By Lori Calabrese
Do you have a big sports fan on your hands? Yeah, sports can get pretty serious at times, but, in reality, sports are meant to be just plain fun. Hanoch Piven has hit the nail on the head, so to speak, with What Athletes are Made Of. Piven has selected 23 athletes whose stories have a personal meaning for him. “Some were chosen because of their undisputed greatness, and some because they have an inspiring or interesting story to tell.” Baseball, football, soccer, Olympic champions, Formula I, Nascar, and golf are all represented. Each athlete has a one or two page spread giving us an idea of their personality and abilities, and a ‘Did you know?’ fact sits at the bottom of the page.
What makes this book stand out from the rest though are the crazy illustrations. Piven uses an assortment of objects and everyday items like toy airplanes, Coke bottles, and pencil sharpeners to capture each athlete’s appearance. My favorite pictures would be Andre Agassi and Wayne Gretzky. You just can’t beat a colander for a helmet, a ruler for a hockey stick and the Christmas Garland for Agassi’s hair is just too funny!
A fun project for your boys would be to create their own self-portraits, using everyday household items. Who knows what they would come up with!
Additional Information:
Author/ Illustrator: Hanoch Piven
Publisher: Ginee Seo Books (May 9, 2006)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
ISBN-10: 1416910026
ISBN-13: 978-1416910022
About the Author: Lori Calabrese is an award-winning children’s author. To learn more about Lori, please visit www.loricalabrese.com
