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October 21, 2025 by Penguin Workshop
Copy provided by the publisher
Maya and Jesse are back after their introduction to the Superheroes Council in Bycel, Korson, and Scott's Sports Superheroes: Stephen Curry. This time, they magically travel to Rome and meet the newest member of the council, Wilma Rudolph. They are given a week to research Rudolph's life and report back to the group. Using unspecified resources, they compile a complete biography and present it. Born in 1940 in Tennessee to a family with 21 other children, Rudolph's early life was plagued by ill health, which was made worse by the lack of medical resources available to Black people at the time. After suffering through not only polio but scarlet fever, measles, and whooping cough, Rudolph and her mother had to travel fifty miles by bus for her to receive therapy to help her walk. Of course, they had to sit at the back of the bus because of segregation laws at the time. She was determined to walk unaided again, and eventually was able to. She started to play basketball, but her real talent lay in running. She was recruited to train with Coach Ed at the Tuskegee Institute, an HBCU, and ran 18 miles a day. Only 16 when she tried out for the Olympic team, she qualified and participated in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, competing in the 4 x 100 relay. Afterwards, she had to complete high school, which was complicated by the birth of her daughter in 1958. Undaunted, and supported by her family, she completed in the 1960 summer Olympics in Rome, winning three gold medals. Back in Clarksville, the community wanted to have a parade in her honor, but she would only participate if the celebration was integrated. She retired from running, becoming a teacher and setting up a foundation to help inner-city children before succumbing to brain cancer in 1954. At the end of the book, Maya and Jesse's grandfathers show up to help set the stage for the next book in the series, focusing on Jackie Robinson.
Strengths: Sports AND Superheroes is a hard combination to beat, so I think this graphic novel will be popular. Rudolph's story is an inspiring one, and her hard work and perseverance are qualities young readers could certainly use. Maya and Jesse do a good job of giving an overview of Rudolph's life and career, livened with a little bit of humor. In each volume, we get a little more information about the council. There are five members on the council, and I loved that the inequity of the fact that Rudolph was the first woman member was addressed. Each book gives a tiny bit more information on the council and its purpose. The illustrations are attractive and will appeal to elementary and middle school students.
Weaknesses: There is a bit of extraneous chatting that I think young readers may ignore; the kids even use the phrase "no cap", which will probably make no sense in five years. I'm sure these biographies include the superhero council in an attempt to attract more readers, but given the paucity of graphic novels involving sports, it's not really necessary. Also, it would be great to see some sports figures that were not written about as much; there are plenty of books on Jackie Robinson.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like engaging graphic novel style sports biographies like Smith, Barnes, and Anyabwile's Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice, Maraniss's Beyond the Game books, or Soria and Williams's Who is the Man in the Air?: Michael Jordan.
January 1, 2026 by Lerner Publications ™
Copy provided by the publisher
My mother, who was born in 1934, contracted polio as a very small child. She remembers being unable to walk, but was fortunate that she was only left with a heart murmur instead of paralysis. When I was young, my entire elementary school was given the polio vaccine on sugar cubes, and I don't remember a single person complaining. This might be because we all knew someone who, like my mother, carried the scars of the disease. Today, young readers need to know more information about why it would be so horrible for this disease to have a comeback.
I did not know that there was ancient Egyptian artwork showing children with damaged legs, or that it had been studied since the late 1700s. A 1916 polio epidemic started efforts to try to keep the infection from spreading, and led to more research into the disease. About 5,000 people died as polio spread to other cities. This pales in comparison to the flu epidemic that occurred a few years later, which is perhaps why I had never heard of it. President Roosevelt's experience with polio is the first historical incident most people might think about.
By the time another epidemic swept the nation in the 1950s, there was more scientific research to help find a cure. The March of Dimes also started as a way to help children affected by the disease. I appreciated that while there is a good description of the work that Salk and Sabin did on vaccines, there is an insect that talks about the fact that other people "Out of the Spotlight", like Dr. Dorothy Horstmann, also contributed to the development of vaccines.
It's fascinating that the World Health Organization has been able to reduce the number of polio cases by 99% since 1988, but there is still work to be done. There is a discussion about why the disease isn't completely irradiated. While some areas of the world find it hard to obtain vaccines, there are also places where vaccine hesitancy could cause a resurgence of the virus. I loved the picture of Carol Ciminelli, who was one of the first children to get the Salk vaccine, who is shown with her COVID-19 card. A timeline at the end of the book reinforces the progress that has been made.
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