Rebel Girls Champions: 25 Tales of Unstoppable Athletes (Rebel Girls Minis) by Rebel Girls

Rebel Girls Champions: 25 Tales of Unstoppable Athletes (Rebel Girls Minis) Reviews

• 
  Rosh ~catching up slowly~

  I love the Rebel Girls series and I think I have read every single book published by them (except for the journals.) If you know the pattern of the books, you already know what this book has to offer. But just in case you don’t, let me offer you a quick glimpse into the three broad types of books from this brand.
  

  
  1. ‘Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls” – a series offering a one page bio on 100 women personalities from diverse fields and multiple countries.
  2. Rebel Girls series: A shorter version of the above series, offering a glimpse in the lives of 25 women leaders from specific fields. Eg. ‘Rebel Girls Lead”, which is about women achievers in business and politics and other modes of leadership.
  3. Chapter Books: These offer a biography of one woman achiever per book, with the story going into elaborate details on their life rather than a one page summary. These are about 128 pages long.
  

  
  
  This book falls in the second category and brings to you the stories of 25 fabulous women from sports. The Rebel Girls series usually ensures that diversity is taken care of, and this book does so to a great extent. The book includes sportswomen from myriad sports such as snowboarding, pole vaulting, gymnastics, basketball, swimming, bouldering, and so on… (And it includes Paralympics performers as well, a huge plus point!) At the same time, I felt that too many of the stories were from the United States. Surely there are more women sports achievers in the world! Imagine someone like Diana Edulji, a successful woman cricketer from a country that refuses to treat women's cricket at par with men's cricket, or someone like Leila Esfandyari, the Iranian mountain climber. It would have been wonderful to see even more international diversity.
  
  Many of the included bios are taken from the Goodnight Stories books while some names make their debut appearance. So if you already own the Goodnight Stories books, you will find a bit of repetition. But whether the stories are previously published or not, they are as inspiring as always. I especially loved Yusra Mardini’s story; it brought tears to my eyes.
  
  The illustrations also follow the same pattern as always. Each bio is accompanied by a sketch of the sports star drawn by a woman artist. This time, some of the illustrations disappointed me as they seemed more cartoonish than real. This is just my preference but when it comes to illustrations depicting real life personalities, I don’t like cartoonish depictions but a sketch that gives me a glance at the real personality.
  
  Nevertheless, this is still a marvellous book to read and will be a valuable addition to all the little sports-loving girls out there who wonder if they have it in them to pursue their dreams. After all, these 25 women have shown that being a woman isn’t a hurdle but an advantage.
  
  Thank you to Rebel Girls and NetGalley for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.
  
  
  
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• 
  Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice)

  Thank you to the publishers for allowing me to review Rebel Girls Champions!
  
  I smiled so much when I was reading this during a commute. I absolutely love inspirational sports stories and particularly those with female athletes who overcome adversity and go on to become hugely successful. This is a great follow-on read from the Olympics last year as it features some well-known names including Simone Biles, Sky Brown and Suni Lee. However, there are also historical figures and that balance really does add to the beauty of the Rebel Girls books. Once again extremely diverse, accessible and beautiful, I can't recommend this series highly enough.
• 
  Reading_ Tamishly

  Thank you, Rebel Girls, Inc. for the copy.
  
  I feel this book specifically from the Rebel Girls series be read more more so because we girls face this discrimination towards us when it comes to sports, not only from the males but also from the women in our lives. It's really frustrating to see the same thing not changing much over the years and girls are still discriminated when it comes to games and sports. We need more of these real life stories which tell girls everywhere around the world not only to face difficulties when they want to take part in sports but also on how to never give up on their dreams. Love this collection so much! Need another one on the same title but with another set of amazing athletes.
• 
  Ceylan (CeyGo)

  I’ve loved all the Rebel Girl books I’ve been privileged to read so far and this one doesn’t disappoint either !
  
  The book features 25 female athletes from different backgrounds, each highly accomplished in their chosen sport. We learn a little.bit about each of these successful athletes - and the accompanying graphics are amazing .
  
  Definitely one for the kids in your life , especially those interested in sports
• 
  Irina R.

  Rebel Girls Champions features 25 inspirational stories of young female athletes coming from all over the world and from various social and racial backgrounds. Some of the athletes featured were familiar to most of us like Michelle Kwan (the U.S figure skater) and Serena Williams (the U.S tennis player) while there were some new and unfamiliar names such as Ishita Malaviya (India's first woman surfer) or twin sisters, Lina and Sanna El Kott Herlander (Swedish skyrunners). I have never heard or known some of these sports stated here like skyruning and bouldering until i read this book.
  
