Marathon - a review

 Yakin, Boaz and Joe Infurnari. 2012. Marathon. New York: First Second. 
Advance Reader Copy

From the publisher's website,

In 490BC, an Athenian messenger named Eucles ran 153 miles from Sparta to Athens, and in so doing preserved ancient Greek civilization from subjugation to the Persian Empire.

This is his story.

The Greek and Persian wars are standard fare in the history books of middle and high schoolers, but it's doubtful that school text books can generate the same interest level as this sparsely tinted graphic novel treatment of the epic run that made the town of Marathon synonymous with running -  Eucles' race against time and foes to save Athens from the advancing Persian army of King Darius.

Alternating between shades of gray for flashbacks of Eucles' youth, and shades of brown for the present, Joe Infurnari's illustrations are teeming with action and intensity, frequently spilling between panels. Some scenes do require close inspection to differentiate between the similarly swarthy characters and combatants not clothed in signature battle dress.

Flashbacks notwithstanding, the story is chronological from the point of the runner, though sections are divided not by time, but by distance and destination,

"'Distance from Athens to Sparta: 153 Sparta," "Distance from Sparta to Marathon: 158 miles," and finally, with pursuers close behind, "26 miles to Athens," to deliver the final message of warning,

It's Eucles!
Eucles returns!
What news?
Does our army stand?

Victory is ours.
-but the Persian fleet approaches.
They will arrive ... before our army is able to march back to defend the city.

The final 26 miles is the basis for our modern marathon races.  This year, the spirit of Eucles and Ancient Greece will live on in the city of London's 2012 Olympic Games. Information on the 2012 Olympic Marathon race in London (including a route map) is available here.

View a 7-page excerpt from Marathon here.

Aptly suggested for grades 7 and up.

The graphic novel format brings new life to ancient history.  This title should be especially appealing to boys.

1st and 10: Top Ten Lists of Everything in Football - a review

Gramling, Gary, Christina M. Tapper, and Paul Ulane. 2011. Sports Illustrated Kids 1st and 10: Top Ten Lists of Everything in Football. New York: Time.

Here are thirty-six "top ten" lists of some of football's great achievers (touchdown leaders), achievements (Super Bowls), and curiosities (wackiest weather, nicknames, quotes, etc.)

Do you know the top ten undrafted players? The top ten biggest players? Comeback games? Famous quotes?  Craziest hairstyles? (yes, Troy Polamalu is #1)  You'll know them all after reading 1st and 10.

The large size (over 11" square), makes this the perfect browsing book for football season.  Books of this sort often have a relatively short shelf life, as players retire and records are broken; so if you've got a copy of this book in your library, put it out on display and start it moving!

I'm not a football fan, but I'm a pretty good judge of what kids will check out of the library. Football fans are sure to find something to interest them in this 95-page volume filled with photos.

In light of the recent football scandals at two universities,  it should be mentioned that 1st and 10 features only professional teams.

Today's Nonfiction Monday roundup is at Books Together.

Good Sports: Baseball Heroes

Stout, Glenn. 2011. Good Sports: Baseball Heroes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

This book is not what I thought it would be!  When I saw it's small size and paperback format, I didn't give it much of a glance - instead, putting on the cart to be shelved.  Later, when searching for books on female athletes to display for Women's History Month, this book popped up in the catalog.  Huh?  I gave it a second look, and I'm glad I did.

Baseball Heroes contains the stories of four ball players who overcame enormous odds to rise to the top of the game they loved - Jackie Robinson, the first African American player in the major leagues, Hank Greenberg - who paved the way for Jewish ball players, Fernando Valenzuela - Mexico's first major league superstar, and Ila Borders.  Ila Borders?

No, I had never heard of Ila either, but her story is no less impressive than the rest. Born in 1975 to a baseball-loving family, Ila was as talented a baseball player as any of the boys her age.  Despite catcalls and complaints from parents and some coaches, she played Little League with the boys, pitching her way through elementary and junior high school.  When she enrolled in high school, however, the law said that she had to play on the school's girls' softball team.  But that didn't stop Ila.  With the support of her family, she enrolled in a private school where she earned a spot on the varsity team,

and when players from the opposition tried to show her up by blowing her kisses from the batter's box or acting disrespectful in other ways, Ila knew what to do. "I just brush them back," she later told a reporter, meaning she threw the ball close to them.  "It's my favorite pitch."

(I love this girl already!)  But high school was not the end of Ila's career.  She went on to pitch in college, and rebuffed by the major league teams, Ila Borders found a home playing professional baseball for an independent league, pitching for the Duluth-Superior Dukes, before retiring to finish college in 2000.

"You never know how far you're going to go," she said.  You just work your tail off and see what happens."

A truly inspirational chapter - perfect to share for Women's History Month.

Baseball Heroes is the first in a planned series, Good Sports. Good Sports is a good idea. I wish Mr. Stout good luck and better copy editing with the rest of the series.  The cover contains two errors that will be corrected in future editions.  For the record, Glenn Stout's correct web address is http://www.goodsportsbyglennstout.com/.  Baseball Heroes is a good book that deserved a better kickoff.
A parent and teacher guide for baseball heroes is available from the author.

Look for a great post later this month from Audrey Vernick, author of She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story on Kidlit Celebrates Women's History Month!


Today's Nonfiction Monday roundup is at Picture Book of the Day,

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.