Synopsis
Nicknamed "The Flying Tomato" for his flame-red hair and ability to soar through the air, Shaun White has become an icon of the extreme sports world. He has dominated in snowboarding and skateboarding, despite being years younger than many of his competitors.
Children's Literature
Marty Gitlin writes the biography of Shaun White, a phenomenal, young athlete that has taken the extreme sports world by storm. White is best known for his snowboarding gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics. In this biography, Marty Gitlin shows the sacrifices the White family made for Shaun and how these sacrifices paid off in the end. The White family was far from wealthy, and while the other kids who were competing in the snowboarding competitions stayed at the fancy resorts where the competitions were held, White and his family lived out of their van "Big Mo." When he won his first snowboarding competition in 1993 at the age of seven, Gitlin states, "It quickly became obvious that Shaun was a natural." Amazingly, White's talent does not stop at snowboarding; he is also a professional skateboarder. Rarely are people talented to that extent in both sports, even though there are some striking similarities between the two sports. Since 2003, he has been competing in the X-Games in both snowboarding and skateboarding, usually winning in both events. Marty Gitlin provides a look into White's professional and personal life, and young readers will be intrigued by this young sports phenomenon. Reviewer: Shelly Shaffer