International School of Luxembourg Libraries: ISL Libraries Book Blog

Inspirational Sports Heroes!

The Library Blog this week is inspired by our very sporting own hero - Miss Bridgit from the Grade 2 Team!

Miss Bridget recently returned from a trip to the USA where she was inducted into her university's Basketball Hall of Fame!

Fabulously modelling the IB Learner Profile attribute - balanced, Miss Bridgit manages to successfully combine teaching and a professional basketball career. When I was looking over our great new collection of sports focussed books in the LS Library, I wondered who her sports inspirations were and how she managed to maintained her childhood passion. She told me...

"I started playing basketball at the age of 6 and fell in love with it. I practiced constantly outside in our barn. I wanted to be the best player but I always knew it would take a lot of hard work and practice. I even got to continue playing basketball at university, while I was studying! I loved basketball so much, that it became my full time job in Europe. 

Basketball has been my job now (along with teaching) for 13 years and I still love it. When my university invited me to join their Hall of Fame last month, I felt that all of the time, practice, energy and love I had put into basketball was worth it. My biggest role model and inspiration in basketball is Kobe Bryant. He worked harder than anyone else to become the very best, and my favourite book is his biography."

The Mamba Mentality by Kobe Bryant; Phil Jackson 

Kobe Bryant's personal perspective of his life and career on the basketball court and his exceptional, insightful style of playing the game, a fitting legacy from the late Los Angeles Laker superstar. In the wake of his retirement from professional basketball. Bryant decided to share his vast knowledge and understanding of the game to take readers on an unprecedented journey to the core of the legendary "Mamba mentality." Citing an obligation and an opportunity to teach young players, hardcore fans, and devoted students of the game how to play it "the right way," The Mamba Mentality takes us inside the mind of one of the most intelligent, analytical, and creative basketball players ever.

 

 

Enjoy and be inspired like Miss Bridget, by these sports heroes! You'll find them all in the LS Library...

 

Trailblazers: Simone Biles by Sally J. Morgan

Get inspired by the true story of the most award-winning American gymnast.  In August 2016, American gymnast Simone Biles won four Olympic gold medals! Her irresistible smile, fierce determination, and unbeatable strength have made her a favourite around the world. Find out how the girl who taught herself to flip on her backyard trampoline blazed a trail in gymnastics. Trailblazers is a biography series that celebrates the lives of amazing pioneers, past and present, from all over the world. Get inspired by more Trailblazers: Neil Armstrong, Jackie Robinson, Jane Goodall, Harriet Tubman, Albert Einstein, Beyoncé, and Simone Biles. What kind of trail will you blaze?

This biography series is for kids who loved Who Was? and are ready for the next level.

 

 

 

 

Salah (Ultimate Football Heroes) by Matt Oldfield

Mohamed Salah is Liverpool's superstar forward, and he is on a mission to become the best player in the world. This exciting book follows his adventures across the world - from the heat of Egypt to the magic of Rome, the roar of Anfield stadium and - finally - his big chance in a Champions League Final.

 

                                        Morgan (Ultimate Football Heroes) by Charlotte Browne

Alex Morgan is co-captain of Team USA and the face of women's football right across the world. As the star who leads the American attacking line, her height, speed and skill make her impossible to defend, and have helped drive USA to World Cup and Olympic glory. Alex Morgan is football's real life 'Captain America'!

 

Ronaldo (Ultimate Football Heroes) by Matt Oldfield

Escaping the hot streets of Madeira, Cristiano Ronaldo first proved himself as a wonder-kid at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, before becoming a legend for Real Madrid and Portugal. This is the story of how the gifted boy became a man, a team-player and a legend.

 

Kante (Ultimate Football Heroes) by Matt Oldfield

N'Golo Kante is widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, but life hasn't always been easy for the Chelsea superstar. Growing up in the Paris suburbs, N'Golo had to work hard to overcome other people's doubts about his small stature and prove himself on the pitch. This is the story of the small boy from the streets of Paris who grew to be an essential member of any team he plays on.

