Lisa Leslie Basketball legend

Lisa Leslie, the first woman to dunk in a professional basketball game, stars in this offering from the PrimeTime: Legends series (8 titles). The text covers her childhood and education plus her many sports-related accomplishments: a 101-point game in high school, Player of the Year award in college, four Olympic gold medals, and contributions to the nascent WNBA (Leslie played in the league's first game, won the MVP award in their first All-Stars game, and led her team to a national championship). Oversize font; short, direct sentences; plentiful sidebars; and large full-color photos with generous captions make this a great choice as a high/low selection. Ample back matter (a time line, map, "At a Glance" facts) will appeal to researchers, and the action-packed text and alluring photos will attract browsers.

Gr 1--4--The professional careers of eight athletes are traced in these volumes. In 2002 Lisa Leslie became the first player to dunk in a WNBA game, Michael Jordan was 1984--1985 NBA Rookie of the Year, Roberto Clemente was the first Latino player to reach 3,000 hits, and Wayne Gretzky finished his career with 2,857 points. Readers also learn that in 1998 Mia Hamm scored 20 goals in 21 games, Simone Biles was the first woman to win three consecutive all-around world titles, Jim Brown is the only NFL player to win the MVP award as a rookie, and Muhammad Ali won six regional Golden Glove championships by the age of 18. Outside brief mentions of their early years and philanthropic efforts, little is provided of their personal lives. Color and black-and-white photographs complement the narratives, which tend to be more informative than interesting. The focus is almost entirely on their careers. The volume on Brown is the most useful as it includes his recent passing. The volume on Biles will soon be dated as she is still active. VERDICT These average narratives should only be considered where collections need updating.