Babe Didrikson Zaharias

June 1, 2000
Gr 2-3-This easy-reader begins with Didrikson's childhood and ends with her track-and-field triumphs at the 1932 Olympics. Sutcliffe recounts that even as a youngster in Texas, Babe raced streetcars and literally ran errands in hopes of becoming the best athlete in the world. Her amazing high school basketball career led to a position on the Golden Cyclones, a group of female athletes sponsored by the Employers Casualty Insurance Company. The team manager also formed a track-and-field team that gave his star player the opportunity to become a national champion and participate in the Olympics. Soft, realistic colored-pencil drawings on every page add information and emotion. A note about her life after the Olympics is appended. This title will fill the need for more accessible titles about women in sports and serve as a stepping stone to Russell Freedman's Babe Didrikson Zaharias (Clarion, 1999).-Jean Gaffney, Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library, OH

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