Unbeatable Betty: The First Female Track & Field Gold Medalist by Allison Crotzer Kimmell, illustrated by Joanie Stone - ESSENTIAL

Unbeatable Betty: The First Female Track & Field Gold Medalist by Allison Crotzer Kimmell, illustrated by Joanie Stone. PICTURE BOOK, BIOGRAPHY. Harper Collins, 2020. $18. 978006289607 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

16yo Betty Robinson was a fast runner! The coach at her high school asked her to join the boys track team (girls didn't run rack in 1928) and quickly her skills were recognized and she was invited to run track in the Olympics that year. Not only did she race, she won Gold! Betty was the first woman to win Olympic gold in Track in Field. 

 This is an amazing story - there is so much more to it, why she missed the 1932 Olympics and what happened in 1936. The illustrations are colorful and well researched. Includes sources and a link to website dedicated to Betty Robinson. I can't wait to get a copy of this for my biography section.

Lisa Librarian