Clubs like the Cosmopolitan were rare. Who could challenge Althea when she had already beat everyone there?”
The author does not include the fact that Althea’s big break occurred when two African American physicians offered her a home, secondary schooling, tennis instruction, and the encouragement and financial support to realize her potential. Gibson lived with one of the families in Wilmington, North Carolina during the school year and spent the summer perfecting her tennis game on the other's backyard tennis court in Lynchburg, Virginia. She went on to win the all-black American Tennis Association (ATA) women's singles ten years in a row (1947 – 1956), establishing herself as the best black woman tennis player.
The author does say in her back matter, however, that Althea received extraordinary support from other women of all backgrounds. For example, in 1950, white tennis champion Alice Marble declared in American Lawn Tennis magazine:
"[Gibson] is not being judged by the yardstick of ability but by the fact that her pigmentation is somewhat different.”
It was largely owing to Marble's influence that the invitations started coming in, and Althea entered Wimbledon in 1951, becoming the first African American to play there. She lost at first, but she was no quitter: “‘The more I am beaten, the more I will learn,’ she said.”
She traveled the world, and in France, she became the first black person to win a Grand Slam. But Althea had set her sights on Wimbledon, and in 1957 she did it: she became the first black person - man or woman - to win a championship at Wimbledon. (She also won the women’s doubles championship later in the day.) She won again in 1958. Best of all, the author writes, back in New York that summer they threw Althea a ticker-tape parade:
“They cheered loudly for the quickest, tallest, most fearless girl Harlem had ever seen.”
Illustrators of other picture books about tennis champions have stuck to the somewhat uninteresting colors and scenes of tennis matches. Laura Freeman, however, uses bold colors and cleverly informative backgrounds in her double-page spreads not only capturing Althea’s spunky personality but adding historical details that enhance the narrative.
An author’s note provides additional information on Gibson’s life and detail about both her tennis and pro golf careers. (She was the first black woman to play golf professionally as part of the Ladies Professional Golf Association.) The end matter also includes a timeline of important dates in Althea’s life and a short bibliography of recommended reading. The recommended audience is age 6 and up.
Evaluation: The author accentuates the dedication and perseverance of Gibson, but it took more than skill alone for Gibson to succeed. Reid elides over all the help Gibson received from sympathetic people of both races to help realize her dreams. Rather, she emphasizes the message that determination and indefatigability, certainly important ingredients for Gibson's accomplishments, can result in success, even when it seems like the whole world is against you.
Rating: 3.5/5
“The championships at Wimbledon, England, were where the most famous tennis athletes in the world competed to be the best.
Sharp white collars.
Sharp white pleats.
Sharp white lines.
But in 1940s Harlem, the quickest, tallest, most fearless athlete was Althea Gibson.”
We then learn how, while growing up in Harlem, Althea played stickball, basketball, and paddle tennis with anyone she could, and was always the best. She heard about a place where blacks could play tennis - the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club, and the managers let her get lessons in exchange for doing odd jobs around the club.
But as the author points out:
“Clubs like the Cosmopolitan were rare. Who could challenge Althea when she had already beat everyone there?”
The author does not include the fact that Althea’s big break occurred when two African American physicians offered her a home, secondary schooling, tennis instruction, and the encouragement and financial support to realize her potential. Gibson lived with one of the families in Wilmington, North Carolina during the school year and spent the summer perfecting her tennis game on the other's backyard tennis court in Lynchburg, Virginia. She went on to win the all-black American Tennis Association (ATA) women's singles ten years in a row (1947 – 1956), establishing herself as the best black woman tennis player.
The author does say in her back matter, however, that Althea received extraordinary support from other women of all backgrounds. For example, in 1950, white tennis champion Alice Marble declared in American Lawn Tennis magazine:
"[Gibson] is not being judged by the yardstick of ability but by the fact that her pigmentation is somewhat different.”
It was largely owing to Marble's influence that the invitations started coming in, and Althea entered Wimbledon in 1951, becoming the first African American to play there. She lost at first, but she was no quitter: “‘The more I am beaten, the more I will learn,’ she said.”
