She Persisted in Sports
By Chelsea Clinton
The Story
A gallery of real women athletes — from Wilma Rudolph to Simone Biles to Serena Williams — face doubters and setbacks in sport after sport, and persist anyway.
Why It's Special
For the kid who plays every sport with total seriousness and needs proof that girls have always belonged on the field, the court, and the track.
- Big idea: Persistence looks different in every sport, but it always looks like refusing to quit when someone says you don't belong.
- Vibes: Rousing, real, and quietly fierce — more locker-room pep talk than bedtime lullaby.
Perfect For Kids Who
- love sports and competing
- are working on not giving up after losing
- enjoy true stories about real people
- respond well to short biographical vignettes they can dip into one at a time
Ask Your Little Reader
- Story & problem-solving: Which athlete in the book faced a challenge that surprised you, and how did she keep going?
- Real-life connection: Has anyone ever told you that something wasn't 'for you' because of who you are? What did you do?
- Feelings & empathy: How do you think it felt to be told you couldn't play a sport just because you're a girl?
- Imagination: If you could ask Simone Biles or Serena Williams one question, what would it be?
- Personal connection: What's something in your own life — a sport, a skill, a hard day — that you've had to persist through?