  In a way, this book is a good introduction for me towards new and unfamiliar athletes and their field of sports coming from across the globe. The diversity of the athletes' demographic profiles are quite balanced, coming from all sorts of backgrounds. There are Caucasians, Africans, Asians, indigenous, LGBT and even disabled athletes. They may have come from all walks of life but their goals and passions in sports is the same that is to win, be the best in their fields, to challenge their barriers and challenges, overcoming their insecurities and to fight for the causes they believe in. Most importantly, they had determination,courage and drive to achieve all that. This is among the main messages promoted by this book, about fearless women who were not afraid to chase after their dreams and brought some changes into the society.
  
  However, i wish that the book would include more representation of Muslim women athletes including those wearing a hijab just like the book features about Ibtihaj Muhammad,a renowned hijabi Muslim woman fencer in the foreword section of the book. I'd be interesting to know the struggles and challenges of Muslim women athletes. The book should add in more stories of women athletes pioneers in history who fought against gender discrimination and inequality, racial injustices and women's rights like the book did with the story of Alice Milliat, a French rower who fought for women's right to join the Olympic games. I found her story compelling and interesting when overcome rejection of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) by starting up with an organisation, The Federation Sportive Feminine Internationale (FSFI) and organized a one-day sporting events just for women in Europe!
  
  Overall, to me this book is a satisfactory read and very inspiring. The other points i liked about this book are the additional activities provided at the end of the book like the quiz and suggestions of training exercises that we can try. I loved the colourful full page portraits of those athletes and their life mottos. Very inspiring. I loved how current and updated the athlete profiles are by also including a number of the women athletes from the recent 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan like Sunisa Lee and Simone Billes.
  
  Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read the e-ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Ru

  Rebel Girls Champions is the ideal book for any young girl who is interested in sports but is hesitant to participate due to their gender. The tales of all of these very brilliant and determined female athletes are really motivating, particularly for the younger generation. As an older female reader who has spent her entire around and participating in sports, despite the fact that I believe this book is targeted primarily at encouraging younger girls, I was nevertheless in amazement of all these women's accomplishments.
  It covers everything from race to disability to sexuality, and it offers every little girl out there someone to relate to, which I believe is so essential in a book like this. I thoroughly loved this book, and I will be suggesting it to any young ladies I meet who are interested in sports.
  Thank you NetGalley for giving me with an e-arc of this book.
• 
  Briana

  Thank you to NetGalley for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
  
  Rebel Girls Champions is a wonderful illustrated book for young girls looking for a middle grade book about female athletes. All of these athletes are important to their home country. The book even included Olympians from this year such as Sky Brown and Suni Lee, two young girls but already icons.
  
  This book also has a section for the reader to decide what type of champion they are as well as a training time section.
  
  Overall, this is perfect for young girls who are interested in sports. I highly recommend this book for the young sports lover as it also encourages you to keep playing the game you love.
• 
  Shane

  I'm never sure about books that "re-hash" content from previous parts of the series. I don't think books need "best-of" albums. In the Rebel Girls series, I also think athletes already get more than their fair share of the spotlight and so am not sure about the need for a book dedicated to them. In fact, having sporty heroes mixed through with people from activist, artisitic or political backgrounds is a great way to get sports-mad kids reading beyond their comfort zone.
  
  Still love the series though.
  
  Thanks to Rebel Girls and Netgalley for the ARC.
• 
  Mina

  Compared to the other Rebel Girls volumes this is a rather short one, dedicated to athletes. As always, the book is very powerful and inspiring, introducing to us several accomplished women from all walks of life. I was surprised to read that female athletes were not allowed in the Olympic games originally. I was part of the generation that already grew up hearing about women participating in the games and it is humbling to know how hard they had to fight to be even able to participate. Perfect read for sportsy kids.
• 
  Solace

  Rarely does a Rebel Girl book disappoints, and this is no different. This is a collection of stories of women athletes from different backgrounds and cultures. There are inspirational stories of persevering women from around the world; from Syria, Philippines, Sweden, India, Japan etc., stories of wlw athletes, disabled women athletes, women of colour athletes, and athletes as young as 13! The illustrations are stunning. I don't think I'll ever have kids, but if I have a daughter, I'll surely make her read all the Rebel Girl books. These are the kinda books I wish I had growing up.
• 
  Britt

  Thank you to Rebel Girls and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of Rebel Girls Champions.
  