She traveled the world, and in France, she became the first black person to win a Grand Slam. But Althea had set her sights on Wimbledon, and in 1957 she did it: she became the first black person - man or woman - to win a championship at Wimbledon. (She also won the women’s doubles championship later in the day.) She won again in 1958. Best of all, the author writes, back in New York that summer they threw Althea a ticker-tape parade:
“They cheered loudly for the quickest, tallest, most fearless girl Harlem had ever seen.”
Illustrators of other picture books about tennis champions have stuck to the somewhat uninteresting colors and scenes of tennis matches. Laura Freeman, however, uses bold colors and cleverly informative backgrounds in her double-page spreads not only capturing Althea’s spunky personality but adding historical details that enhance the narrative.
An author’s note provides additional information on Gibson’s life and detail about both her tennis and pro golf careers. (She was the first black woman to play golf professionally as part of the Ladies Professional Golf Association.) The end matter also includes a timeline of important dates in Althea’s life and a short bibliography of recommended reading. The recommended audience is age 6 and up.
Evaluation: The author accentuates the dedication and perseverance of Gibson, but it took more than skill alone for Gibson to succeed. Reid elides over all the help Gibson received from sympathetic people of both races to help realize her dreams. Rather, she emphasizes the message that determination and indefatigability, certainly important ingredients for Gibson's accomplishments, can result in success, even when it seems like the whole world is against you.
Rating: 3.5/5
June 1, 2020
Growing up in Harlem during the 1940s, Althea Gibson was known as “the quickest, tallest, most fearless athlete.” She played stickball, basketball, and tennis on the hot asphalt and was known as the fleet-of-foot girl who was good at everything she tried. Due to her skin color, she couldn’t attend the fancy tennis clubs, but as she became too good to ignore, many people began fighting for her to be included in the US Championships. This eventually got her to Wimbledon in 1957 where she won a championship two years in a row! The back matter includes an Author’s Note and a list of important dates with more interesting details about Gibson’s life. The artist used Adobe Photoshop to create the digital illustrations for this book.
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
August 21, 2020
This is one of the better written picture books I’ve read in a while. Super unique word choices, and a real commitment to emphasizing that Althea was *different* from her peers, in skill AND personality. So many biographies just tell events, but this went deeper than that.
January 13, 2021
"At thirteen, Althea didn't know about Wimbledon, and she didn't care. When summer came and school let out, the only thing on her mind was this: the Play Streets up on 143rd.
For two months, the neighborhood's streets were barricaded off, and kids rules the asphalt.
"Althea! Althea!"
Everywhere she went, they called the fleet-of-foot girl to play."
And she did.
Reid's narrative about this amazing athlete reveals an indefatigable perseverance to reach the top of the tennis world - Wimbledon - in a racist world that continually worked against her. Interesting to read what another reviewer wrote about how Reid clearly made some choices about what to include given this focus--the reader doesn't learn about key figures in Gibson's life who made the difference in her ability to play and compete in the biggest championships. Reid's focus is the individual and the reader gets a clear sense of the Gibson's commitment to her game and her perseverance. This just begs students who are interested to learn more about her. See Cline-Ransome's "Not Playing by the Rules: 21 Female Athletes Who Changed Sports" one page bio on Gibson - Cline-Ransome highlights the role of Alice Marble in Gibson's success and quotes Gibson as saying, "No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you." Would be nice to read both!
LOVED Freeman's VIBRANT ILLUSTRATIONS and, as another reviewer noted, the continuous presence (and movement of) circles that seem to represent the tennis ball. Freeman lifts the reader beyond the text with symbolism (e.g., Gibson hitting a tennis ball that looks like Earth as she pursues being a world champion via a win at Wimbledon). (You'll recognize Freeman's illustrative style - think "Hidden Figures" by Shetterly for which Freeman won a 2019 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award.)
DON'T SKIP THE AUTHOR'S NOTE - Reid does make a note in the "author's note" about how Gibson received extraordinary support from other women like her idol, the White female tennis player Alice Marble and her Jewish British tennis partner Angela Buxton. She also describes some of the traumatic experiences Gibson suffered at the hands of racists. This note is easily readable to some students and may pique enough curiosity to do more research.
