overcoming racial difficulties ( )

Very detailed description of John Thorpe's life. I did not know who he was before reading it and now I know a lot about him. Very authors note as well. ( )

This book is about a young boy named Jim Thorpe. The book starts off when Jim is nine-years-old and continues as he gets older. Jim is from a Native American family and is sent off to several boarding schools. At these schools, Jim was taught how to act and dress like white people and he had to put aside his culture. Jim often ran away from school to return home, but his father always sent him back. When Jim was at the Carlisle School, he jumped over a bar, breaking the school's high-jump record. Jim was put on the track team, and then the football and baseball team. Jim continued on to participate in the 5th Olympic Games. He won the pentathlon with a score that has never been beaten. He also won the decathlon with a score that held for twenty years. This book was a very thorough representation of Jim Thorpe's life with great detail. Before reading this book I had never heard of Jim Thorpe and after reading it, I feel that I know a lot about his life and accomplishments. This book shows that you can turn your struggles into something great and no matter your background, you can have a successful life. Each student could research the olympic games and find an activity that they would want to participate in. ( )

This was a very thorough biography of Jim Thorpe, someone I didn't have a very clear historical perspective on. The author's note was tremendous though over the average elementary reader's head. The main text was very easy to understand though. All of it was great. ( )

After being sent off his farm to several boarding schools, young trouble maker Indian Jim Thorpe finds his calling after successfully clearing a high jump. His school’s coach notices him and puts him on the baseball, football and track teams. He goes on to win an Olympic gold medal.
I think this biography had a good theme to it. Sometimes it can seem like you can’t do anything right, but that’s just because you haven’t found your calling yet. Even the biggest troublemakers can become some of the most respected people. ( )