Queen of the Track: Alice Coachman, Olympic High-Jump Champion
CCBC Review:
A picture book biography about track star Alice Coachman starts with her childhood in Albany, Georgia, and ends with her on the medal podium at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, the only American woman to win track-and-field gold. In between, Alice faced many challenges, from a father who didn’t think it was ladylike to spend so much time running and jumping to homesickness when she went away to high school to the racism that was part of the reality of growing up Black. But Alice persevered. Her gold medal performance in the high jump was the end of a duel with another athlete that held the crowd mesmerized, and when Alice won, she’d set a new Olympic record. More about Alice Coachman and the 1948 London Olympics follow the informative and lively narrative about Alice’s life. ©2012 Cooperative Children's Book Center
Illustrated by Floyd Cooper
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 6-9
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Formats:
Biography, Autobiography and Memoir
Picture book
Subjects:
20th Century
African Americans
Biography
Girls and Women
History (Nonfiction)
Perseverance
Racism
Sports
Diversity subject:
Black/African
Publisher:
Boyds Mills
Publish Year: 2012
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9781590788509
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 920 Coachman