READ THIS ALOUD in kinder through third grade and leave in the classroom library for partners to grab and read again together, peering closely at the illustrations and DISCUSSING QUESTIONS LIKE -
*Why do you think the illustrator decided to make this tennis ball look like a spinning Earth?
*How does the illustrator reveal to you that Gibson played tennis all over the world?
*How does the illustrator convey throughout the book that tennis was a big part of Gibson's life?
*What does the idiom "fleet of foot" mean? How does this idiom support a big idea in Gibson's story?
*How is Gibson consistent over the years or what does she not give up? How does Gibson also change? Why is this important to think about?
NOTE: For students who are not familiar with Wimbledon, you might briefly introduce before reading aloud or after reading aloud the first page, stop for a quick discussion about what they can learn about this event (and it's importance) from the context clues and what questions they have. Then return to their questions, etc. at various points in the book when the role of this event becomes clearer.
I'd PARTNER THIS BOOK WITH TITLES LIKE-
*Billie Jean! How Tennis Star Billie Jean King Changed Women’s Sports (Rockliff, 2019)
*Trudy's Big Swim: How Gertrude Ederle Swam the English Channel and Took the World by Storm (Macy, 2017)
*Her Fearless Run: Kathrine Switzer's Historic Boston Marathon (Chaffee, 2019)
*Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams (Cline-Ransome, 2018)
*Yusra Swims (Abery, 2020)
*Not Playing by the Rules: 21 Female Athletes Who Changed Sports (Cline-Ransome, 2020)
For two months, the neighborhood's streets were barricaded off, and kids rules the asphalt.
"Althea! Althea!"
Everywhere she went, they called the fleet-of-foot girl to play."
And she did.
Reid's narrative about this amazing athlete reveals an indefatigable perseverance to reach the top of the tennis world - Wimbledon - in a racist world that continually worked against her. Interesting to read what another reviewer wrote about how Reid clearly made some choices about what to include given this focus--the reader doesn't learn about key figures in Gibson's life who made the difference in her ability to play and compete in the biggest championships. Reid's focus is the individual and the reader gets a clear sense of the Gibson's commitment to her game and her perseverance. This just begs students who are interested to learn more about her. See Cline-Ransome's "Not Playing by the Rules: 21 Female Athletes Who Changed Sports" one page bio on Gibson - Cline-Ransome highlights the role of Alice Marble in Gibson's success and quotes Gibson as saying, "No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helped you." Would be nice to read both!
LOVED Freeman's VIBRANT ILLUSTRATIONS and, as another reviewer noted, the continuous presence (and movement of) circles that seem to represent the tennis ball. Freeman lifts the reader beyond the text with symbolism (e.g., Gibson hitting a tennis ball that looks like Earth as she pursues being a world champion via a win at Wimbledon). (You'll recognize Freeman's illustrative style - think "Hidden Figures" by Shetterly for which Freeman won a 2019 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award.)
DON'T SKIP THE AUTHOR'S NOTE - Reid does make a note in the "author's note" about how Gibson received extraordinary support from other women like her idol, the White female tennis player Alice Marble and her Jewish British tennis partner Angela Buxton. She also describes some of the traumatic experiences Gibson suffered at the hands of racists. This note is easily readable to some students and may pique enough curiosity to do more research.
READ THIS ALOUD in kinder through third grade and leave in the classroom library for partners to grab and read again together, peering closely at the illustrations and DISCUSSING QUESTIONS LIKE -
*Why do you think the illustrator decided to make this tennis ball look like a spinning Earth?
*How does the illustrator reveal to you that Gibson played tennis all over the world?
*How does the illustrator convey throughout the book that tennis was a big part of Gibson's life?
*What does the idiom "fleet of foot" mean? How does this idiom support a big idea in Gibson's story?
*How is Gibson consistent over the years or what does she not give up? How does Gibson also change? Why is this important to think about?
NOTE: For students who are not familiar with Wimbledon, you might briefly introduce before reading aloud or after reading aloud the first page, stop for a quick discussion about what they can learn about this event (and it's importance) from the context clues and what questions they have. Then return to their questions, etc. at various points in the book when the role of this event becomes clearer.
