Children's books: Role models: "Simone Biles", "Malala's Mission for the World", and "Sally Ride"

Simone Biles by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, illustrated by Nadia Fisher (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)
Malala's Mission for the World by Aida Zaciragic, illustrated by Ana Grigorjev
Sally Ride by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, illustrated by Alona Millgram (Frances Lincoln Children's Books)

Simone Biles
Always nice to see stories of trailblazers and role models. You'd have to have lived under a rock for the past decade to not have any idea who Simone Biles is, but this is a great intro for young readers who are interested in gymnastics or other sports.

It's particularly interesting to me to see that the book alludes to recent scandals in the gymnastics world—in a very age-appropriate way—and also that it gives a nod to Biles taking some time off when the pressure was too much. It's easy to focus on the relatively simple things like gold medals (easy to understand!), but just as valuable, if not more, for kids to get messages about speaking up when something's not right and making sure to prioritize health. (And also nice to see the book say directly that Biles lived with her grandparents—I'm guessing that there aren't that many books where young kids who live with non-parental guardians can see their experience reflected in a neutral-positive way.)

All told, a nice addition to a child's library...especially one who tends to do cartwheels all over the furniture.

Malala's Mission for the World
I love seeing books for young readers about women making a difference in the world, and Malala Yousafzai is a great example. In Malala's Mission for the World, readers are introduced to her life in Pakistan and her passion for learning—and how quickly things changed for her.

The book is pretty text-heavy—better for more confident readers or read with an adult's support, but it allows for a lot more information and story than something briefer, so I'm generally on board with it. The illustrations are beautiful, but the text has its fair share of errors, awkward constructions, and presumably accidental repetitions. I do wish the book had been more carefully edited/proofread, because that would have made it a much more useful tool for kids working on language and vocab skills as well as learning something about (recent) history, other countries, and women in the world. Overall a thoughtful and age-appropriate read, though, and I'm glad to see that Malala's parents are also highlighted as proponents of education and equality for girls.

Sally Ride
What a delightful look at one of my favorite figures from women's history—well, history more general, but Sally Ride was an absolute trailblazer for women. Sally Ride takes young readers through her life, from her interest in science from a young age to the company she started with her partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy.

I vaguely remember the media about Sally Ride when she died, and when the fact that she was in a long-term relationship with a woman became public. I'm glad that this book mentions it, and casually at that. This is part of an extended series of biographies of famous people by this publisher, and they're clearly putting in the effort to make sure that diversity doesn't get lost in the shuffle, from making note of LGBTQ folks in history to ensuring that there's representation (is that an artificial leg I see?) in the illustrations. The text is on point, and the illustrations have lots of little details to find. It would make for a wonderful book for early readers who are interested in science.

Thanks to the authors and publishers for providing review copies through NetGalley.