At the Top of Their Game

Sports are a much-loved and celebrated aspect of popular culture, one that draws the rapt attention and fierce loyalties of millions of fans of every age and background. Each player is integral to the success of the sport, and each has a different, dramatic, and inspiring story. These high-interest books detail the lives and careers of championship and Hall of Fame-bound athletes, outlines their childhood and youthful struggles, their early achievements, their professional setbacks and triumphs, and their ultimate paths to stunning success. In addition, the invaluable contributions these athletes have made to their sport, their communities, and the lives of those around them are discussed and celebrated as perhaps the most enduring aspect of their legacies. 

Each Book Contains
?A list of the highlights of each athlete's career.

 ?Sidebars on the people who contributed to their success; their charitable or philanthropic efforts or acts of social or political engagement; friendships with other athletes in other sports or other celebrities; vignettes from their personal life; any interesting or unexpected course of academic study or hobbies; dabbling in other industries (business, politics, entertainment, etc.); leading pioneers or revered figures in the sport whom the profiled figure idolized when growing up and whose records they are now breaking; etc.

?A timeline of the major events and achievements in each athlete's life.

Curriculum Connection
?Primary-source excerpts from newspapers and magazines plus sidebars give context to the figure's life and times, the prevailing social and cultural norms, the state of the game before the profiled figure's entry and how s/he may have introduced innovation or change or "upped" the game.
?Differentiated instruction is presented through URLs to videos of and about these athletes and through other sources that provide more information.
?High-concept presentation promotes critical thinking skills and a deeper understanding of the people and the culture, mores, and socioeconomic climate in which they lived.