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What Athletes Are Made Of
Author/ Illustrator: Hanoch Piven
Publisher: Ginee Seo Books (May 9, 2006)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
ISBN-10: 1416910026
ISBN-13: 978-1416910022
Are you or do you know a big sports fan? Yeah, sports can get pretty serious at times, but, in reality, sports are meant to be just plain fun. Piven has hit the nail on the head so to speak with What Athletes are Made Of. Piven has selected 23 athletes whose stories have a personal meaning for him. "Some were chosen because of their undisputed greatness, and some because they have an inspiring or interesting story to tell." Baseball, football, soccer, Olympic champions, Formula I, Nascar, and golf are all represented. Each athlete has a one or two page spread giving us an idea of their personality and abilities, and a 'Did you know?' fact sits at the bottom of the page.
What makes this book stand out from the rest though are the crazy illustrations. Piven uses an assortment of objects and everyday items like toy airplanes, Coke bottles, and pencil sharpeners to capture each athlete's appearance. My favorite pictures would be Andre Agassi and Wayne Gretzky. You just can't beat a colander for a helmet and a ruler for a hockey stick and the Christmas Garland for Agassi's hair is just too funny!
A fun project would be have to your young readers create their own self-portraits, using everyday household items. Who knows what they would come up with! 
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