Ultimate Football Heroes is a series of biographies telling the life-stories of the biggest and best footballers in the world and their incredible journeys from childhood fan to super-star professional player. Written in fast-paced, action-packed style these books are perfect for all the family to collect and share.

 

Junko Tabei Masters the Mountains by Rebel Girls; Montse Galbany (Illustrator)

A historical novel based on the life of Junko Tabei, the first female climber to summit Mount Everest. Junko is bad at athletics. Really bad. Other students laugh because they think she is small and weak. Then her teacher takes the class on a trip to a mountain. It's bigger than any Junko's ever seen, but she is determined to make it to the top.  After that first trip, Junko becomes a mountaineer in body and spirit. She climbs snowy mountains, rocky mountains, and even faraway mountains outside of her home country of Japan. She joins clubs and befriends fellow climbers who love the mountains as much as she does. Junko becomes the first woman to  climb the tallest mountain in the world.

 

Duke Kahanamoku by Laurie Calkhoven; Stevie Lewis (Illustrator)

Meet Duke Kahanamoku, three-time Olympic gold medalist and the father of modern surfing. Duke gained international fame for participating in four Olympics and won five medals in total. Fans began calling Duke "the human fish." Wherever he went, Duke would demonstrate his surfing skills and in 1915, Duke introduced board surfing to Australia. Ten years later, he found another use for a surfboard--as a lifesaving device, using it to save eight people from a capsized boat in California!  A special section at the back of the book includes extras like how to speak Hawaiian and a brief history of Hawaii and its culture. 

 

A Star Like Jesse Owens by Nikki Shannon Smith; Lisa Manuzak Wiley (Illustrator)

Matthew is a young African-American boy who dreams of becoming an Olympic runner like his hero, Jesse Owens. There's one big problem, though Matthew has asthma, which makes it hard for him to run. When his journalist father is assigned to cover the 1936 Olympics in Germany, Matthew jumps at the chance tag along. He has never been out of Ohio before, let alone to Europe. Will Owens's amazing Olympic victories inspire Matthew in his own chosen career?

 

 

Sisters by Jeanette Winter (Illustrator)

Celebrated picture book biographer Jeanette Winter shares the story of champion tennis players and sisters, Venus and Serena Williams. Before they were famous tennis stars, Venus and Serena Williams were sisters with big dreams growing up in Compton, California. In the early mornings, they head to the tennis courts, clean up debris, and practice. They compete in their first tournament and they both win. From there, the girls' trophy collection grows and grows. Despite adversity and health challenges, the sisters become two of the greatest tennis players of all time. This inspiring story of sisterhood, hard work, and determination is perfect for budding athletes or any young reader with a big dream.

 

 

 

Emmanuel's Dream: the True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson; Sean Qualls (Illustrator)

Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah's inspiring true story is nothing short of remarkable. Born in Ghana, West Africa, with one deformed leg, he was dismissed by most people but his mother taught him to reach for his dreams. As a boy, Emmanuel hopped to school more than two miles each way, learned to play soccer, left home at age thirteen to provide for his family and eventually, became a cyclist. He rode an astonishing four hundred miles across Ghana in 2001, spreading his powerful message: disability is not inability. Today, Emmanuel continues to work on behalf of the disabled. Thompson's lyrical prose and Qualls's bold collage illustrations offer a powerful celebration. Includes an author's note with more information about Emmanuel's charity.

 

 

Megan Rapinoe by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara; Paulina Morgan (Illustrator)

In this book from the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy best-selling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Megan Rapinoe, the world record-breaking soccer player and activist. Growing up in Redding, California, Megan discovered her calling chasing a ball on the school playground. Even if she didn't always fit in at school, she was a star on the field and her teammates thought so too. Her passion, skill and leadership took Team USA to Olympic Gold and a World Cup victory, while she continues to champion women's and LGBTQ+ rights and representation in sports, in the US and across the world.