Mary Anastasiou (text) and Anil Tortop (illustrator), I Want to be a Sports Star, Larrikin House, July 2022, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922503596
I Want To Be A Sports Star is a delightful picture book story about two children who want to achieve at every sport—swimming, tennis, athletics, skateboarding and so much more—aspiring to become the very best they can be, just like some of their sporting idols.
The quality of this publication, I Want To Be A Sports Star, makes it an absolute pleasure to hold, read and browse through from the very first moment. The vibrant illustrations by Tortop are beautifully rendered with bold energetic colour filling every action-packed page and is brimming with the zest the children feel as they train toward their sporting dreams. The rhyming text by Anastasiou is punchy and well considered reflecting the excitement of the characters toward sports. It’s easy to read with its effortless rhythm, and I am sure there will be some children who will be able to recite it having asked for it to be read to them over and over again.
There is something particularly clever about this book which is not always seen in children’s books. Usually, the characters are male and female —girls and boys—sometimes both and at other times the storyline can be definitely gender specific. However, Anastasiou and Tortop have successfully created a story book for young children that is non-gender specific. That is, the characters could be of either gender. How brilliant this is in terms of its relevance to all children. After all, aiming to be a sports star is not limited by gender boundaries and it’s great to see this demonstrated so well in this book.
There is mention of current sports stars as role models to which the children might aspire and, while I understand the inclusion of these sports greats, I also wonder if it may be a future limitation to its ongoing relevance. Then again, these sportspersons are part of our national history so it could well be a point of conversation to extend the book’s interest beyond the reading.
What a great book this is for a school or local library, as well as the home library, as it caters for children in all shapes and sizes—if they love sport, that is.
Reviewed by Jen Mors
