I’m a huge sports fan and was very fortunate to attend several different events at the London 2012 Olympic Games so I was thrilled to get my hands on this non-fiction sports book to see if it was worthy of being awarded a gold medal.
Since 1896, athletes from around the world have been competing in the modern summer Olympics to see who is the very best in a range of sporting disciplines. On this epic sporting journey, explore the world’s greatest sporting spectacle taking in the host cities, meeting the athletes, savouring the souvenirs and memorabilia, and learning the incredible sporting stories that every four years cause millions around the world to get caught up in Olympic fever…
The Story of the Olympic Games is a celebration of the greatest sporting show on Earth and I absolutely love it. It presents a history of the modern summer Games starting with the first Games in Athens in 1896 right up until the 2016 Games in Rio with a look ahead to Tokyo 2020 (now Tokyo 2021).
Engaging, accessible and very appealing, pages are filled with superb sporting information that recounts the various Games, tournament highlights, notable achievements, record-breaking statistics and gold medal winning trivia.
Each Olympic Games is presented over a double page spread with separate pages devoted to two stars from each of the Games. In addition to chunks of information that are under subheadings, there are quick reference stats detailing dates of the Games, number of nations and number of events, a fast fact on a gold circle and an abundance of historical photos from the archives. The photos are a particular highlight and really show how things have changed over the years from the clothing to the footwear to the stadiums. Black and white photos of the early Games will provide much amusement to readers with athletes in sporting attire that is unrecognisable to that that is worn today. Other photos include examples of all manner of memorabilia with stand-outs being posters, Olympic torches, tickets, medals and mascots.
This is an officially licensed product and, as you would expect, the presentation is first class - even the end papers are gold! The majority of the photos are courtesy of the Olympic Museum and International Olympic Committee and the depth and breadth of information is amazing - even as a sports-mad fan who has read an abundance of books about the Olympics, I still found myself learning loads.
A gold medal winning read that is perfect for getting children prepped and excited about the forthcoming games in Tokyo. And who knows, it may even be the inspiration for the next great olympian. Recommended for 8+.
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