I'd PARTNER THIS BOOK WITH TITLES LIKE-
*Billie Jean! How Tennis Star Billie Jean King Changed Women’s Sports (Rockliff, 2019)
*Trudy's Big Swim: How Gertrude Ederle Swam the English Channel and Took the World by Storm (Macy, 2017)
*Her Fearless Run: Kathrine Switzer's Historic Boston Marathon (Chaffee, 2019)
*Game Changers: The Story of Venus and Serena Williams (Cline-Ransome, 2018)
*Yusra Swims (Abery, 2020)
*Not Playing by the Rules: 21 Female Athletes Who Changed Sports (Cline-Ransome, 2020)
July 3, 2021
A lovely book, but I think within the book it should have highlighted the racism and sexism more. As well that apart from medical emergencies Althea Gibson was mostly forgotten as a former champion.
September 30, 2020
Althea Gibson: The Story of Tennis' Fleet-of-Foot Girl is a children's picture book written by Megan Reid and illustrated by Laura Freeman. It celebrates the life of tennis champion Althea Gibson.
Althea Neale Gibson was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African American to win a Grand Slam title. The following year she won both Wimbledon and the US Nationals, then won both again in 1958 and was voted Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in both years.
Reid's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. Reid emphasizes Gibson's athleticism, tenacity, and how she excelled despite the structural racism and prejudice. Backmatter includes an author's note, timeline, and bibliography. Freeman’s crisp, stylized illustrations distill dramatic moments into kinetic images.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. As a child in 1940s Harlem, Althea Gibson reigned supreme playing stickball, basketball, and paddle tennis. It traces her journey from the tennis courts of Harlem’s Cosmopolitan Tennis Club, where she did odd jobs to pay for lessons, to winning titles on the elite grass of Wimbledon despite all the racial struggles.
All in all, Althea Gibson: The Story of Tennis' Fleet-of-Foot Girl is a measured and well researched biography of Althea Gibson, who was one of the first black athletes to cross the racial barrier.
Althea Neale Gibson was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African American to win a Grand Slam title. The following year she won both Wimbledon and the US Nationals, then won both again in 1958 and was voted Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in both years.
Reid's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, and informative. Reid emphasizes Gibson's athleticism, tenacity, and how she excelled despite the structural racism and prejudice. Backmatter includes an author's note, timeline, and bibliography. Freeman’s crisp, stylized illustrations distill dramatic moments into kinetic images.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. As a child in 1940s Harlem, Althea Gibson reigned supreme playing stickball, basketball, and paddle tennis. It traces her journey from the tennis courts of Harlem’s Cosmopolitan Tennis Club, where she did odd jobs to pay for lessons, to winning titles on the elite grass of Wimbledon despite all the racial struggles.
All in all, Althea Gibson: The Story of Tennis' Fleet-of-Foot Girl is a measured and well researched biography of Althea Gibson, who was one of the first black athletes to cross the racial barrier.
June 17, 2020
Althea Gibson "reigned supreme" in any athletic endeavor. So when she discovered tennis, she was determined to win and keep on winning. But tennis was a primarily white sport and most clubs didn't allow African-Americans to play. Althea took all her energy, determination, and confidence to the court and changed the sport by becoming the first black person to win a Wimbledon championship. Energetic and expressive illustrations bring this inspiring story to life. An excellent biography to add to any classroom or library collection.
July 6, 2020
Althea Gibson : The Story of Tennis' Fleet-of-Foot Girl by Megan Reid, illustrated by Laura Freeman, PICTURE BOOK, BIOGRAPHY Harper Collins, 2020. $18. 9780062851093
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
When Althea was a kid, she played in the streets of Harlem with her friends and excelled at everything. But by 13 - it wasn't enough to just play during the summer, so she joined the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club and worked odd jobs there to pay for her lessons. She was really good at tennis, but because she was black, she could only play people in her own league. She beat everyone there - and wanted to be a world champion, but the laws in the United States were not on her side. By 1950 she was invited to play in the US championships against white players, she toured Europe and by 1957 was invited to play at Wimbledon. She was a true champion.
