Review: Katie Ledecky by James Buckley Jr.

KATIE LEDECKY
Amazing Americans-Olympians
by James Buckley Jr.
Bearport Publishing
Picture Book, Non-Fiction
ages 4 and up

Katie Ledecky shot to fame at an early age. By age 15, she had already won a gold medal at the Olympics! So how did this incredible swimmer rise to the top? In this fascinating introduction, young readers will learn about Ledecky's early life and her many amazing achievements. Each 24-page book in this series of introductory biographies features controlled text with age-appropriate vocabulary and simple sentence construction. The narrative text, clean design, and colorful photos will speak to even the most reluctant of readers. of readers.

 MY TIDBITS

This book takes a look at Katie Ledecky and gives a glimpse into her very successful swimming career.

There are four books in the Amazing Americans Olympians series, and each one concentrates on a different Olympian. In this one, young readers learn about Katie Ledecky's amazing swimming career and accomplishments. A Contents page at the beginning makes it easy for readers to find any information they might need quickly: everything from the stages of her career to an index to more about the author.

The book opens up with a quick, exciting introduction to who Katie is and raises tension as to whether or not she can achieve her goal. After that, a very short  summary of her beginnings is followed by descriptions of her accomplishments at various competitions. The writing is direct and packed with information as to which competitions she won and when. Although the author tries to hold some tension, it's a little dry for very young readers.  There are extra tidbits offered in gold medallions in each two page spread and clear explanations are offered with every bright photograph, keeping confusion at bay. Words which might need more clarification are placed in bold and added to a quick glossary at the end of the book. Here, there is also a timeline, index, hint to more reference material as well as the link to a webpage, where more tidbits are offered as well as a crossword puzzle.

The pages are very informative and concentrate heavily on Katie's success at various competitions. Little is said about her personal life or what was required to achieve these goals. Fans of Olympic swimming will enjoy this tremendously, but I'm not sure most readers will be drawn in.

Our country's standout citizens are introduced in this new biography series for early readers. Children will learn all about the lives and accomplishments of inspirational Americans who reached for the stars and never gave up on their dreams. Each 24-page book in this 4-book series features controlled text with age-appropriate vocabulary and simple sentence construction. The narrative text, clean design, and colorful photos will speak to even the most reluctant of readers.

http://bearportpublishing.com/shop/show/12227