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Synopsis
Discusses the personal life and basketball career of the Houston Rockets center.
Dawn Elizabeth Hunt - Children's Literature
Yao Ming's story is "more than just a sports story." It is the story of overcoming stereotypes and breaking down barriers, of loosening the very tight reins communist China kept on its athletes. Yao Ming, the 7'5" son of two professional Chinese basketball players, showed promise as a young boy. Directed into basketball by the Chinese government, Yao excelled. Showcased to the world when playing for China in the 2000 Olympics, Yao and his teammates still fell far behind the strength and speed of the American (all NBA) team. But Yao improved tremendously over the next couple of years, and the NBA began to petition for his presence on one of their teams. His government held on to him fiercely, worried he would defect once he tasted Western life. After several years of delicate negotiating, and with many caveats, they did let him play, to the delight of American fans. It turned out that Yao was as generous and nice as he was big, handling even childish racial taunts from NBA star Shaquille O'Neal with equanimity. Shaq soon apologized, and Yao went on to become a huge star in the NBA. He is even helping to change the image some Americans had of Chinese and other Asian-Americans as being "short and skinny, not fierce, unable to play competitive sports." With grand pictures, an index, a page of Yao "stats," and intriguing sidebars, this book measures up to all the other fine biographies in the "Benchmark All-stars" series. 2005, Benchmark Books/Marshall Cavendish, Ages 9 to 12.
Editorials
Children's Literature
Yao Ming's story is "more than just a sports story." It is the story of overcoming stereotypes and breaking down barriers, of loosening the very tight reins communist China kept on its athletes. Yao Ming, the 7'5" son of two professional Chinese basketball players, showed promise as a young boy. Directed into basketball by the Chinese government, Yao excelled. Showcased to the world when playing for China in the 2000 Olympics, Yao and his teammates still fell far behind the strength and speed of the American (all NBA) team. But Yao improved tremendously over the next couple of years, and the NBA began to petition for his presence on one of their teams. His government held on to him fiercely, worried he would defect once he tasted Western life. After several years of delicate negotiating, and with many caveats, they did let him play, to the delight of American fans. It turned out that Yao was as generous and nice as he was big, handling even childish racial taunts from NBA star Shaquille O'Neal with equanimity. Shaq soon apologized, and Yao went on to become a huge star in the NBA. He is even helping to change the image some Americans had of Chinese and other Asian-Americans as being "short and skinny, not fierce, unable to play competitive sports." With grand pictures, an index, a page of Yao "stats," and intriguing sidebars, this book measures up to all the other fine biographies in the "Benchmark All-stars" series. 2005, Benchmark Books/Marshall Cavendish, Ages 9 to 12.—Dawn Elizabeth Hunt