What do you think?
Rate this book
Lives
Lives of the Athletes: Thrills, Spills
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
96 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1990
8 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 10, 2015
I'm going to use excerpts from this book to introduce nonfiction narrative text structure to my 6th graders. I think they'll appreciate that the biographies are not just lists of sports facts, but also include information about each athlete's personality and quirks. Babe Ruth in particular had lots of surprising quirks! For a kid who is really interested in sports or biographies, I would recommend this as easily accessible and enjoyable to read. I do wish there were more women athletes featured, however.
November 19, 2018
I like how the authors had many stories that were short, informative and funny!
January 10, 2013
Good, but when I read this, I was getting a little tired of the author's "Lives of" series. I probably could have given it more attention. I admire Krull and the way she has made historical biography more accessible and interesting for kids (and adults), so I'd recommend this. Just not in rapid succession with her other books.
February 20, 2017
A great, quick to read biography of some of the top athletes in recent history. Krull has a way of drawing the reader in, and wanting more! A great book just to learn about famous athletes, but also an excellent resource book for students.
January 2, 2016
I appreciated the wide variety of sports included but this isn't my favorite 'Lives' book.
May 14, 2020
I’d never heard of some of the athletes that were profiled...and a lot of them died young!
December 7, 2017
I thought this was a good book.
February 19, 2023
A great reference book about an athlete's personal life. But!! Not for died hard sports fans.
Read
April 24, 2016Lives of the athletes. (1997). New York: Harcourt Brace and Company.
Citation by: Wendy Arnhart
Type of Reference: Collective Biography
Call Number: j 920 K94L
Content/Scope: Biographies of twenty famous male and female athletes. Written for elementary and, perhaps, middle school students. Each biography is three to five pages long. In addition to the story of the athlete's career, the author's goal is to reveal the athlete as a "real person". The end of each story focuses on "Athleticisms", which emphasizes the athlete's claim to fame.
Accuracy/Authority/Bias: The stories are relatively short and seem accurate. A bibliography is included at the end of the book, which may help the reader explore further. Other books in this series are reviewed very well by the School Library Journal and the New York Times Book Review.
Arrangement/Presentation: Biographies are arranged in chronological order, the first athlete being Jim Thorpe, who was born in 1888, and the last, Flo Hyman, who was born in 1954. Stories are short, each with two illustrations, rather nicely colored drawings of the athletes, along with another fitting picture. Reading seems easy and interesting. Young readers will enjoy this book.
Relation to other works: Children's biographies are numerous, this biography is a good fit for the sports-minded child who appreciates stories which are short and to the point.
Accessibility/Diversity: As the athletes represent a diverse population, so do the stories and illustrations. Language is non-sexist. There are more male athletes represented than female athletes.
Cost: $9.00
Professional Review: Phelan, C. (1997). Retrieved from http://booklistonline.com/Lives-of-th....
Citation by: Wendy Arnhart
Type of Reference: Collective Biography
Call Number: j 920 K94L
Content/Scope: Biographies of twenty famous male and female athletes. Written for elementary and, perhaps, middle school students. Each biography is three to five pages long. In addition to the story of the athlete's career, the author's goal is to reveal the athlete as a "real person". The end of each story focuses on "Athleticisms", which emphasizes the athlete's claim to fame.
Accuracy/Authority/Bias: The stories are relatively short and seem accurate. A bibliography is included at the end of the book, which may help the reader explore further. Other books in this series are reviewed very well by the School Library Journal and the New York Times Book Review.
Arrangement/Presentation: Biographies are arranged in chronological order, the first athlete being Jim Thorpe, who was born in 1888, and the last, Flo Hyman, who was born in 1954. Stories are short, each with two illustrations, rather nicely colored drawings of the athletes, along with another fitting picture. Reading seems easy and interesting. Young readers will enjoy this book.
Relation to other works: Children's biographies are numerous, this biography is a good fit for the sports-minded child who appreciates stories which are short and to the point.
Accessibility/Diversity: As the athletes represent a diverse population, so do the stories and illustrations. Language is non-sexist. There are more male athletes represented than female athletes.
Cost: $9.00
Professional Review: Phelan, C. (1997). Retrieved from http://booklistonline.com/Lives-of-th....
May 22, 2013
Krull does a great job of putting so many fun, interesting facts into this compilation of biographies on some of the most memorable sports figures, Babe Ruth, Jesse Owens, and Pele, just to name a few. This biography goes beyond the stories of these athletes on the court, field, track, or wherever they are playing. These biographies give fun details that people want to know even if they don't know they want to know it.
Each of the biographies is accompanied with a cartoon picture of the athlete that is brightly colored, the birth and death date of the athletes, as well as a quick short description of who the athlete. I agree with Horn Book review that points out that the book highlights unusual details of personalities of these athletes.
I especially found the biography on Jesse Owens to be interesting. He was such a man of so many contradictions, and it would have been interesting to meet him. I would recommend this book to read aloud to a class or to a sports fan. It is a quick read, but it still gives great information.
Each of the biographies is accompanied with a cartoon picture of the athlete that is brightly colored, the birth and death date of the athletes, as well as a quick short description of who the athlete. I agree with Horn Book review that points out that the book highlights unusual details of personalities of these athletes.
I especially found the biography on Jesse Owens to be interesting. He was such a man of so many contradictions, and it would have been interesting to meet him. I would recommend this book to read aloud to a class or to a sports fan. It is a quick read, but it still gives great information.
October 23, 2009
This book was a collection of true stories about the lives of all-time great athletes, Jackie Robinson, Jim Thorpe, and Jesse Owens to name a few. The stories all start with a full page cartoon image of the athlete in their uniform with their respective athletic equipment. Children who are into sports or athletics could enjoy this book because of the rich history and famous legends of many sports. I would not use this book in the whole class setting but would rather just recommend it to students who I think it would be appropriate for.
April 23, 2012
I thought Lives Of The Athletes by Kathleen Krull is a great book because it's not just one big biography of one person but one big biography of many different athletes and I really liked all the info it gave me because most of these athletes, I didn't even know about! These athletes have really interesting lives and I now want to read more about them- thanks to this book!
November 19, 2013
Another treasure form the town transfer station to be mined for trivia questions. Looks like a kids book...
Finished after excellent Trivia mining results. The choice of athletes was interesting. A good book for the youthful sports enthusiast.
Finished after excellent Trivia mining results. The choice of athletes was interesting. A good book for the youthful sports enthusiast.
June 2, 2014
I thought this book was very interesting. Although it was boring sometimes I enjoyed learning about the lives of athletes. I enjoyed experiencing how they lived their lives and got through problems.
June 26, 2012
loving this whole series, even for adults....
October 18, 2012
Great read aloud for kids!
Read
July 1, 2013Strengths: super interesting information
One memorable detail: the section on Babe Ruth, in particular his eating habits
One memorable detail: the section on Babe Ruth, in particular his eating habits
September 17, 2015
Great illustrations and quick/fun information on 'public interest' people. We only read Bruce Lee and Gertrude Ederle.
November 29, 2016
Good audiobook series for driving around with kids
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews