Tennis fans will find some aces here, but this collective biography struggles to balance the stats with the social change.
Spanning the globe and more than a century, this young readers’ edition of tennis champ King’s adult title offers a whirlwind tour of other powerhouse female players.
After a brief introduction to the sport and an exploration of how Title IX affected women’s athletics, the authors dive into one- to two-page biographies accompanied by stylized portraits in dynamic poses. King and Matthews have selected a wide range of players, from international celebrities such as Venus and Serena Williams to potentially less recognizable names including Maria Bueno (known as the São Paulo Swallow) and pioneering wheelchair tennis player Esther Vergeer. While the breadth of information is inspiring—avid tennis fans will find many new names to research and admire—the biographies themselves offer simultaneously too much and not enough detail. Many entries provide lists of championship titles and awards won, which become difficult to differentiate within the context of so many elite players. King and Matthews also highlight players’ work off the court, such as championing racial equality, mental health awareness, and disability inclusion. But the profiles often don’t explain how the women achieved their various social impacts, as in the entry lauding co-author King for strides in pay equity without mention of the persistent lobbying, sponsorship deals, and threatened boycotts she deployed to accomplish her purpose.
Tennis fans will find some aces here, but this collective biography struggles to balance the stats with the social change. (Collective biography. 7-12)Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2025
ISBN: 9781524883607
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share.
A multiaward–winning author recalls her childhood and the joy of becoming a writer.
Writing in free verse, Woodson starts with her 1963 birth in Ohio during the civil rights movement, when America is “a country caught / / between Black and White.” But while evoking names such as Malcolm, Martin, James, Rosa and Ruby, her story is also one of family: her father’s people in Ohio and her mother’s people in South Carolina. Moving south to live with her maternal grandmother, she is in a world of sweet peas and collards, getting her hair straightened and avoiding segregated stores with her grandmother. As the writer inside slowly grows, she listens to family stories and fills her days and evenings as a Jehovah’s Witness, activities that continue after a move to Brooklyn to reunite with her mother. The gift of a composition notebook, the experience of reading John Steptoe’s Stevieand Langston Hughes’ poetry, and seeing letters turn into words and words into thoughts all reinforce her conviction that “[W]ords are my brilliance.” Woodson cherishes her memories and shares them with a graceful lyricism; her lovingly wrought vignettes of country and city streets will linger long after the page is turned.
For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share. (Memoir/poetry. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-25251-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless.
Tales of a fourth grade ne’er-do-well.
It seems that young Jordan is stuck in a never-ending string of bad luck. Sure, no one’s perfect (except maybe goody-two-shoes William Feranek), but Jordan can’t seem to keep his attention focused on the task at hand. Try as he may, things always go a bit sideways, much to his educators’ chagrin. But Jordan promises himself that fourth grade will be different. As the year unfolds, it does prove to be different, but in a way Jordan couldn’t possibly have predicted. This humorous memoir perfectly captures the square-peg-in-a-round-hole feeling many kids feel and effectively heightens that feeling with comic situations and a splendid villain. Jordan’s teacher, Mrs. Fisher, makes an excellent foil, and the book’s 1970s setting allows for her cruelty to go beyond anything most contemporary readers could expect. Unfortunately, the story begins to run out of steam once Mrs. Fisher exits. Recollections spiral, losing their focus and leading to a more “then this happened” and less cause-and-effect structure. The anecdotes are all amusing and Jordan is an endearing protagonist, but the book comes dangerously close to wearing out its welcome with sheer repetitiveness. Thankfully, it ends on a high note, one pleasant and hopeful enough that readers will overlook some of the shabbier qualities. Jordan is White and Jewish while there is some diversity among his classmates; Mrs. Fisher is White.
Though a bit loose around the edges, a charmer nevertheless. (Memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-64723-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
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