How to Train with A T. Rex and Win 8 Gold Medals

by Michael Phelps (Author) Ward Jenkins (Illustrator)

How to Train with A T. Rex and Win 8 Gold Medals
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Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
cms Common Sense Media Review
With his record-breaking eight gold medals won for swimming in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Phelps became an international sensation. In this picture book, Phelps explains the mind-boggling statistics of his years of training in terms young kids can understand. Full color.
cms Common Sense Media Review
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Publishers Weekly

Swimming champ Phelps provides a playful account of what his preparation for the Beijing Olympics entailed. The text jumps from one analogy to the next, beginning with the six years he trained: That's a kindergartener's whole life! That's the same as 42 dog years! Some comparisons wow more than others, as when Phelps equates the 12,480 miles he swam while training to swimming the full length of the Great Wall of China three times (Perfect! Now do it two more times, says his coach in the accompanying illustration, which shows the Great Wall as a pool that zigzags across mountains into the distance). Humorous but less compelling spreads demonstrate the time he spent napping during these training years. Many of the comparisons are downright silly, including the one that inspires the book's title, in which Phelps tallies the number of dinosaurs he could hypothetically leg-press in a single workout (nine tons worth). Debut illustrator Jenkins's digital cartoons comically mine this and other quirky references, depicting Phelps as a cheerful, larger-than-life caricature. Sports fans with a love of statistics should be both amused and impressed. Ages 48. "(June)" Copyright 2009 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

School Library Journal

 A champion at the 2008 Beijing Olympics explains the training schedule that allowed him to accomplish the first-of-its-kind feat of winning eight Olympic gold medals. Comparisons are made that put miles swum, naps taken, calories eaten, weights lifted, etc., into a context that youngsters might more easily understand. For example, his six years of training (from 1998 to 2003) are described as "a kindergartner's whole life!" or "the same as 42 dog years!" Digitally rendered artwork humorously depicts the action, making the book visually appealing. The author states, "I got so strong from training that my legs could press 300 pounds 60 times in one workout. That's 18,000 pounds total, or nine tons! I could leg-press a Tyrannosaurus Rex and 10 velociraptors!" The illustration shows the smaller dinosaurs piled atop a T. rex on a platform while Phelps lifts them all with a leg-press machine. (However, the picture doesn't explain that he couldn't really lift that amount of weight all at once.) Providing an overview of an Olympian's rigorous preparations, this picture book may be useful for parents or coaches attempting to inspire children."Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI" Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps is an American swimmer. He holds the record for winning the most gold medals (8) in a single Olympics (2008). He has won 16 Olympic medals, 14 gold and two bronze. He holds seven world records and has over 20 World Championship medals. After returning home from Beijing in 2008, Michael used the well-publicized $1 million dollar Speedo bonus to start the Michael Phelps Foundation through which he hopes to encourage children to lead healthy, active lives, and to continue to grow the sport of swimming. He now resides in Baltimore, MD with his dog Herman.

Ward Jenkins is and illustrator and animator from Atlanta, Georgia. He's illustrated several picture books, including Chicks Run Wild, as well as the Good Crooks chapter book series. Ward lives with his wife and two kids and hasn't shaved his beard since 2010. Find him online at @WardOMatic.

Alan Abrahamson is an award-winning sportswriter and a recognized authority on the Olympics. In 2006, he left the Los Angeles Times, where he had been a staff writer for 17 years, to write for the NBC suite of online properties, which now includes NBCOlympics.com, NBCSports.com and UniversalSports.com. Since 2003, Alan has also served as a sports and Olympic analyst on NBC's television networks. Among other honors, Alan won the 2002 National Headliner Award for sports writing and was named the Los Angeles Press Club's 2004 sports journalist of the year. Alan and his wife, Laura, and their three children live in Southern California.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781416986690
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication date
June 02, 2009
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF007100 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Sports & Recreation
JNF054150 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Sports & Recreation | Water Sports
JNF054110 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Sports & Recreation | Olympics
Library of Congress categories
United States
Swimmers
Olympics
Phelps, Michael

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