Extraordinary Life of Serena Williams

by Shelina Janmohamed

Publishing ahead of Wimbledon and the 2020 summer Olympics , this is the perfect read for every young sports fan.

Paperback

Published August 6, 2020

Reviews

[Chloe (Always Booked) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book for learning a little bit more about Serena Williams. I liked the quotes from Serena and learning about her personal life as well as her tennis life. However, I feel like some points really got beaten over your head and some were mentioned in a way that begged for more conversation. This would be good for a kid who really is interested in dates and stats.

[Baje Bookclub - Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to read about the lives of those who are in the spotlight because of sport, career, etc. I love this series “The Extraordinary Life..” and yes I picked this one up because Serena was on our screens. Confession – I am not a tennis fan but I will admit, reading this book educated me about the life of Serena Williams and her family. A girl from a family that had great plans for their children and sacrificed for them. Go read this one and pass it on to all the children in your life so that can see how Serena didn’t give up on her dream and how she developed. Serena….the greatest of all time tennis champion, business owner, board member, mother, investor, nail technician, wife, …and guess what? Serena’s not done yet!

[Emily]

The Extraordinary Life Of
Serena Williams.
Written By Shelina Janmohamed
Illustrated By Ashley Evans

I would not normally read a biography, but I thought that as it was new to the school Library and part of the “Lit in Colour” section I should give it a go. Plus, it is about Serena Williams. Well, I am very glad I picked it up. It was so interesting and a quick read. It was not complicated at all. I loved how it was set out and written.
The book is about Serena’s life and what she has achieved so far. I found it very inspiring and the fact that it was about someone real was a bonus. I really liked the illustrations. I also like the time-line at the end of the book as it summarised what you had read in an interesting way.
I would love to read more from this series, especially the ones about Greta Thunberg and Alan Turing. Although I suspect all the books in this series are interesting.
I would recommend this book to anyone. I think that you will enjoy it no matter what your usual book preferences are.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Serena Williams was a tennis world champion for so long that I thought she was always a ready-made champion.
It was eye-opening to read about her rugged early life - her struggles to gain standing in tennis, the racism she experienced, and her incredible persistence and inspiring family. This book is part of the Puffin series 'Extraordinary Lives', which is filled with positive, inspiring tales of resilience - told in a simple, down-to-earth way, with breakout facts/explanations and vivid black and white illustrations.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another pre-read for next school year. I still don't love the formatting, but the content was interesting and decently written. I'm on the fence about including it in our curriculum though, because the author introduces some complicated topics and does so in a very one-sided, simplistic way. And while I don't mind filling in missing information, I don't know that the quality of the book is high enough to make it a good fit for this year.

[Sarah's Reading Nook · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids and I loved this book!

[Adelyn French · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good informative book! This book is great for the younger kids that wanna learn about people. Do recommend.

[annabel⭐️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good, quick informative and snappy the perfect mix between informative and personal it was very good and interesting to learn about her.