Game, Set, Match, Champion Arthur Ashe

by Crystal Hubbard, Kevin Belford

Overview

A picture book biography of tennis player Arthur Ashe, who began his career playing tennis as a child on the segregated courts as a child in Virginia and went on to become the top tennis player in the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781600603662
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books, Inc.
Publication date:	09/01/2010
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	11.20(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	960L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 Years

About the Author

Crystal Hubbard is a sports buff and full-time writer who was lucky enough to meet Arthur Ashe as a young girl. Her Lee & Low titles The Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby and Catching the Moon: The Story of A Young Girl's Baseball Dreams have been recognized with several honors. Hubbard lives in St. Louis, Missouri with her family.

Kevin Belford is an illustrator and fine artist whose work has been featured in books, newspapers, magazines, and advertisements. Belford lives in St. Louis, Missouri.

Editorial Reviews

The trials and achievements of tennis star Arthur Ashe, from his youth in the segregated South to his work fighting apartheid and successes on the court, are illuminated in this crisply written story about facing challenges and following dreams. With the support of his father and his coaches, Ashe became the first African-American winner of Wimbledon and the top-ranked tennis player in the world. Layered with spatters and strong lines, debut illustrator Belford's heavily worked paintings suggest the cloudiness of memory (sometimes a little too cloudily), but the matches themselves, glowing with the green of the courts, practically vibrate with energy. Ages 7-11. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 3–5—This picture book focuses on Ashe's early years and tennis career through 1975. Hubbard paints a vivid picture of the challenges the young boy faced in segregated Richmond, VA, of the 1950s. Following his mother's death when he was only six, he was raised by his father, who was a strong advocate in the pursuit of his son's tennis dream. Ashe's self-discipline in athletics and in his academic studies won him a scholarship to UCLA, where he helped lead the tennis team to national victories. It was during his college years that he competed at Wimbledon for the first time and that he was honored in his home city of Richmond with Arthur Ashe Day—the same city that only a few years before would not have let him play on segregated courts. Hubbard's account culminates with Ashe's 1975 surprise upset of Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon. Students who are interested in Ashe's civil-rights activism will need to look elsewhere. Kevin Cunningham's Arthur Ashe: Athlete and Activist (The Child's World, 2005) is a better choice for research. Belford's vibrant acrylics help capture the energy of various games and of Ashe's life in general. Overall, a satisfying tribute to a distinguished athlete.—Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA

School Library Journal

This illustrated biography of sports icon Arthur Ashe follows the trajectory of his remarkable tennis career from his childhood attraction to the sport to his greatest triumph as Wimbledon champion. Ashe's rise from the segregated courts of Jim Crow–era Richmond, Va., to the top of a sport associated with restrictive country clubs continues to resonate, primarily because he used his celebrity to champion civil rights at home and abroad. His death from AIDS-related pneumonia also maintained interest in his story. Hubbard does a creditable job telling his story, particularly in describing tennis matches and Ashe's strategies for winning. She has identified some of the most compelling events from Ashe's past as examples of a complex and influential life, and her focus on Ashe's mental abilities are a balance to his recognized athletic skills. The excellent backmatter includes an afterword, chronology, author's note and bibliography. The illustrations are an uneven addition, however; some complement the action described, but others are too static for such a physical story. (Biography. 7-11)

Kirkus Reviews