Published by Balzer + Bray
Summary: From a young age, Althea Gibson excelled at all sports. Growing up in Harlem, she didn’t know much about the world of tennis, but when she started hanging out at the Cosmopolitan Tennis Club (tennis club for black people in her neighborhood), people immediately took notice. She worked at the club in exchange for lessons, and before long she was traveling with the all-black American Tennis Association. But Althea had higher aspirations, and, in 1950, she courageously moved to the all-white world of professional tennis. She lost a lot at first and was not always a gracious loser, but she decided to learn from her defeats, and slowly started moving up the ranks. In 1957 and 1958, she made history with back-to-back Wimbledon wins, opening the door for other black players to compete at the top levels of tennis. Includes an author’s note, timeline, and a list of additional resources. 40 pages; grades 1-5.
Pros: An inspiring picture book biography of a natural athlete with a big personality who refused to accept the social norms of her day. The back matter makes it an excellent choice for research–although the author’s note only hints at Althea’s post-tennis life which sounds pretty interesting.
Cons: Once again, no photos. Here’s a woman who lived into the 21st century, for crying out loud, there must be a ton of photographs of her.
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