Tenacious: Fifteen Adventures Alongside Disabled Athletes
Meet fifteen remarkable athletes who use adaptive equipment in this beautiful and truth-telling picture book.
A downhill skier whose blindness has sharpened her communication skills. An adaptive surfer who shreds waves while sitting down. A young man who excels at wheelchair motocross--but struggles with math. Tenacious tells their stories and more, revealing the daily joys and challenges of life as an athlete with disabilities.
These competitors have won gold medals, set world records, climbed mountain peaks, claimed national championships, and many more extraordinary achievements. Get to know them in Tenacious!
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Patty Cisneros Prevo is a first-generation Latina, writer, two-time Paralympic gold medalist, and proud mom and partner. She also works as the University of Wisconsin Health Program Manager of DEI. Her manuscript for Tenacious won the 2018 Lee & Low New Voices Award Honor and marks her debut as an author. Learn more about her at pattycisnerosprevo.com.
Dion MBD or Dionisius Mehaga Bangun Djayasaputra, is an Indonesian illustrator and designer who lives and works between Brooklyn and Bandung. Dion received his Illustration BFA from Ringling College of Art Design in Florida where he grew his fascinations with clouds. Check out his website to learn more about him at dionmbd.com.
* "This upbeat offering promises profiles of 15 disabled athletes but delivers even more... Readers will come away with an enhanced understanding of the scope of adaptive sports (BMX, surfing, CrossFit) and great respect for these dedicated, tenacious athletes." -- Booklist, starred review
"As a young girl growing up with a disability, I needed a book like TENACIOUS. The messages I received from the world were largely negative. I'm so grateful that through these athletes in this book, disabled children and their families will learn that they can be disabled AND live a life full of joy." -- Stephanie Wheeler, Paralympic gold medalist, Head coach
"This is precisely the book I dreamed of growing up as a young girl with a disability. It shows what is possible to achieve and acknowledges the very real hard points, while fostering and supporting healthy, positive disability identity development." -- Dr. Anjali Forber-Pratt, Paralympic medalist and disability activist
"An eye-opening look at disabled athletes who turn the stigma of disability on its head. Libraries looking to add titles on adaptive equipment, games and events that are inclusive, or robust bios of great athletes will find this worth buying." -- School Library Journal
"MBD's expressive, energetic portraits of athletes in motion, overlaid by brief, italicized rhyming text, nearly fill each single-page profile... Each spread provides more biographical details and includes quotes from the subjects, who share their daily joys and challenges... An eclectic, encouraging lineup." -- Kirkus Reviews
"[An] intersectionally inclusive portrait of the ever-growing world of adaptive sports." -- Publishers Weekly
Bookstagang Best Books of the Year 2023 - Bookstagang
CCBC Choices Recommended 2024 - Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Delaware Diamonds Awards Nominee 2024 - Diamond State Literacy Association
Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Book Award Honor 2023 - California Reading Association
Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Keystone to Reading Book Award Nominee 2024 - Keystone State Literacy Association
Notable Books for a Global Society Winner 2024 - International Literacy Association (ILA)
