Skater Sonja Henie found "a life without whirling was 'colorless' and 'pointless.'" To prepare Jackie Robinson for the racism and hostility he would face as the first Black man to play in major league baseball, his team manager and others jeered and staged ugly scenes. When track-and-field superstar Wilma Rudolph first began speaking in public, "it scared her more than Olympic competition."These are just a few of the fascinating tidbits that Kathleen Krull has compiled for the latest Lives of book, in which she once again teams with artist Kathryn Hewitt to provide offbeat looks at the lives of famous people. The short vignettes in Lives of the Athletes profile 20 athletes from a variety of sports. Krull has a gift for digging up interesting facts and condensing them into a rapid-fire narrative that is guaranteed to hold the attention of young readers, regardless of their interest in sports. (Ages 11-14)

Babe Ruth was the greatest slugger ever—and off the field snacked on pickled eels and chocolate ice cream. Johnny Weissmuller swam to Olympic fame—and on land practiced the Tarzan yell. “Krull hits another home run.”—American Bookseller