TENACIOUS

Profiles of 15 disabled athletes.

A racially diverse “crew” of softball and basketball players, handcyclists, and more navigates disabilities such as limb difference, spina bifida, and visual impairment. Adult subjects include Samoan adaptive surfing champion Meira Va’a Nelson, partially paralyzed at age 14; children include Annabelle Geib, a White-presenting middle schooler who has spastic diplegia cerebral palsy and dances ballet, tap, and hip-hop using a walker and leg braces. MBD’s expressive, energetic portraits of athletes in motion, overlaid by brief, italicized rhyming text, nearly fill each single-page profile. Text curving across the page urges, “Pick up speed before the pit. / Then take your leap! And never quit” as John Register, a Black Paralympic long jumper leaps across the page, his prosthetic outstretched. Each spread provides more biographical details and includes quotes from the subjects, who share their daily joys and challenges. The intended audience is unclear. The rhyming text appears to address younger readers, while the wordier sections, with their complex, informative sentences, clearly target older readers. Older readers may find the singsong rhymes stilted, and younger readers may not understand such jargon-tinged lines as “Drop in, pop it, grind the rail. Take a risk! Let skills prevail.” However, older readers who can reconcile the uneven tone will enjoy meeting these talented athletes. In an author’s note, Prevo, herself a disabled athlete, explains concepts such as ableism and includes notes on inclusive language. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An eclectic, encouraging lineup.