(3) K-3 Illustrated by Laura Freeman. Groundbreaking tennis player Althea Gibson (1927–2003) had an outsize personality and talent to match. From playing stickball in Harlem to becoming the first African American Wimbledon champion, the book covers her perseverance (despite a quick temper and daunting racial discrimination) and eventual triumphs. A concise, clear text tells Gibson's story with verve and immediacy. Digital illustrations add color, drama, and energy. Timeline. Bib.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Elbrite Brown. This detailed, carefully researched, clearly written account tells of Gibson's journey from poor sharecroppers' daughter to tennis champion: it's a straightforward, solid biography. As a picture book it's uneven. Blocks of text often feel crowded despite an expansive page layout. The brightly colored cut-paper collage art is sometimes effective, sometimes cluttered, and sometimes so minimal as to lack a focal point. Timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Greg Couch. This spirited picture book biography tells about the first black tennis player to win Wimbledon. Stauffacher's colloquial tone and lively language are the ideal match for her subject. Couch employs zigzagging swirls of colors trailing in Althea's wake--an effective representation of her restlessness; the colors soften and begin to flow more coherently when Althea learns to control her energy and emotions. Timeline.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2007