Nothing But Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson

by Sue Stauffacher

Book Overview

Althea is nothing but trouble Everyone agrees: her mama, her daddy, her teacher, even the policeman. But when Buddy Walker, the play leader on Althea's street in Harlem, watches her play paddle... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375834087
• ISBN13: 9780375834080
• Release Date: August 2007
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.8" x 11.2"
• Age Range: 3 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 2

Customer Reviews

Great story

It's always good for kids to read about flawed heroes. Nobody really, deep down, wants to read about some guy whose only "flaw" is that they didn't brush their teeth before breakfast. Althea Gibson, as the title should make clear, has bigger flaws. As a kid, she was a petty thief. She didn't attend class. She stayed out late. And when she was given an opportunity and people fell all over themselves to help her, all she could do is say she didn't come to work on her *manners*, just her *sports*. She is fun to read about, that's for sure. And the triumph of being the first black person to win a Grand Slam (along with her partner, the first Jewish person to do the same) is sweeter for all that we learn that working on her self control helped with that. There's a nice afterword in the end with more information, including names of her own autobiographies. The one thing about this book I'm not to sure of is the artwork. Throughout the book, Althea is drawn with a wave of rainbow colors around her and following her. It does convey movement and all... but it also looks a little strange. I'm not sure what I think about it yet.

Althea doesn't like rules - but she doesn't like to lose either.

Sue Strauffacher's NOTHING BUT TROUBLE: THE STORY OF ALTHEA GIBSON (9780375834080, $16.99) tells of a girl who is 'nothing but trouble' - but Althea doesn't care what they say; she knows she's destined for fame - and so does recreation leader Buddy, who watches her athletic skills improve and who introduces her to the game of tennis. Althea doesn't like rules - but she doesn't like to lose either. Her determination will lead her to become the first Afro-American to compete for and win the Wimbleton Cup in this fine biographical story of a winner.

With a capital T

I'm not ashamed to say it. Say the name "Althea Gibson" to me a month ago and you'd have met a blank stare. Say it to me now, however, and you may suffer the indignity of finding me thrusting Sue Stauffacher's newest picture book, "Nothing but Trouble: The Story of Althea Gibson," into your arms while screaming into your ears its high points. This might be so bad either if the book only had a high-point here or there, but the fact of the matter is that "Althea Gibson" is ALL high points. It's a rip-roaring, snorting, fast and frenzied, well-researched, reiterated, illustrated, formulated bit of picture book biography magnificence. With the author of the "Donuthead" books on the one hand and soon-to-be-recognized-for-his-magnificence artist Greg Couch filling in the necessary art, "Althea Gibson" has everything you could possibly want going for it. It's fun. It's funny. It's smart and interesting, and has a flawed heroine you can't help but want to know more about. If your young child is looking for a biography of a woman and you don't know where to turn, I can't think of a better book available to you. There's something about Althea. Ask anyone. Ask her mama her daddy her teacher or the cop down the street that busted her for petty theft. They'll all tell you the same: That Althea Gibson is nothing but trouble. More comfortable tearing up the playground in the 1930s than sitting at a desk in school, Althea has a reputation for recklessness. None of that is enough to scare off play leader Buddy Walker, however. When he sees Althea play sports, he can only see raw talent and untapped potential. With his guidance and the help of the Sugar Hill's ritzy tennis court "The Cosmopolitan", Althea is given the chance to improve her style. Problem is, she has a hard time with being polite, following the rules, and not punching out her fellow players' lights. It takes time and patience and self-control to make Althea the best she can possibly be, but by 1957 she becomes the first African-American to win at Wimbledon. And though she could hog all the credit for herself, Ms. Gibson gives full credit to that amazing Buddy Walker who had the smarts to become her mentor. It's always more interesting to read about a flawed hero. Perfect people do not a fascinating story make. Maybe that's why the trend in children's biographies lately has been to tell the tale of those men and women who weren't made of solid gold from birth onwards. Between Kathleen Krull's, "Isaac Newton", Laura Amy Schlitz's, The Hero Schliemann: The Dreamer Who Dug For Troy and now Stauffacher's, "Nothing but Trouble," biographies for kids are getting better and better with every coming year. The nice thing about Althea is that for all her pouts and ill-manners, she's shown here to be someone who could conquer the world if she just applied a little self-control. As Buddy tells her at one point, "You've got to decide, Althea. Are you going to play your game, or are you going to let the game pl