  Rebel Girls Champions: 25 Tales of Unstoppable Athletes focuses on inspiring stories of athletes. The book includes tales of disabled athletes as well as LGBTQIA+ athletes. The book is very up-to-date, including the achievements of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. I always love learning about more amazing women with the Rebel Girls books. These women in this edition are all quite young so for young children they might even be more inspiring.
• 
  Oyinda

  Book 298 of 2021
  
  Many thanks to Rebel Girls for inviting me to read an advanced digital copy of this book through Netgalley. I enjoyed reading this book and discovering new sports champions I didn't know about, and also reading about some of my favorite women in sports, like Serena Williams.
  
  This is a book that every young child should have in their library, regardless of their field of interest. Reading about these women inspired me as an adult, and I can't imagine how much it will inspire little kids.
  
  My favorite thing about the Rebel Girls series is the diversity and inclusion, and that shone through again in this book. sports and women from various parts of the world were featured here, and I love that a lot.
  
  I really loved the illustrations, the writing, and ofc the section at the back where kids get to tell their own stories.
  
  Get this book, you won't regret it.
• 
  Helen

  What I was hoping for: I am a big fan of the Rebel Girls series. I think these books are so important.
  
  What I liked: I especially liked the stories of women like Ishita Malaviya, Lina and Sanna El Kott who did not win an Olympic medal but is still a great role model and achieved so much. And I loved the story of Michelle Kwan. I would have wished there were more Paralympics champions. The little personal encouragements, test and tricks at the end was really nice and is certainly a nice way to engage readers even more.
  
  Conclusion: Another great installment in the Rebel Girls book series. A great gift for any young girl (or boy, thank can learn that there are great woman out there, too).
  
  Thank you to Rebel Girls and Netgalley for this free eARC.
  
• 
  Tracy

  I love the Rebel Girls books! Rebel Girls Champions is a collection of stories about female athletes, some of whom are well known, like Megan Rapinoe and Serena Williams, as well as those who may not yet be household names but are no less inspiring. Through their examples, Rebel Girls Champions teaches important life lessons, such as the importance of mental health and self care, perseverance, and courage. I love that all girls can find themselves represented in this book, as well as all Rebel Girls books, no matter their background or interests, are represented here. The illustrations are beautiful, and all of them have been created by artists who are women.
  
  I am so grateful to Rebel Girls and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Rebel Girls Champions.
• 
  Regitze Xenia

  Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.
  
  This is the second smaller Rebel Girls book I have read and I really like it. It is much of the same style as the Good Night Stories books, but focused around a central theme, this one being sports.
  
  I'm not interested in many sports and I don't follow them. So for me most of these names were unfamiliar. And I also noticed that a lot of them a younger than me. I'd like to say it didn't make me feel old, but the truth is that it did. And then I realised that doesn't matter, what does matter is that it illustrates that young women are getting more and more oppertunities long denied them. And I am here for it.
  
  I don't know if being in this book means these women won't be in a future Good Night Stories (and I can't remember if any of them already has, I think a couple might). But I do view these smaller 25 people books as great supplements to the bigger books, they're told in the same way and the thematic focus makes it a very coherent reading experience.
  
  We have to talk about the portraits, which I think are becoming one of my favourite things about this book series. And this is no exception. Showing all kinds of women and having been illustrated by many different artists, it lends itself well to a very inspirational book that covers many different sports and many different places. A great addition to the line.
• 
  Frida

  I received an eARC copy from Rebel Girls via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
  
  This instalment in the Rebel Girls series brings us short and sweet essays on magnificent female athletes and champions. I was positively surprised to see that it included the achievements of the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, keeping its stories up to date. The book shows how determination and perseverance bring wins and positive results in the end. Dedication and commitment take us to our goals, just like Rebel Girls Champions: 25 Tales of Unstoppable Athletes paves the way for future young athletes and their success in sport and life. Lead and inspire!
• 
  Nahia

  Creo que a estas alturas ya ha quedado claro que me gustan mucho este tipo de libros, con pequeños cuentos sobre grandes mujeres. Y más éste, sobre mujeres deportistas, ya que me gusta ver deporte y ya conocía a casi todas. Pero eso no significa que me haya gustado menos. Como todos los anteriores, es una lectura que recomiendo y para lectores de todas las edades.
• 
  Miriam Jacob

