Inside this post are my affiliate links if you click on the links and make a purchase I will make a small percentage from the items you purchase.
I would like to share a children’s book Traveling Shoes: The Story of Willye White, US Olympian and Long Jump Champion by Alice Faye Duncan (Author), Keith Mallett (Illustrator,)that I received a copy of in exchange for this review.
As a child I liked to run and even thought of joining track at one time but being top-heavy kept me from trying out. Charlie is like me and he also enjoys track and if he was in school I would have encouraged him to join track because he is so fast. I’, sure he could have run a race or two. Which is something I should have checked into when Charlie first started Homeschooling.
Traveling Shoes: The Story of Willye White, US Olympian and Long Jump Champion allowed Charlie and I to learn more about a State we hadn’t heard of Money, Mississippi which we can look up when we study the States. This book also can be used when we study the Olympics. Charlie and I can look up what a sprinter and long jumper is in PE and practice these running moves. Would you like to join us?
Through the book we can study the Years 1956 and 1964 she was in the Olympics and learn what was happening the Country back then especially where blacks were concerned. I love how Olympian Willye B. White through everything she faced from no, money to no, parents she persevered and won the Olympics teaching children that as long as we don’t give up we can make our dreams come true.
Charlie and I had fun looking at the illustrations and even though the Author used Poetry Charlie loved this story so much that we’ve added it to our Homeschool Library. I can see my family reading the book over and over and every time we will learn something new from the story. I hope you take the time to check out Traveling Shoes: The Story of Willye White, US Olympian and Long Jump Champion with children of all ages and don’t be afraid to share the book with adults because they will enjoy the story just as Charlie and I did.
Untold until now, here is the story of Black sprinter and long-jumper Willye B. White, who went from picking cotton as a child in Mississippi to competing and winning in the 1956 and 1964 Olympics.
Future Olympian Willye B. White was born in 1939 in Money, Mississippi—but money was exactly what she didn’t have. Abandoned by both her parents, she worked alongside her grandparents in the cotton fields. Willye had big dreams, though. So when her cousin noticed she was the fastest runner around, Willye jumped at the chance to put on her traveling shoes and run her way to better opportunities. And run Willye did, first for the Tennessee State Tigerbelles and then for the US Olympic team. Her struggles weren’t over though—time and again, Willye had to remind herself, “I believe in me,” whether she was running and jumping or witnessing the turmoil of the Civil Rights Movement.
Through Alice Faye Duncan’s signature combination of poetry and prose and Keith Mallett’s lifelike illustrations, readers will be inspired by Willye White’s persistence and will learn how she contributed to Black progress with muscle and grit.
About the author: ALICE FAYE DUNCAN
A National Board educator, who writes books for young learners. Her books, HONEY BABY SUGAR CHILD & JUST LIKE A MAMA were nominated for an NAACP Image Award in Children’s Literature during 2006 and 2020.
Alice speaks to children and adults about the American Civil Rights Movement as it happened from 1955 to 1968. Her writing is celebrated for its vivid imagery and musical lyricism. Recent titles include OPAL LEE AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE FREE, THIS TRAIN IS BOUND FOR GLORY, CORETTA’S JOURNEY and TRAVELING SHOES (The Willye White Story).
Her book, MEMPHIS, MARTIN AND THE MOUNTAINTOP received a Coretta Scott King Honor Medal for Illustrations in 2019. This same book was banned in Duval County Florida without anyone in the school district reading the book. You can read that story in the Florida Times Union from journalist–Mark Woods.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
