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Women In Sports: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win
Women in Sports highlights notable women's contributions to competitive athletics to inspire readers young and old. Keeping girls interested in sports has never been more important: research suggests that girls who play sports get better grades and have higher self-esteem--but girls are six times more likely to quit playing sports than boys and are unlikely to see female athlete role models in the media. A fascinating collection full of striking, singular art, Women in Sports features 50 profiles and illustrated portraits of women athletes from the 1800s to today including trailblazers, Olympians, and record-breakers in more than 40 different sports. The book also contains infographics about relevant topics such as muscle anatomy, a timeline of women's participation in sports, statistics about women in athletics, and influential female teams.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published July 18, 2017
91 people are currently reading
1690 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Ignotofsky
24 books246 followersRachel Ignotofsky grew up in New Jersey on a healthy diet of cartoons and pudding. She graduated with honors from Tyler School of Art’s graphic design program in 2011. Now she lives in beautiful Kansas City, Missouri, where she spends all day drawing and learning as much as she can. She has a passion for taking dense information and making it fun and accessible and is dedicated to creating educational works of art.
Rachel is inspired by history and science and believes that illustration is a powerful tool that can make learning exciting. She uses her work to spread her message about education, scientific literacy, and powerful women. She hopes this book inspires girls and women to follow their passions and dreams.
Rachel is inspired by history and science and believes that illustration is a powerful tool that can make learning exciting. She uses her work to spread her message about education, scientific literacy, and powerful women. She hopes this book inspires girls and women to follow their passions and dreams.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews
October 12, 2017
I love any sort of book that caters to my feminist side (which, if we're being honest, is all of me?), and I also am a slight sports fan, so when I saw this book, I had to grab a copy! I've heard good things about this book's predecessor, "Women in Science", and while I haven't read that one, I can safely say that I LOVED this book. I'm not much of a non-fiction reader, so reading anything educational honestly usually requires something special added in the mix, and this book absolutely has that, between how easy to read it is and how adorable the illustrations are.
I learned so much about so many awesome female athletes and was reminded of how incredible and EQUAL we women genuinely are (in every way, no matter what society says!). I can see myself recommending this title to so many friends and family members, and cannot wait until my son is old enough for me to read this with him and to teach him about incredible women in sports.
Thank you so much to Blogging For Books for sending me a stunning finished copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
I learned so much about so many awesome female athletes and was reminded of how incredible and EQUAL we women genuinely are (in every way, no matter what society says!). I can see myself recommending this title to so many friends and family members, and cannot wait until my son is old enough for me to read this with him and to teach him about incredible women in sports.
Thank you so much to Blogging For Books for sending me a stunning finished copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
December 25, 2017
The day I have children or niece or nephew or any contact with a child and I need to buy them a gift this is what I'm getting for them.
December 31, 2021
my kids liked this one the most since we are watching the olympics and it is what they are interested in at the moment.
July 30, 2020
My main complaint is that I read this via audiobook and didn’t get to see the illustrations— so ig I’m just rating the audio format. If I read it physically I probs would have given it 4 stars :) I’m so grateful for these women for fighting for their rights in sports, without them, I wouldn’t be able to swim 😢 I love women omg why am I straight 😭😭😭😭😭😭
August 6, 2024
This is a beautifully illustrated collection of short biographies of trailblazing sportswomen. I enjoyed it. My only complaint would be about the actual physical book itself - it is on very shiny paper and many pages are light text on a dark background which made it difficult to read in electric light!
July 29, 2019
Muy interesante pero me sorprendí que solo una deportista latinoamericana, datos importantes y las ilustraciones muy hermosas
August 9, 2020
A Great book to provide girls with the back stories on how and what made women excel in sports. Role models for future sportswomen.
August 8, 2021
Women in Sports is an illustrated board book that features stylized illustrations of women in sports from the early 20th century through present day. Each page showcases women of different ethnicities, ability and sexuality for a well-rounded grouping. With each illustration is a simple explanation of their accomplishments and what they are known for including breaking records and breaking gender barriers. A wide variety of sports are also featured including swimming, archery, roller derby, mushing, figure skating and ping pong. Women in Sports is an inspiring illustrated guide for women everywhere.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
September 22, 2017
4.5 Stars
Women in Sports is a beautifully illustrated look at women athletes who broke the mold, change the game, and paved the way for other women to join them on the podium.
WiS highlights fifty women who come from a multitude of backgrounds, countries, and participate in a wide variety of sports. There are women who were the first to participate, women who broke down barriers, and those who broke records. It also includes a few little infographics about things like musculature and even the pay gap between men’s and women’s sports. It’s a short book but it’s packed with great information. I really think this is the perfect book for those who enjoy learning about sports history and/or feminism, and it’s written in such a way that it’s very accessible to kids. It’s easy to understand and all the entries cover the women’s career and achievements while remaining brief.
The art for this one is amazing as well, and I could easily see a few of these being framed. I think back to the time I had a US women’s Soccer team poster on my wall and I could totally see me pasting up some of these alongside it. Each image also comes complete with a few bullet points from the women’s history and even a quote on their success, struggles, and fight.
In short, I adored this one! I’ve really enjoyed a lot of these brief history books recently and I think this one is certainly one of my favorites. I’m going to try and find a copy of Women in Science as well and I hope the author continues to make more of these books for other fields of interest.
Women in Sports is a beautifully illustrated look at women athletes who broke the mold, change the game, and paved the way for other women to join them on the podium.
WiS highlights fifty women who come from a multitude of backgrounds, countries, and participate in a wide variety of sports. There are women who were the first to participate, women who broke down barriers, and those who broke records. It also includes a few little infographics about things like musculature and even the pay gap between men’s and women’s sports. It’s a short book but it’s packed with great information. I really think this is the perfect book for those who enjoy learning about sports history and/or feminism, and it’s written in such a way that it’s very accessible to kids. It’s easy to understand and all the entries cover the women’s career and achievements while remaining brief.
The art for this one is amazing as well, and I could easily see a few of these being framed. I think back to the time I had a US women’s Soccer team poster on my wall and I could totally see me pasting up some of these alongside it. Each image also comes complete with a few bullet points from the women’s history and even a quote on their success, struggles, and fight.
In short, I adored this one! I’ve really enjoyed a lot of these brief history books recently and I think this one is certainly one of my favorites. I’m going to try and find a copy of Women in Science as well and I hope the author continues to make more of these books for other fields of interest.
July 30, 2022
Really educational and eye opening about women’s sports. I wish it could go into a bit more detail on each woman.
March 30, 2020
"Throughout history, women have had to jump further, run faster and fight harder to prove their worth in the sporting arena."
"It is not our fault we were born girls. We just want to play too. We just want to have our equal space and place." Lisa Leslie, basketball player
Wonderful book with beautiful illustrations and spectacular women ❤️
"It is not our fault we were born girls. We just want to play too. We just want to have our equal space and place." Lisa Leslie, basketball player
Wonderful book with beautiful illustrations and spectacular women ❤️
January 30, 2019
I would like to thank netgalley and Ten Speed Press for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Filled with lots of world leading sports women this is an important book. The illustrations are beautiful and I love the diversity of the women included.
Filled with lots of world leading sports women this is an important book. The illustrations are beautiful and I love the diversity of the women included.
February 18, 2021
Lovely artwork, and a great starting place for kids to learn about women in sports and some of the shit they had to put up with.
July 26, 2017
Sports have always played a big role in my life. Whether I was playing them or watching them with my friends and family, I have loved them always. Growing up, I did gymnastics, ballet, roller bladed, biked, swam, played softball and skated like a fiend. I skiied, played basketball, and was nearly recruited to Brown University as an ice hockey goalie. My sister played soccer and tennis, my dad was a gymnast and sailor, my mom was a three sport athlete and my grandfather played four sports and for the Philadelphia Eagles. To say sports are in my blood is an understatement. The first book I ever finished writing was about a teenage hockey star.
Downside, I wasn't really great at any sport, not a one. The jokes about ice hockey goalies were true for me - I was not a great skater. Upside, I loved it, so I worked hard and I practiced. When I found out that the author of Women in Science was writing about women in sports, I started begging our rep to send me an ARC (advanced reader copy) or finished copy of the book. Nine months ago. I knew I had to have this book.
I love this book - of all the compendium books of great women, this is by far one of my favorites. The art style is perfect for the style of book - think infographics, but with a bit more text. The decisions for which wonderful women to include must have been a challenging one, but it is definitely a worthy list - variety of sports and backgrounds of each of the women is diverse. If you are looking for inspiration for yourself, your daughter, your niece, your student, your granddaughter AND (or) your son, nephew, grandson, this is a fabulous book to encourage them to be their best and to never stop trying to excel.
Downside, I wasn't really great at any sport, not a one. The jokes about ice hockey goalies were true for me - I was not a great skater. Upside, I loved it, so I worked hard and I practiced. When I found out that the author of Women in Science was writing about women in sports, I started begging our rep to send me an ARC (advanced reader copy) or finished copy of the book. Nine months ago. I knew I had to have this book.
I love this book - of all the compendium books of great women, this is by far one of my favorites. The art style is perfect for the style of book - think infographics, but with a bit more text. The decisions for which wonderful women to include must have been a challenging one, but it is definitely a worthy list - variety of sports and backgrounds of each of the women is diverse. If you are looking for inspiration for yourself, your daughter, your niece, your student, your granddaughter AND (or) your son, nephew, grandson, this is a fabulous book to encourage them to be their best and to never stop trying to excel.
February 21, 2021
Reading Challenge Prompt: A book about or involving a sport
I have never been a big fan of sports. I know the most famous athletes and the sports they play but turn a sports game on the TV and I’ll disappear (most likely to read). However, I do love watching the Olympics- maybe because those events aren’t as long as the typical 3 hour football game.
Anyway, I picked this book as a way to fulfill the sports prompt and learn history. I’m so glad I did. The book is full of trailblazing women athletes, some I knew of; like Serena Williams, Mia Hamm, Simone Biles, but most I’ve never heard of. The sports covered were vast: mountaineering to tennis, skateboarding to MMA and the athletes spanned the globe.
Each athlete has a one page bio that details their story, struggles and accomplishments and then another page of short facts and a picture of them “doing” the sport they are famous for. The best part of this book is that my 7 year old daughter would snuggle on my lap while I read her stories of these 50 amazing women who pursued their passion of athleticism and were not deterred by any nay sayers. After reading about a person, we would Google pictures of the athlete or Youtube a video of them competing which truly brought the characters to life. I was sad when we came to the last athlete. Great inspiring book even for those who aren’t crazy about sports.
I have never been a big fan of sports. I know the most famous athletes and the sports they play but turn a sports game on the TV and I’ll disappear (most likely to read). However, I do love watching the Olympics- maybe because those events aren’t as long as the typical 3 hour football game.
Anyway, I picked this book as a way to fulfill the sports prompt and learn history. I’m so glad I did. The book is full of trailblazing women athletes, some I knew of; like Serena Williams, Mia Hamm, Simone Biles, but most I’ve never heard of. The sports covered were vast: mountaineering to tennis, skateboarding to MMA and the athletes spanned the globe.
Each athlete has a one page bio that details their story, struggles and accomplishments and then another page of short facts and a picture of them “doing” the sport they are famous for. The best part of this book is that my 7 year old daughter would snuggle on my lap while I read her stories of these 50 amazing women who pursued their passion of athleticism and were not deterred by any nay sayers. After reading about a person, we would Google pictures of the athlete or Youtube a video of them competing which truly brought the characters to life. I was sad when we came to the last athlete. Great inspiring book even for those who aren’t crazy about sports.
July 16, 2017
Sports are not something that really grab or hold my interest, so this was a perfect way to read about some amazing female athletes from the late 1800s to the present. The format of the book with bright illustrations and concise one page biographies is great. I truly appreciated the diversity of the women and the sports represented. This book shares a positive message of strength and determination on every page.
* I received an electronic copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.
* I received an electronic copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.
March 25, 2018
Another stunning book from illustrator Rachel Ignotofsky. Featuring women sports figures from throughout history & the world, Women In Sports is definitely a must-read for fans of sports and/or women.
September 29, 2019
Really enjoyed learning about the women in this book, especially many of the early athletes who had to push at so many barriers.
Read for Reading Women Challenge 2019 #10: A book about a woman athlete.
Read for Reading Women Challenge 2019 #10: A book about a woman athlete.
January 5, 2018
Incredible and beautiful book about women in sports - all different types of sports, all different types of women. I am so glad I have this in my home for my girls to read.
September 2, 2018
I really loved reading every page of this.
January 14, 2019
Se podría hacer película de cada una de ellas. Cuánta admiración siento por todas ellas *____*.
October 8, 2022
Great book! Amazing illustrations and word art. Lots of research! Great book and lots of inspiring women!!
December 31, 2023
Learned so much about such power women! Good read
March 7, 2018
Fantastic read with gorgeous illustrations! Thankful for all these women! Definite must read for young girls that love sports!
July 10, 2018
Lovely little introduction to some prominent women athletes and their accomplishments. The art is gorgeous and it and the text are kid-appropriate. Recommended as a good place to start.
May 16, 2019
This book gives an overview of the accomplishments of 50 female athlete's from around the world, including sports like cricket, MMA, swimming, and motocross.
Likely to be a useful starting point for school projects, readers who enjoy learning about athletes who topped their fields, and readers who want to learn more about women's history.
Illustration/artwork was fun!
Likely to be a useful starting point for school projects, readers who enjoy learning about athletes who topped their fields, and readers who want to learn more about women's history.
Illustration/artwork was fun!
August 12, 2020
I wish I could have read this book in 5th grade when I was the only girl in my flag football league and my dream was to be the first female winner of the Heisman. There are some badass female athletes out there. Women are strong and we can do whatever we put our minds to!
January 25, 2018
A really interesting book. As a lover of sport and teacher of PE, I found it fascinating to read about all these fantastic women from the past and present.
January 10, 2018
Another great, inspiring, empowering book! My 11 year old and I both enjoyed learning about the courageous women who fought their way to the top, to be the best in things that women weren't suppose to be good in at all.
August 25, 2021
Cute book but, it got boring and repetitive after awhile. I wish they spent time showing different sports from other countries too that are not very common in the US.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews