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Reviewed by: Taylor Coonelly, Elementary School Librarian Title: Th Girl Who Figured It Out: The inspiring true story of wheelchair athlete Minda Dentler becoming an Ironman World Champion
Author: Minda Dentler Illustrator: Stphanie Dehennin Publisher: Sourcebooks
Year: 2024 Good for Grades: PreK-5 Genre/Type of Book: Biography
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: N/A Recommended for a school library: No Reason(s) for choosing the book: Nominated for the CYBILS award for Elementary and Middle Grade Nonfiction
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be:
The remarkable true story of an athlete whose perseverance pushed her to become the first ever female athlete in a wheelchair Ironman World Champion.
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Review:
The remarkable true story of an athlete whose perseverance pushed her to become the first ever female athlete in a wheelchair Ironman World Champion.
Minda Dentler was born in India to a poor single mother with a disease called polio that would impact her ability to walk. Minda's birth mother put Minda up for adoption, hoping that someone could provide Minda with the full life she deserved. Minda was adopted by Bruce and Ann Dentler, and moved across the world to Spokane, Washington. The Dentler's told Minda that she could do anything she set her mind to, and at five years old, she learned to walk. As she grew, Minda was constantly underestimated and bullied by her peers and adults because of her disability. In Minda's adult life, she felt something was missing, and joined a running club in NYC for people with disabilities. Learning to use a handcycle and a racing wheelchair was tough, but Minda pushed herself each day to learn and grow from her mistakes. She competed in several marathons all around NYC, but she aspired for bigger: The Ironman World Champion. After training for five years, Minda competed for the first time, but was eliminated in the bike round. She thought she might quit it all, but she remembered what her father had always said: "You can do it Minda, just figure it out." She went on to complete the Ironman in 2013.
I really love how the author of this biography was Minda Dentler herself - it made the biography and the story so much more powerful for the reader being in Minda's head during each period of her life. Minda goes through each challenge in her life, starting from when she was a little girl learning to walk, with repetition of the story's main message of perseverance and pushing through your goals. The cover and the illustrations in this book are simple, but vibrant in a way that is eye-catching and aids in the storytelling. In the back, there are several notes from Minda, explaining what polio, the Ironman World Championship and adaptive equipment are for readers. I think that this book could be used in a variety of ways in an elementary school: as a read aloud and exercise in learning about perseverance or a text source for a research project. A wonderful biography about someone truly inspiring.
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For more information about this book, see the Publisher's Website
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