  "Rebel Girls Champions: 25 Tales of Unstoppable Athletes" celebrates women in sports, featuring the inspiring stories of 25 phenomenal, game-changing women athletes and their relentless drive for excellence, amazing resilience, and sportsmanship. This stunning collection showcases the most beloved stories from the award-winning, best-selling "Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls" series. Rebel Girls Champions features the most thrilling anecdotes from the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. The exciting, easy-to-read text is delightfully illustrated with colorful, attractive, full-page portraits designed by female artists from around the globe. This charming book proves that the impossible is always possible, if we give our very best efforts, holding nothing back. Determination, perseverance and hard work always win rewards in the long run. Don't let anyone or anything stop you from becoming an achiever and excelling in your field. Dedication and commitment will spur you on to reach new heights of excellence. You are a world-class winner in every way. You were born to excel. Use your platform for good and fight for causes you believe in. Take a firm stand for social justice and equality. Pave the way for a new generation of young athletes to succeed in sports and in life. Your talent and potential are limitless. The sky is the limit. Get out there and excel. You are a Rebel Girls Champion!
• 
  Kate

  This is a fantastic book.. It contains 25 bite sized biographies of athletes to engage and inspire all children. Each biography is accompanied by a beautiful illustration, each by a different artist. There's a variety of women and sports within the book, from all over the globe, and includes both the olympics and paralymics.
  It was age appropriate for both my children at 10 and 8 years and the short snappy sections meant they could absorb the information within the book and pick up the book anytime they liked.
  We all learnt a lot from the book and really enjoyed the space at the end of the book that let the reader interact by writing their own story, drawing a sporty portrait and even a quiz on what type of champion you are. The training activities were impressive and encouraged the children to put the inspiring stories they'd read into practice within their own lives, gaining fresh air and exercise in the process. I particularly liked the range of time periods covered in the book, from the woman who first campaigned for women to take part in the Olympics, to the women competing in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
  
  It's an impressive and uplifiting book which belongs on any family bookshelf.
  Thank you to Rebel Girls, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest opinion.
• 
  Jan

  This well put together and beautifully illustrated book has been vetted by an eighth grader, a second grader, and their grandmother, and gets a 5 star rating from each of us!
  Women in the Olympic games have Frenchwoman Alice Milliat to thank, American Allyson Felix fought for women Olympians in another way, Australian Ariarne Titmus swam her way to the Gold in 2021, Brigette Lacquette grew up in a First Nations town in Manitoba where her dad saw her determination and built a her a hockey rink in their backyard where she honed her skills until she got on the 2018 Canadian Women's Olympic Hockey Team as the first First Nation's player. There are many more determined women who persevered despite ridicule and obstacles and even being refugees from their own beloved countries, and some of them are highlighted here.
  Fleur Jong of The Netherlands lost her legs and more at 17 but went on to great heights in the Paralympic Games as a sprinter an in the long jump, and Tegan Vincent-Cooke from Great Britain has won in the Paralympics on a horse despite having Cerebral Palsy.
  Get a copy for your local library, too!
  I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from Rebel Girls via NetGalley. Thank you!
• 
  Veronika

  Many thanks to Net Galley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
  
  This was my first real encounter with the Rebel Girl series, even though I have heard about it before and loved the concept of the series. This particular book has 25 tales of athletes, I didn’t know many before reading this book (but I am not really into sports, I actually chose this book to branch out of my comfort zone, so before reading this book I only knew about Serena Williams and Simone Biles). The athletes are organized in alphabetical order according to their first names and each athlete gets one page of writing and an illustration. The information given is surface level at best but I think it provides a nice introduction to young readers and the illustrations are lovely. I do wish there were no repeats of sports (two swimmers, three soccer players, two gymnasts) but their stories were all interesting and inspirational. At the end of the book there is also space provided for the reader to write their own story along with a quiz to find out what kind of champion the reader could be. I think this book would make a nice gift and will be buying a copy for my nieces in the future (though perhaps I will get the first one of the series as that is more my style ❤️).
• 
  Andrew Palumbo

  I was invited to read a galley copy of “Rebel Gil’s Champions”. My daughters and I have read all of the available Rebel Girls books so we were excited to read this book containing stories about 25 impressive women. My oldest (8yo) enjoyed hearing about these athletes’ impacts on other people outside of sports as much as learning what they had done in their athletic careers. This was a fast read and an enjoyable way to spend some time reading with them and learning alongside them.
  
