What Athletes are Made of

Piven, Hanoch. 2006. What Athletes are Made of. New York: Atheneum.

What Athletes are Made of is a compilation of short biographical anecdotes on many of the world's most famous athletes. Each subject is chosen for a particular characteristic, some amusing, some inspiring. Mia, Kareem, Pelé, the Babe and more....they're all here in this one of a kind look at heroes of sports.

From the entry on Muhammad Ali, "Athletes are made of big mouths."
Once when a flight attendant advised him to fasten his seat belt, Ali responded, "'Superman don't need no seat belt.' 'Well, Superman don't need no airplane,' she shot back."

Annika Sorenstam's entry is titled, "Athletes are made of coolness under pressure." Her entry relates her dignified and professional performance as the first woman entered in a modern men's golf tournament.

One paragraph anecdotes are accompanied by "Did You Know" facts and a likeness of the athlete created in gouache and "found object" collage. The young Andre Agassi, for example, has disco balls for eyes and metallic garland for hair. The Post-Game Recap is an added two pages of statistics and career highlights.

This is a book made for sharing. The older children that would most likely enjoy these short snippets of athletic history are not likely to find this book on the non-fiction shelf. Find it for them.