Flying High
The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A lyrical picture book biography of Simone Biles, gymnastics champion and Olympic superstar.
Before she was a record-breaking gymnast competing on the world stage, Simone Biles spent time in foster care as a young child. Nimble and boundlessly energetic, she cherished every playground and each new backyard.
When she was six years old, Simone's family took shape in a different way. Her grandparents Ron and Nellie Biles adopted Simone and her sister Adria. Ron and Nellie became their parents. Simone was also introduced to gymnastics that same year, launching a lifelong passion fueled by remarkable talent, sacrifice, and the undying support of her family.
From her athletic early childhood to the height of her success as an Olympic champion, Flying High is the story of the world's greatest gymnast from author Michelle Meadows and illustrator Ebony Glenn.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The creative team behind Brave Ballerina relays the early struggles, diligent training, and eventual successes of record-breaking Olympic gymnast Simone Biles in this movement-filled picture book biography. Employing rhyming text ("Uplifted by love,/ pulled into the light,/ Simone rediscovers/ the magic of flight"), Meadows sketches Biles's experiences with foster care and adoption, her entry into gymnastics, and continued resilience that carried her to the Olympic Games. Glenn's art, rendered digitally, focuses on both motion and emotion: a spread of Biles's signature move "two breathtaking flips/ high up in the air" shows each stage of the flip in flowing detail that celebrates both Biles's expertise and the range of the human body. Back matter offers further biographical details, fun facts, and a select bibliography for further research. Ages 4 8.