Olympic Hero: Lennox Kilgour's Story is a book for young readers that recounts the journey of a young weightlifter from his neighborhood gym to become a medal-winner at the Helsinki Olympics and other competitions. The reader learns about the challenges that Lennox overcame with the help of coaches, fellow athletes, and his community and his determination to succeed in his sport. At the end of his career, he in turn mentored young athletes as a way to pass on the knowledge that he received and the athletic skills he developed.

This book is...a moving story of the athletes who were central to the sport of weightlifting at a time which can be described as the golden age of weightlifting in Trinidad and Tobago. It gives insight to the Olympic pioneering efforts with all its complexities, trials and triumphs...in a simple lyrical style to motivate, inspire and educate....This touching delightful biographical journey...ebbs and flows with a soft but stinging sincerity of the qualities and experiences of an Olympic Champion which is quite relevant today. This little treasure can motivate children everywhere. --Joan Osborne Deputy Executive Director National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS) (Trinidad and Tobago)

Born in Trinidad, Joanne Kilgour Dowdy is Professor of Adolescent/Adult Literacy at Kent State University (OH) in the School of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum Studies. She received a Ph.D. in Literacy Studies from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, a M.A.T. in English from the Teachers College, Columbia University, and a B.F.A. in Theater from the Julliard School in New York. As well as many articles and book chapters, she is the author of nine previous books that explore women's issues, empowerment, and issues concerning Caribbean and pan-African people, Olympic Hero, the story of her father's Olympic accomplishments, is her first children's book.

48 pp., softcover, 22 full-page color illustrations.

Cat. #: CSP1755
ISBN #: 9781626321755