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Summary
Summary
* "A bright salutation of a story, with one determined woman at its center."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review
The inspiring story of the first female to run the Boston Marathon comes to life in stunningly vivid collage illustrations.
Because Bobbi Gibb is a girl, she's not allowed to run on her school's track team. But after school, no one can stop her--and she's free to run endless miles to her heart's content. She is told no yet again when she tries to enter the Boston Marathon in 1966, because the officials claim that it's a man's race and that women are just not capable of running such a long distance. So what does Bobbi do? She bravely sets out to prove the naysayers wrong and show the world just what a girl can do.
Author Notes
Annette Bay Pimentel loves true stories about real people. She also wrote the picture book Mountain Chef- How One Man Lost His Groceries, Changed His Plans, and Helped Cook Up the National Park Service . She spends her days reading nonfiction picture books and reviewing them on her website, researching in libraries, and writing about the people she discovers.
Micha Archer wrote and illustrated Daniel Finds a Poem , and has also illustrated several books for educational presses, including The Wise Fool and Lola's Fandango . Working in collage and oil, her use of color and pattern is influenced by the folk art, crafts, and architecture of the countries she has visited and lived in. She realized the importance of the book as a teaching tool after teaching kindergarten and raising two children. Micha divides her time between Costa Rica and western Massachusetts, where she lives in the house she and her husband built, surrounded by gardens and forest to roam in.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Pimentel introduces Bobbi Gibb, who in 1966 became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon, in an affectionate portrait informed by interviews with Gibb herself. In textured collages, Archer creates a cozy community of autumn leaves, spring fields, and quaint rooftops, against which Gibb trains for the marathon. Disappointed after receiving a letter denying her entry to the race ("Women are not physiologically able to run twenty-six miles and furthermore the rules do not allow it"), she disguises herself with a hooded sweatshirt and runs the marathon anyway. Concentric circles radiate from Gibb's feet some 20 miles in: "Bobbi learns the hard way that you should not race in new shoes," Pimentel writes; Gibb finishes the race to acclaim, opening the door for other dedicated women runners. A triumphant story of an athlete and spirited individual. Ages 5-8. Author's agent: Kathleen Rushall, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrator's agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
This picture book biography of the first woman to run the Boston Marathon--in defiance of the rules--is short on specifics (dates, ages, etc.) but clear on Gibb's determination. Pimentel's straightforward text builds drama and suspense. Archer's vibrant mixed-media and collage art portrays a variety of settings; a nice touch is the bottom-of-the-page border marking the miles of Gibb's progress during the race. Bib. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-Bobbi Gibb found joy in running before it was an activity women were encouraged or even allowed to participate in. Faced with enormous obstacles (including having available running gear), Gibb went on to become the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon, blazing the trail for thousands of women to come. The story does justice to Gibb's dream, although additional contextual details may have helped foster a richer understanding. For example, there is no mention of the year during which the story takes place (1966) until the book's afterword. Gibb's age is also unclear. On the very first page she is an adolescent, but the work soon transitions into her running across the country and entering the Boston Marathon as an adult without clear indication that many years have passed. The lush collage-style illustrations are a highlight, specifically the clever mile marker and elevation indicators which stretch across the pages as Gibb runs the race. The closing image nicely incorporates the names of other female marathoners as a tribute. VERDICT An inspiring addition to picture book biography collections.-Alyssa Annico, Youngstown State University, OH © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Pimentel tenders the story of Bobbi Gibb, the first woman to (surreptitiously) run the classic Boston Marathon, with illustrations that pay close attention to the route along the way.Hot on the heels of Kristina Yee and Frances Poletti's The Girl Who Ran, illustrated by Susanna Chapman (2017), is another rendering of Gibb's saga. This time the story pivots less around Gibb's trick to evade the officials than the sheer joy of runningit is as though Gibb is on one long runner's high, and it's good fun to run along with her. Readers learn that Gibb trained in nurse's shoes, making "her feet feel weightless" when she bought proper running shoes (boys' size six, as there are none for "girls"). Once she was in the race and doffed her sweatshirt to avoid heat exhaustion, she was cheered on by all but the most curmudgeonly marathon watchers. Archer provides the landscape through which the blonde white woman trains and then the marathon path itself. Her artwork is an eyeful, a deep-dish mixture of oil paint and collage with tissue paper and hand-stamped patterned papers as materials. In addition, she adds mile markers and elevation notes to convey the runners' toils and why it is called "Heartbreak Hill." The tiny smattering of African-Americans engaged in the race and in the crowds is sad but true.A bright salutation of a story, with one determined woman at its center. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