Laura Freeman's illustrations are colorful and active. Reid's text is concise. A fun read for the tennis enthusiast. Althea Gibson is a great example of grit, perseverance and courage. Includes an extensive author's note, timeline and further reading.
Lisa Librarian
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
When Althea was a kid, she played in the streets of Harlem with her friends and excelled at everything. But by 13 - it wasn't enough to just play during the summer, so she joined the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club and worked odd jobs there to pay for her lessons. She was really good at tennis, but because she was black, she could only play people in her own league. She beat everyone there - and wanted to be a world champion, but the laws in the United States were not on her side. By 1950 she was invited to play in the US championships against white players, she toured Europe and by 1957 was invited to play at Wimbledon. She was a true champion.
Laura Freeman's illustrations are colorful and active. Reid's text is concise. A fun read for the tennis enthusiast. Althea Gibson is a great example of grit, perseverance and courage. Includes an extensive author's note, timeline and further reading.
Lisa Librarian
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
March 12, 2020
Love the composition with all the circles that evoke tennis balls. Inspiring athlete with an interesting story. Recommended for ages 6-9.
April 3, 2022
This book is about the story of Althea Gibson and her fight to play tennis at a time when it was a sport dominated by white individuals. Althea starts her journey growing up in Harlem where she spends her free time practicing any and every sport she could get someone to play with her. She finds a tennis club where people practice and play tennis against each other but they didn't allow African Americans to play. Eventually, she gets her foot in the door and starts practicing at the club and one by one starts winning against many other players. She begins to draw some attention and from there she starts traveling and practicing to play at Wimbledon. She goes on to become the first African American woman to win at Wimbledon and in any grand slam tournament. This book could be appropriate as a read-aloud as well as for students to read independently in upper grades. This is a historical fiction book that I chose to read as the fifth-grade students I'm observing in my fieldwork have been reading books like this one about athletes that have created an impact or helped fight for the desegregation of sports. One way this book could be used in the classroom is as one book of many in a historical athletes book section. My Mentor teacher has students use quotes from these books to help support their comparisons of various athletes to Jackie Robinson and the legacy he has created. Another way this book could be used is as a read-aloud to students to not only model for them what fluent reading can look and sound like but also allow them to read and learn the story of Althea Gibson. I think this book should be introduced to students in elementary school because it tells the story of a black individual who fought to play and win at a time when tennis was a sport dominated by whites. I think this story is empowering and shows students that fighting for what you believe in is worth it.
May 31, 2020
When Althea was a kid, she played in the streets of Harlem with her friends and excelled at everything. But by 13 - it wasn't enough to just play during the summer, so she joined the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club and worked odd jobs there to pay for her lessons. She was really good at tennis, but because she was black, she could only play people in her own league. She beat everyone there - and wanted to be a world champion, but the laws in the United States were not on her side. By 1950 she was invited to play in the US championships against white players, she toured Europe and by 1957 was invited to play at Wimbledon. She was a true champion.
Laura Freeman's illustrations are colorful and active. Reid's text is concise. A fun read for the tennis enthusiast. Althea Gibson is a great example of grit, perseverance and courage. Includes an extensive author's note, timeline and further reading.
For this and more of my reviews, visit http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com
Laura Freeman's illustrations are colorful and active. Reid's text is concise. A fun read for the tennis enthusiast. Althea Gibson is a great example of grit, perseverance and courage. Includes an extensive author's note, timeline and further reading.
For this and more of my reviews, visit http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com
October 28, 2020
Gr. K-3. This terrific picture book biography covers tennis great Althea Gibson’s life from her teenage years, when she excelled at all sports, to her astonishing win as the first black champion at Wimbledon in 1957. In between, it describes the discrimination and prejudice she faced both on and off the courts until she was finally accepted to the U.S. championships and began her worldwide conquest of the game. An author’s note, important dates, and related resources at the end of the book offer more details about Gibson’s life and times. Check the International Tennis Hall of Fame website at https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-fa... for career highlights and photos or watch Wimbledon footage at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNk-6... for more insight into this fascinating American hero.
