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Reviewed by Carola Crawford, English teacher, Karanga Mai Young Parents’ College
Opening sentence
Once upon a time in Tāmaki Makaurau, there lived a girl named Anne who would one day change the sports world forever.
A series of short biographies of sports people from Aotearoa make up this book.

It is an engaging book with colourful pages and large illustrations and would be useful in most school libraries for those who find reading difficult. The sentences are generally shortish and the vocabulary not too challenging, but the language is still sophisticated enough to appeal to Secondary students as well as Primary.  

The sports people feature a wide variety of sports from rugby and cricket to athletes from Waka Ama and even the less well-known sports such as freediving.

The stories are inspiring and designed to encourage young people to follow their own dreams, whatever they are.
Author & Illustrator: Stuart Lipshaw, Various illustrators
Publisher: Penguin Random House
ISBN: 9780143778639
Format: Hardback
Publication: Aug 2023
Ages: Primary and upwards