Game, Set, Match Champion Arthur Ashe

August 9, 2010
The trials and achievements of tennis star Arthur Ashe, from his youth in the segregated South to his work fighting apartheid and successes on the court, are illuminated in this crisply written story about facing challenges and following dreams. With the support of his father and his coaches, Ashe became the first African-American winner of Wimbledon and the top-ranked tennis player in the world. Layered with spatters and strong lines, debut illustrator Belford's heavily worked paintings suggest the cloudiness of memory (sometimes a little too cloudily), but the matches themselves, glowing with the green of the courts, practically vibrate with energy. Ages 7–11.

March 1, 2011

Gr 3-5-This picture book focuses on Ashe's early years and tennis career through 1975. Hubbard paints a vivid picture of the challenges the young boy faced in segregated Richmond, VA, of the 1950s. Following his mother's death when he was only six, he was raised by his father, who was a strong advocate in the pursuit of his son's tennis dream. Ashe's self-discipline in athletics and in his academic studies won him a scholarship to UCLA, where he helped lead the tennis team to national victories. It was during his college years that he competed at Wimbledon for the first time and that he was honored in his home city of Richmond with Arthur Ashe Day-the same city that only a few years before would not have let him play on segregated courts. Hubbard's account culminates with Ashe's 1975 surprise upset of Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon. Students who are interested in Ashe's civil-rights activism will need to look elsewhere. Kevin Cunningham's Arthur Ashe: Athlete and Activist (The Child's World, 2005) is a better choice for research. Belford's vibrant acrylics help capture the energy of various games and of Ashe's life in general. Overall, a satisfying tribute to a distinguished athlete.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 15, 2010
This illustrated biography of sports icon Arthur Ashe follows the trajectory of his remarkable tennis career from his childhood attraction to the sport to his greatest triumph as Wimbledon champion. Ashe's rise from the segregated courts of Jim Crow–era Richmond, Va., to the top of a sport associated with restrictive country clubs continues to resonate, primarily because he used his celebrity to champion civil rights at home and abroad. His death from AIDS-related pneumonia also maintained interest in his story. Hubbard does a creditable job telling his story, particularly in describing tennis matches and Ashe's strategies for winning. She has identified some of the most compelling events from Ashe's past as examples of a complex and influential life, and her focus on Ashe's mental abilities are a balance to his recognized athletic skills. The excellent backmatter includes an afterword, chronology, author's note and bibliography. The illustrations are an uneven addition, however; some complement the action described, but others are too static for such a physical story. (Biography. 7-11)

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

October 15, 2010
Grades 4-7 Tennis legend Ashes life, on and off the court, is the focus of this stirring picture-book biographyfor upper-elementary and middle-school readerswhich combines a detailed narrative with powerful acrylic paintings. Along with the accounts of athletic accomplishments, Hubbard focuses on Ashes personal, dramatic story of a quiet, skinny African American boy who learned to play tennis in a blacks-only park near his home in Richmond, Virginia, in the early 1950s; entered his first tournament at age eight; and became an international star and political activist. The sports details spotlighting Ashes famously aggressive serve-and-volley style will capture a young audience, as will his triumph as the first African American man to win Wimbledon and his continued political activism, at home and abroad, including his outspoken opposition to apartheid. Diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, Ashe continued to raise funds for research and education about the disease until his death, at age 49. A long afterword, chronology, and bibliography complete this moving portrait.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)