Running Girl: The Diary of Ebonee Rose [Hardcover]

Sharon Bell Mathis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

It is two weeks before the All-City Track Meet, and eleven-year-old Ebonee Rose is entered in four events. She puts in long hours of practice and collects her thoughts, dreams, and fears within the pages of her diary while counting the days until the meet. Ebonee Rose is nervous, but she remembers the words and deeds of her heroes, great women runners-Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Florence Griffith Joyner, Wilma Rudolph, and others. As the day of the meet nears, Ebonee Rose faces her worries and discovers the rewards of friendship.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6. The heart of Running Girl is diary-format fiction, fiction as clear as poetry; but its soul is straight fact. The narrator is 11-year-old Ebonee Rose. In her kente-cloth-covered diary ("Cool, cool!"), she records her preparations for the All-City Track Meet and her respect for female runners who have broken color barriers, gender-based stereotypes, and speed records. The text bounds along light and free, in the manner of runners themselves. E. R.'s authentic voice is conversational and smart. Themes of competition, determination, and friendship from the girl's life weave in and out of the historical facts, documentary photos, poetry, and quotations she notes for inspiration. Whether it's a quote from Gail Devers ("When the walls are closing in, when someone doesn't know where to turn, tell people I was there, I kept going.") or an Olympic fact (Louise Stokes was replaced in the 1936 Games by a white runner she'd previously beaten), it's interesting to readers because it's important to E. R. The same is true for the action photographs shot by sports photojournalists. Mathis suggests a sports/arts connection by introducing lines from Gwendolyn Brooks ("What good is sun/If I can't run?"), the revelation that Florence Griffith Joyner writes poetry (and so does E. R.), and other comparisons. An author's note lists contact organizations (including Special Olympics International) for readers considering track club involvement.?Liza Bliss, Worcester Public Library, MA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

 Sharon Bell Mathis lives in Fort Washington, Maryland. Sharon, won the Coretta Scott King Author Award in 1974 for Ray Charles. She also is the author of "The Hundred Penny Box."

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152006745
• ISBN-13: 978-0152006747
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,277,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars running inspiration, November 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Running Girl: The Diary of Ebonee Rose (Hardcover)

This is a good book for a young girl to read when she is getting ready for an upcoming athletic event (especially a race). It is accompanied with excellent photos of famous black track athletes and diary entries that a young girl might place in a personal scrap book as she becomes increasingly interested in track and field. It exposes all of the thrill, self doubt, fear and other emotions that a young athlete might feel as a race day approaches and in this regard is wonderful for any kid to read (it makes them feel more normal). However, one passage, claiming that black women were once replaced on teams by white women that they could clearly beat, raised questions from my daughter (who is white and 9). Although it is possible that this claim is true, it is the first I had heard about it. Either way, parents who buy this book for their children had better be ready to provide some historical perspective on sports and race.