Tara Lipinski (Fig Skate Leg)(Oop)

by Veda Boyd Jones

The youngest National Champion and the youngest World Champion in skating history, Lipinski was also the gold medal winner at the 1998 Winter Games.

• Format: Library Binding
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0791048764
• ISBN13: 9780791048764
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Chelsea House Publications
• Length: 64 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 7.5" x 9.6"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

This biography ends before Tara's Olympics

There are many biographies (and an autobiography) of American figure skater, Tara Lipinski on the market, and this book by Veda Boyd Jones ends before the 1998 XVIII Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, where Tara won the gold medal in Ladies Figure Skating. You might prefer Totally Tara: An Olympic Journey by Mark Zeigler, which is primarily a children's picture book but does include her Olympic experience. Christine Brennan's 432-page Edge of Glory: The Inside Story of the Quest for Figure Skating's Olympic Gold Medals contains behind-the-scenes coverage of the 1997 - 1998 figure skating seasons, including Tara Lipinski's World Championship and Olympic Gold Medal, but it is not a biography of one particular skater. This book by Veda Boyd Jones is just the right size to present a focused portrait Tara through the beginning and middle of her rise to figure skating glory. The controversy involving her brief amateur career, and the snide commentary on her personality are left for other authors to document (mainly, Christine Brennan). At age 14, Tara Lipinski became the youngest U.S. National Champion & the youngest World Champion in women's figure skating history. No one is likely to surpass this record, because the minimum age limit to compete at the World Championship is now set at 15. I remember her as a lithe, brilliant presence on the ice, and was quite saddened when she turned professional. This 64-page biography is a part of Chelsea House Publishers' "Female Sports Stars" series and is illustrated with black-and-white photographs from Tara Lipinski's short but exceptional career, up through her 1997 59-city `Tour of World Figure Skating Champions,' sponsored by Campbell's Soups (earning what the author calls "a staggering amount of money.") Her Olympic glory was still to come. This book will discourage all but the most persistent junior figure skaters from pursuing an Olympic dream. Tara Lipinski was a fierce competitor and practiced at least two hours a day on the ice. She had to drop out of school in 5th grade, and continue her education with tutors. She and her mother had to move away from their home in Texas to take advantage of the superior ice rinks and coaches on the East Coast. The author says of Tara's dream: "It was work. Practice, practice, practice. The more difficult a technical element, the more determined Tara became. If she couldn't master a movement, she concentrated harder." This youngster was gifted with the perfect physique to become a world-class figure skater, but Tara's commitment and persistence to this difficult, beautiful sport is what this reader will remember the longest from this biography.

The Coolest Ice Skater

This book was really cool. It told everything that I would need to know about Tara, like that she was born on June 10 in Philadelphia. It really kept me in in the beginning and kept me through the whole time. It looks very long, but I wish it was longer.

Of Course Tara is a Legend!

Of course,Tara Lipinski is a legend! She broke Sonya Henies record, and was the first women to do a triple-ltriple loop combo.And the fact that she's been around for such a short time is a testament to her boundless talent. And if you think Olympic gold medalists,Peggy Fleming, and Dorthy Hamil are legends,(which no sane person will deny) then wheather you like her on not, Tara Lipinski name is right besides them, AS A LEGEND.

Really great book

This book was really good. It tells about a "skating legand" and I am sorry but she is not bragging. If you like Tara Lipinski and love skating, read this book