January 8, 2021
A fairly kid-friendly picture book biography of a prominent black female athlete who broke racial and gender barriers in tennis and golf in the 1950's, 60's, and 70's. Althea Gibson was a girl from Harlem who was tall, quick and extremely athletic. When she joined an all-Black tennis "club" in the 1950's, she began quickly and easily beating her African-American fellow athletes. Soon, she needed to branch out and she wanted to compete around the world against other athletes. Because of discrimination and Jim Crow Laws in the US, Althea competed mostly around the world before finally being the first black person to win at Wimbledon. After retiring from tennis, she went on to play professional golf. She wrote books, recorded and album and even went to Hollywood. Needless to say, I think some little girls will love this story and find a true heroine in Althea Gibson.
February 6, 2020
This beautifully illustrated picture book biography tells Althea Gibson's story with spirit and heart, capturing her tomboyish personality, her persistence, and her triumph as a black trailblazer in tennis. Although I was familiar with this woman's name and knew that she was an athlete, I knew almost nothing about her, and I enjoyed learning about how she broke the color barrier in tennis, learned to become a gracious loser, and carved out a place for herself despite cultural resistance to her "mannish" personality traits.
September 13, 2020
I liked learning about Althea Gibson and how she preserved. I loved the illustrations. The text was okay but didn’t impress me too much. I know Gibson said “fleet of foot” in a quote but I didn’t love the use of that phrase over and over. I’ve never heard it used before so you can bet kids haven’t either and it wasn’t really well explained.
January 30, 2020
Biography. This is a well-written and illustrated story of a famous tennis player. It includes a timeline, author's note and books to learn more about this tennis great. Kids will enjoy it. Highly recommended for Grades 3-
June 12, 2020
I like how it doesn't make her seem perfect -- it talks that at first she wouldn't shake hands and wish her opponent luck and would taunt them, but that she learned better over time.
She was obviously an amazing athlete and this is a story that anyone who follows tennis should know.
She was obviously an amazing athlete and this is a story that anyone who follows tennis should know.
September 9, 2019
An interesting biography of Althea Gibson with an author's note, important dates, and further resources about Gibson. Nice digital illustrations.
January 18, 2020
Inspiring introduction to the trailblazing athlete, the first black Wimbledon, French, and U.S. Open tennis champion.
January 31, 2020
Great art complimenting highlights of Gibson's life. A female and black pioneer in not only the world of tennis, but golf too. She was a person who made history.
February 6, 2020
This is a nice selection to switch up the people we talk about for Black History Month. Some of the wording was awkward in places and nothing was amazing.
February 14, 2020
A fascinating look at Althea Gibson and not only her amazing professional career in tennis but at some of the personal life experiences that shaped her.
February 17, 2020
An excellent introduction to Althea Gibson. The author's note at the end provided additional information, along with the timeline and short bibliography.
May 8, 2020
I liked the story about Gibson. And I really liked the theme of perseverance.
August 6, 2020
Inspiring and beautifully illustrated!
September 13, 2020
Well
Done biography of an important sports star, has a great theme of perceverence
Done biography of an important sports star, has a great theme of perceverence
December 8, 2020
Loved the story and illustrations as well as the back matter.
Read
April 26, 2021Great book about record breaking Althea Gibson- the first black woman to win the Wimbledon, French, and U.S open
March 12, 2022
A picture book biography that shows how the naturally athletic Althea Gibson used her confidence to get in to the Cosmopolitan Club in NYC during the segregated 40's for her start playing tennis. The illustrations are full color, and there is great use of facial expressions for emotion. I am glad to see mention of her sometimes unsportsmanlike conduct and how she wasn't always kind to opponents. I think it is important to show glimpses of negative truths also because those can be used to talk to kids about valuable lessons as well. This would be a good addition to a sports or bio section in any elementary library.
February 28, 2026
A great book!
A revised review:
While I enjoyed reading this book for a second time the author Megan Reid negelcted to mention that the reason Althea Gibson was given money in 1993 is that she had been mostly forgotten and was close to living in poverty.
A revised review:
While I enjoyed reading this book for a second time the author Megan Reid negelcted to mention that the reason Althea Gibson was given money in 1993 is that she had been mostly forgotten and was close to living in poverty.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews