Gabby Douglas

Introduce your child to one of the most decorated Olympic gymnasts in history with the children’s book Gabby Douglas, part of the Leaders Like Us series.

Who is Gabby Douglas? Children will flip for this engaging biography that explores Gabby’s early life, her career as an Olympic gymnast, and all of her accomplishments.

Fun Storybook Features:

• This children’s book features a timeline, post-reading questions, and an interactive activity to develop reading comprehension skills.
• 24 pages of vibrant illustrations

About Rourke Educational Media:

We proudly publish respectful and relevant nonfiction and fiction titles that represent our diverse readers, and are designed to support reading on a level that has no limits!

| All Gabby Douglas wanted was to copy her older sister. No one imagined where those cartwheels and flips would one day take her. This nonfiction biography is the story of how one girl turned her passion for gymnastics into Olympic gold. | Gr 1-4–Lesser known but important people are featured in this eclectic mix of biographies. Readers learn of Alvin Ailey who overcame prejudice against his color and homosexuality to become the head of a dance theater and achieve a Kennedy ­Center honor. Pauli Murray was an activist for feminism and civil rights who eventually became an Episcopalian priest. Sally Ride achieved a degree in physics and became the first American woman in space. Sylvia Rivera was an early LGBTQ activist who fought for the inclusion of transgender people within the gay community and Gabby Douglas became the first American woman gymnast to win the Olympic gold medal in all around and individual events. The narratives are simple and straightforward. ­LGBTQ subjects are treated with sensitivity although the harsher circumstances of some lives, particularly Ailey, Murray, and Rivera, are omitted (appropriately for the intended audience). The accompanying pictures are serviceable if not outstanding. While there are other titles available on Ride and ­Douglas, little is out there about Ailey, ­Murray, and Rivera, thus these volumes will be of value. ­VERDICT These biographies introduce young readers to important but ­little-known leaders and should be considered for inclusion in school and public libraries. -School Library Journal | Gabrielle Christina Douglas is an American icon. At age sixteen she tumbled and flipped her way onto the Olympic stage during the 2012 London Summer Games and became the first US Gymnast to win team and individual all-around gold. The tiny girl with the big smile was only the second African American woman to make the national women’s team.