Author : Kathleen Krull,
Illustrator : David Diaz, Translator : Alma
Flor Ada
Preschool - 2nd
Grade
Wilma sin limites
Wilma Unlimited
Wilma
sin limites, Softcover, Spanish, Book, Kathleen Krull,
David Diaz, Alma
Flor Ada and F.
Isabel Campoy, Preschool - 2nd
Grade, 9780152023607, $7.00
Wilma Unlimited, Softcover, English, Book, Kathleen Krull,
David Diaz, Preschool - 2nd
Grade, 9780152020989, $7.00
$95.92 for the Translation Books by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy Spanish Set, Including 20%-Off, Free Shipping, and No Sales Tax : 16 Softcover Spanish Books and 1 Boardbook
A true story of a young girl’s triumphant journey from a diagnosis of polio with paralysis at age 4, years of hard work, all the way to her eventual participation in the international Olympic games. (K-3)
Publishers Weekly :
"No one expected such a tiny girl to have a first birthday," begins
this inspiring biographical sketch of a legendary track stars. Born in 1940 in
Tennessee, the chronically sickly though "lively" Rudolph contracted
polio just before her fifth birthday. Though not expected to walk again, the
fiercely determined girl persevered with her leg exercises; by the time she was
12, she no longer needed her steel brace. Eight years later, Rudolph represented
the U.S. in the 1960 Olympics in Rome, where, despite a twisted ankle, she
became the first American woman to win three gold medals during a single Olympic
competition. Krull's (Lives of the Musicians) characteristic, conversational
style serves her especially well here. Through her words the nearly superhuman
Rudolph seems both personable and recognizable. Rendered in acrylic, watercolor
and gouache, Caldecott Medalist Diaz's (Smoky Night) imposing, richly hued
illustrations have a distinctive, cubist feel. The artist's bold design
superimposes this art against sepia-toned photographs of relevant background
images: playground sand, wooden fence slats, the gravel of a running track. This
juxtaposition yields busy, effectively textured pages, flawed only by the text's
curiously embellished font-the letters look as though they have been speckled
with either ink blots or dust. A triumphant story, triumphantly relayed. Ages
7-12.
School
Library Journal : Kindergarten-Grade 5 The story of Wilma Rudolph, the
prematurely born black child who, despite suffering from polio, became the first
woman to win three Olympic gold medals. The narrative could very easily slip
into sentimentality. It is to Krull's credit that though her telling is
affecting, it is also crisp and matter of fact, very much in the spirit of
Rudolph's deep day-to-day determination. However, the real impact of this book
lies in the potent melding of powerful prose with Diaz's stunning artwork. His
watercolor and acrylic illustrations with definite black outlining create a
stained-glass effect, and the paintings themselves are backed on sepia
photographs that relate to the text. For example, narrative about Wilma's bus
trips to Nashville is matched with an illustration showing the girl and her
mother at the back of the bus. This in turn is superimposed over a photograph of
a bus tire. Children will listen raptly to this inspirational tale, which is
especially appropriate for this Olympic year.
Booklist : Gr. 2-5, younger for reading aloud. Wilma Rudolph was a wonder.
Though partially paralyzed by polio as a child, she managed--through indomitable
spirit and unlimited determination--to transform herself from a disabled
5-year-old to a world-class runner at age 20, the first woman ever to win three
gold medals in a single Olympics. In this biography for younger readers, Krull
skillfully demonstrates that in achieving her historic triple victory, Rudolph
also claimed victory over three obstacles: a normally crippling illness, growing
up African American in the segregated South of the 1940s, and competing in what
was then regarded as a men's sport. The never didactic text includes a
suspenseful and dramatic retelling of Rudolph's triumphant participation in the
1960 Summer Games in Rome. Enhancing the text are Caldecott medalist Diaz's
richly colored, stylized illustrations that--though painted--have the look and
permanence of wood carvings. These single-and double-page pictures are set on
sepia-tone backgrounds that, like his Caldecott Medal^-winning art for Smokey
Night (1994), Diaz assembled and photographed. He has also created a striking
new font called Ariel for the display and text type. Both Krull's words and
Diaz's illustrations are celebrations of an inspiring life that deserves to be
remembered. An appended author's note offers additional historical context.
Michael Cart --This text refers to the Hardcover
edition.
Kirkus Reviews : Only after reading this book does the subtitle--``How Wilma
Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman''--appear rife with understatement. In
spite of a low birth weight and childhood bouts with scarlet fever and polio
(the doctor said Wilma would never walk again) and after years of painful,
relentless exercise, she not only walked, she ran: to college on scholarship,
and to the Olympics, where she became the first American woman to win three gold
medals in the same games. Krull (Lives of the Artists, 1995, etc.) tells the
inspiring tale in rolling, oratorical prose; Diaz, coming off his Caldecott-winning
work for Eve Bunting's Smoky Night (1994) again lays stylized painted scenes
over textured background photos--here, sepia-toned close-ups of fences, ivy, and
bare footprints in loose dirt. Though a mannered, blotchy typeface (also Diaz's
creation) gives the pages an overly designed look, the book as a whole is a
dramatic commemoration of quite a heroic life. Rudolph died in 1994; her
post-Olympic accomplishments are described in an afterword. (Picture
book/biography. 6-9)
The New York Times Book Review : Inspiring
Publishers Weekly : "a triumphant story, triumphantly relayed."
Spanish
Translation Books by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy :