Record Breakers

Irene Punt is a published author and elementary-school teacher in
Calgary, Alberta.

Eleven kids prove the old adage, “If you believe you can do something,
you can.” And with hard work, passion, and determination, each one of
them not only realized their dream, but broke records doing it.

Record Breakers focuses on the stories behind the statistics. How did
Tom Longboat become the world’s first professional marathon champion
in 1909? Why was 16-year-old John Travers Cornwell posthumously awarded
the Victoria Cross? How did 19-year-old Gertrude Ederle’s swim across
the English Channel change the way women were perceived? How did Barbara
Ann Scott, Wilma Rudolph, and Nadia Comaneci win their Olympic gold
medals? From riding race horses or piloting planes to driving drag cars
or cutting the grass at the White House, each record-breaking kid proves
dreams can come true regardless of age, size, color, or family
background.

Author Leslie Garrett provides the perfect mix of story and stats.
Photographs of the superstars complement the text. Recommended.