The illustrations are great. The font, though a little difficult to read, matches the pictures and is sure pretty. And the story is inspirational, I guess...

Actually, tell the truth, it's a little *too* inspirational. To read this book, Wilma Randolph did nothing in her life but work hard to overcome stuff. Which is inspirational, sure... but she comes out seeming very hard to relate too. As I read about how she successfully overcame being a (poor, black) preemie, and successfully overcame being incredibly sickly, and successfully overcame polio, and successfully overcame racism and sexism (and the continuing effects of her disability)... I start to wonder, did Wilma Rudolph ever have a bad day? Did she never, like the rest of us humans, wake up in a miserable mood and want to crawl under the covers and let somebody else do the work? When she was a child and it hurt to do the exercises to learn to walk again, did she never throw a tantrum? When she was sitting on the sidelines at recess, did she never go home and whine to her mom about how unfair it all was?

Oh, she probably did. But to read this book, you'd think all the limitations she overcame were external - disability and a heap of -isms, that she never had to overcome a grumpy mood or frustration or just plain old-fashioned PMS like us normal folk. It can be a little tiring to read, honestly - none of us is ever going to be as perfect as she's (unrealistically) depicted as being.

I mean, look. Wilma strikes me as a fascinating individual. She did accomplish a lot - and winning the Olympics is an accomplishment in itself, even if you don't do it as an ex-polio kid with a twisted ankle. I just... I wish I could connect to her more as a real person when I read this book. Maybe it'll grow on me. ( )

Wilma Rudolph was an energetic young girl with nineteen brothers and sisters in clarksville, Tennesse. She would jump and run from a veery young age. she didn't let the fact that she had polio put her down.She set her mind that she will run one day even though her left leg is paralyzed but she did mmore than run, she goes to the olympics.i think that this book is very inspiring for young children. I'd have my class write about how this woman's life has inspired them. ( )

The illustrations to this text by David Diaz make this a “must have” biography about the indomitable spirit of athlete Wilma Rudolph – the first woman from the United States to win three gold medals at one Olympics. Both the illustrations and text set a standard for biographies that is tough to beat.

African American ( )