Publishers Weekly
01/27/2020
Alexander (All in a Drop) brings her accessible storytelling to this well-researched account of the man behind today’s Paralympic Games. Jewish neurologist Ludwig Guttmann escaped Hitler’s Germany to Britain and later founded a spinal injuries treatment center for wounded soldiers. Fourteen short chapters seamlessly flesh out Guttmann’s life and detail how his radical-for-the-time treatment plans—which included occupational therapy and sports such as archery and wheelchair basketball—helped patients formerly known as “incurables” to live and thrive. Competitions he organized for patients who had paraplegia later evolved into the Paralympics. Illustrated vignettes by Drummond (Pedal Power), as well as numerous archival photos and simple medical diagrams, keep the narrative moving apace, though some, including a cartoon-style soldier struck by shrapnel, appear lighthearted for the subject matter; sidebars detail paraplegia, the nervous system, and the historical treatment of people with disabilities. Brief portraits of six Paralympic medalists conclude this inspirational biography, which highlights the power of sport to motivate and heal while demonstrating how the dedication of one pioneering doctor continues to mean a life-changing difference for many. A timeline, extensive bibliography, and index are included. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 7–10. Author’s agent: Kathleen Rushall, Andrea Brown Literary. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
"Informative, engaging, and important." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"With clarity and immediacy, Alexander tells a riveting story....Throughout, Alexander conveys the force of Guttmann’s commanding personality as well as his fierce drive and determination not just to heal his patients but to change public perception of disabilities and disabled people." — Horn Book (starred review)
"[T]his inspirational biography... highlights the power of sport to motivate and heal while demonstrating how the dedication of one pioneering doctor continues to mean a life-changing difference for many." — Publishers Weekly
"This heartwarming biography will appeal to anyone who supports equal rights and disability justice." — Booklist
"An uplifting biography that spotlights the dedicated physician who saved lives, created the Paralympic Games, and became a pioneer for disability rights." — School Library Journal
“Period photographs and Drummond’s watercolor illustrations are well balanced to capture the grim reality and uplifting optimism surrounding the mid-twentieth century approach to disabilities. With short chapters, a fluent text, and the timeline, index, bibliography, and notes to support student research, this engaging title will be welcome for in-class and independent reading.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
School Library Journal
03/01/2020
Gr 3–6—Ludwig Guttmann was a respected Jewish neurosurgeon in Germany when the Nazi party came to power. When Guttmann relocated with his family to England in 1939, he was denied the opportunity to practice as a surgeon and decided to devote his time to medical research. At that time, patients paralyzed from spinal injuries were deemed "incurables" and left to die in hospital beds. Guttmann did not accept this prognosis: he developed a revolutionary treatment plan that saw unprecedented success, and World War II created many patients who needed his services. He realized that sports could build strength, boost confidence, raise spirits, and develop camaraderie in his patients. What started as a wheelchair sports competition between two hospitals grew into the international Paralympic Games, played on the same schedule and set in the same host city as the Olympics. Alexander covers a lot of ground in this biography. Yet the narrative never feels bogged down by the scope and depth of content; the clear writing employs a simple, matter-of-fact tone. Drummond's charming illustrations, stylistically reminiscent of Quentin Blake, help maintain an optimistic mood even during the darkest moments. Alexander does not reduce Guttmann's patients to objects of pity, but the text frankly discusses the negative implications of infantilizing and condescending attitudes toward people with disabilities. Profiles of accomplished modern Paralympic athletes in the final chapter will help young readers realize the far-reaching impact of Guttmann's work. VERDICT An uplifting biography that spotlights the dedicated physician who saved lives, created the Paralympic Games, and became a pioneer for disability rights.—Elizabeth Lovsin, Deerfield Public Library, IL
APRIL 2020 - AudioFile
Narrator Neil Hellegers presents this brief biography of Ludwig Guttmann in much the same manner that Guttmann lived his life--with precision and matter-of-factness. Guttmann's outstanding contributions to the field of spinal cord injuries and his dogged determination to help patients are more than sufficient to keep listeners interested in this audiobook. Hellegers even presents Guttmann's early struggles as a Jewish doctor in Nazi Germany without invoking real horror; however, this feels consistent with Guttmann’s relentless resolve to persevere, succeed, and improve the lives of soldiers and others with paralyzing spinal cord injuries. Guttmann's refusal to give up on these "incurables" led him to realize the importance of sports in recovery and to found the Paralympic Games, now the world's third largest sporting event. L.T. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2020-02-09
Alexander chronicles how Jewish doctor Ludwig Guttmann became “the founding father of the Paralympic Games.”
In 1917, with World War I underway, Guttmann graduated from high school and became an orderly in Germany’s National Emergency Services, where he met a paralyzed coal miner with a grim prognosis: “Dead in six weeks.” For decades, paralyzed patients’ futures remained bleak. In 1939, after courageously resisting the rising Nazi regime, Guttmann—by then a neurologist—escaped to England. In 1944 he established his Spinal Injuries Center at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where bedridden “incurables” languished. Guttmann, however, resolved to rescue them from “the human scrapheap,” developing innovative treatments and encouraging self-sufficiency. Noting that playing such sports as wheelchair archery and basketball both “brought passion and fun back into patients’ lives” and improved their health, he realized that public competitions would also show nondisabled people that patients were “more than their injuries.” Through Guttmann’s tireless advocacy, a 1948 archery competition on Stoke Mandeville’s lawn evolved into the Paralympic Games, currently the world’s third-largest sporting event. The author explores Guttmann’s career in thorough medical and historical detail; diagrams and text boxes supplement discussions of everything from the nervous system to Nazi atrocities, enabling readers to fully appreciate his efforts. Alongside archival photographs, Drummond’s color cartoon illustrations extend the straightforward text. Profiles of contemporary Paralympians provide an inspiring epilogue. Most photographed figures, including Guttmann, appear white; one contemporary athlete presents black.
Informative, engaging, and important. (timeline, bibliography, notes, index) (Biography. 8-12)