Girls play sports too, and the books in this series are about female athletes. Each book starts with an introduction to the sport. Rules are explained, words are defined and techniques are outlined. A Historical chapter follows. It looks at the sport and the role of females athletes in the sport. Pioneers, such as Sonja Henie in figure skating and Gretchen Fraser in skiing, are discussed and their contributions acknowledged. Past, present, and rising stars are given the closing pages of each book, allowing readers to see the faces of athletes who are making a difference. These books will make excellent resources for research purposes. Color pictures complement the text. Sidebars provide additional facts. Any library seeking books about girls and sports need to look no further than this series. Bibliography. Glossary. Index. RECOMMENDED.
Library Media Connection March/April 2011
Like football books for boys, there are never enough figure-skating books for girls. One of five new titles in the Girls Play to Win series, this begins with a look at the origin of the sport and then traces the young women who played a role in skating from the olden days to today. The first of six chapters describes skating basics, citing Kim Yu-na (winner of a gold medal at the 2010 Olympics), and then the progression of stars begins: Sonja Henie, Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill, Debi Thomas, Tonya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan, and Kristy Yamaguchi. (The attack on Kerrigan, engineered by Harding, is described under the subheading "Scandal Rocks the Sport".) Color photos, sidebars, and boxed explanations break up the text and keywords are printed in bold and listed in a glossary. The direct tone is intended to motivate fans and future skaters, and facts along the way make this a nicely compact history.
Booklist, October 2010