Heather  Lang,Floyd Cooper
As this yearâ€™s Olympics draw near in Rio de Janeiro, athletes from around the world are training hard to overcome the competition, just as Alice Coachman did for the 1948 Olympics in London. This inspirational nonfiction book by Heather Lang is a story of perseverance and unwavering ambition that follows Coachman on her journey from rural Georgia, where she overcame adversity both as a woman and as a black athlete, to her triumph in Wembly Stadium. With her strong determination and innate athletic talent, Alice raced her way to the top of the track and field world and, leaping over all hurdles in her path, went on to become the first African American woman to take home the gold medal. This amazing journey is complemented by Floyd Cooperâ€™s pastel illustrations that serve to represent Coachmanâ€™s incredible struggles.,School Library Journal, says: â€œLang brings her subjectâ€™s early years to life through small detailsâ€¦ Cooperâ€™s pastels keep to a brown, grainy palette, recalling the Georgia dirt on which the track star ran as a child.â€
Biography,Childrens,Picture Books,Sports,Sports,Nonfiction,History,Cultural,African American,Childrens,Biography Memoir,Literature,Multicultural Literature
Queen of the Track:  Alice Coachman Olympic High-Jump Champion