Epic Athletes: Serena Williams

Epic Athletes

by Dan Wetzel, Sloane Leong (Illustrations)

Epic Athletes: Serena Williams is an inspiring middle-grade biography of the most celebrated women's tennis player ever from acclaimed sports journalist Dan Wetzel!

Featuring comic-style illustrations by Sloane Leong!

Serena Williams is no stranger to overcoming obstacles. From growing up in a tough neighborhood to combatting racism to weathering severe health issues, there is no challenge she can't defeat, no hurdle that will get in the way of her unwavering desire to be the best tennis player in the world.

As a little girl, Serena spent years training at her local court with her father and older sister, Venus, dreaming of one day winning Grand Slam titles and earning the number one ranking in the world. After more than twenty years of dominating the world of tennis, there's no doubt that Serena has made her dreams come true. In this inspiring biography, bestselling author Dan Wetzel brings to life the story of an athlete and trailblazer who broke records and racial barriers.

Featuring action-packed comic-style interior art, this uplifting biography of the most celebrated women's tennis player of all time is sure to be a hit with young sports fans across the country.

Genres: Sports, Biography

176 pages, Hardcover

Published August 6, 2019

Reviews

[Natalie Covilli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m more of a fiction person myself so this wasn’t my favorite

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

With 23 Grand Slam singles tennis titles to her credit, Serena Williams is arguably one of the greatest athletes of all time. This biography describes her early years in Compton, California, learning how to play tennis at the hands of her father, Richard, and alongside her older sister, Venus. Because the book opens with her triumph at the U.S. Open in 1999, readers begin with one of her successful moments before moving back in time to see how she got there. It's clear that author Dan Wetzel admires Serena, and he provides plentiful details about her early training and competition and her father's philosophy about tennis before following her to various tournaments. Her strong faith and connection to her sister and other family members receive attention here as do her later struggles with injuries, the loss of another sister to violence, and depression. Readers will feel as though they have traveled on some of the same paths that this remarkable, resilient athlete has by the conclusion of the book, and be impressed with her attitude and sense of fair play. There is little doubt that the Williams sisters have had a huge impact on tennis, not only in how the game is played but who may play the game. Each chapter is introduced by comic style artwork, and the book concludes with one of her victories. This title would be a good addition to intermediate and middle school libraries because of her accomplishments and her resilience. And who knows what else Serena will accomplish?

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an engaging biography of tennis superstar Serena Williams. It tells of how she grew up playing tennis in a neighborhood in California where this was definitely not the norm and where sometimes her dad would have to shoo gang members off the courts before she and her sister Venus could practice. She goes on to become an excellent player winning many championships and titles. It is very informative and the information seems to be accurate. However, I have no way of knowing this for sure because the author has not included any source notes or citations whatsoever to indicate where they gathered the material for this book. There are also a few graphic novel type illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. They do not add anything to the story. As an information professional, I cannot recommend this book very highly since the author does not cite their sources. Also, there are not any of the other things you would expect to find at the end, like suggestions for further reading or websites to explore, etc. It's sad, really, because there was so much potential there.

[Valerie McEnroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second book in the Epic Athletes series by Dan Wetzel. His sports biographies for kids are well-researched and have a nice narrative flow. I also read Matt Christopher's Legends in Sports biography about Serena Williams, and I felt this one delves deeper into understanding who Serena Williams really is. It does a better job of defining the relationship between her and her sister Venus, the poor community she grew up in, her father's coaching mindset, her game mindset, and her impact on modernizing the game (i.e her super cool outfits). I recommend every library purchase the full set. They will drastically improve your sports biography section.

[Luzenskets · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for upper el or middle school students!

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this to Matthew.

[Lily]

very good! interesting!

[Abigail Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative. Would be wonderful for younger, pre-teen readers.

[Shaylynn Alexandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love playing tennis, so reading this book let me get to know more about tennis. I think Serena is one of my favorite female tennis players and this was a very informational book :)