  This is a great bedtime read based on the length of the chapters (1 page with an illustration and a quote on the opposite page), but also works any time of day.
  
  If you’re looking for stories of powerful girls/women, this book - and the Rebel Girls series - are perfect for you. The book is good for all ages; I found that I didn’t just enjoy the profiles, I also learned a lot while reading.
  
  I would definitely recommend this book.
• 
  Kristine

  Took this one out from my local library! The Rebel Girls series typically does a great job at mixing influential figures of the past and present to tell its stories. I always appreciate how historical figures and current up-and-comers are all part of a lineage of empowerment. In this book though, all of the profiles are of living athletes, and predominantly they are born in the 80s, 90s, and 00s. While I will always appreciate the women who came before and paved the way in sports (much of that is also still happening, as you can tell by the young ages) but in this specific book I think the fact that these are modern athletes still very much playing/competing/visible on TV etc. really underlines the story that we're still celebrating firsts every single day across disciplines. Especially for younger readers, hearing that someone you look up to RIGHT NOW is actively making strides is really incredible and also puts the theme into perspective.
• 
  Ashley

  What an inspiring book! Rebel Girls Champions tells the stories of 25 unstoppable athletes. The sports range from everything from dressage to skateboarding and each page features a story and accompanying illustration. I appreciated how all of the illustrations were done by women and the artistic styles were varied. There is a great mix of younger athletes as well as the trailblazers who came before them.
  
  The women in this book all deserve to be celebrated. I love the representation present here and how even though this book is meant for young girls they don’t shy away from heavy topics such as racial injustice, gender equality, LGTBQ+ rights and refugee crises.
  
  Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy. I will be recommending this to all of my friends who are raising strong rebel girls of their own.
• 
  Danielle Russell

  I just love the Rebel Girls series. Each time I read a new RG book, I learn about so many incredible, empowering women! The books are obviously geared towards children, but they are so educational and truly inspiring. I feel like they do a great job at choosing which women to highlight... they include women of different backgrounds, races, and ethnicities. They also highlight women who are part of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as an athlete that competes in the Paralympics!
  
  The Rebel Girls series is a must have, especially for little girls. It provides them with a variety of great role models, and the representation of different backgrounds shows little girls that they can be extraordinary as well.
  
  
  Thank you to Netgalley for providing me Wyeth a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Sarah

  ***Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own.***
  
  Oh my, I wish these books had been around when I was a kid! I’m loving these biographies of all the amazing women who have made strides for women everywhere and who continue to be trailblazers no matter what sector of society they are from.
  
  I especially love this edition because women and sport are so underrepresented and it helps to show that women can not only be leaders in sport but that they can also bring that into their everyday lives and into the wider world.
  
  I’m so pleased for the younger generation of girls who can grow up reading these books and seeing all of the incredible things that women have done throughout history, and hopefully they can inspire these girls to maybe find themselves in these pages too!
• 
  Meg

  Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book. Rebel Girls Champions is the perfect book for any young girl showing interest in sport but is reluctant do to the fact they they are a girl. The stories of all this incredibly talented and driven female athletes are incredibly inspiring, especially for the younger generation. As an older female reader and one who has been surrounded and involved in sport all my life where I feel this book is aimed more towards inspiring younger girls, I still felt myself being in awe of all these women's achievements. This books covers all areas from ethnicity, disabilities and sexuality in such a caring way and gives each little girl out there someone to relate to which I think is so incredibly important in a book like this. I throughly enjoyed this book and it will be one I will be recommending to any young females I come across that show an interest in sport.
• 
  Nerea Blackthorn

  Thank you to the publisher Rebel Girls and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
  
  'Rebel Girls Champions: 25 Tales of Unstoppeable Athletes' is a book about 25 women in sports, and how was their life and how they became what they wanted to become to, and how they kept fighting for their rights and their dreams. This book encourages girls and shows them that they can be whatever they want, that they are strong.
  
  There are many sports in this book: snowboard, field hockey, soccer, etc.
  
  I found this book a light, fresh reading for all ages, but especially for children. It is a book that I highly recommend!
  
  This book comes out on 12 October 2021! So if you're interested about it, I leave here the link to buy it on Amazon!
  
  Happy reading (and week) and we read each other in the next post! ♡