Illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley (Knopf Books for Young Readers, August 10, 2021)
Kitty O’Neil loses her hearing as a child but doesn’t let it slow her down—not even a little. Kitty grows up to set speed records for water skiing and boat racing, then prepares to drive her spectacular rocket-powered car faster than any woman on earth!
Best Holiday Books 2021: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Kentucky Bluegrass Award nominee
Children’s Book Council/Disability Awareness Books Showcase
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel interview
Wisconsin State Journal interview
St. Louis Post-Dispatch interview
St. Louis Jewish Light interview
PURCHASE
REVIEWS
Starred review: Speed! Action! Excitement! This incredible biography shares the adventures of daredevil and record breaker Kitty O’Neil. The illustrations are colorful and detailed, which will keep children engaged and support comprehension. The book provides excellent representation of the deaf community as well as of a woman in sports. Highly recommended.
— School Library Journal
Bursting with clouds of dust and rocket flames, realistic mixed-media spreads by Elizabeth Baddeley deliver concentrated energy to this picture biography of sportswoman Kitty O’Neil. Dean Robbins’s portrait moves as quickly as O’Neil did, bringing readers’ attention to a woman focused on excellence and undaunted by obstacles.
— Publishers Weekly
Animated, appealing, and accessible text…bound to engage and excite readers and inspire them to discover more about this unique, driven athlete and her love of speed.
— Kirkus Reviews
Robbins makes a strong case for remembering Kitty O’Neil as a high flier in the annals of daredevil women.
— Booklist
Focusing mostly on Kitty’s record-breaking drive, the story is exciting and incorporates facts about her early life. This belongs on any list of books featuring people with disabilities.
— Kids Book a Day
Robbins’ writing is brisk, opening the book with Kitty in her rocket car and closing the book with her record drive. This frames the story very successfully, as young readers will want to know what happens on that historic drive. Robbins also captures the breathlessness of the countdowns, the danger of the drive, and Kitty’s own fearlessness. It’s a marvelous rocket read of a book just right for the subject. The art, done in pencil, watercolor, acrylic and digital, get readers right into the cockpit with O’Neil. They capture her joy at going fast and breaking records. With bright colors, they also show the dynamic moments of the countdowns, the acceleration, the determination, and the eventual win. It’s a wild ride of book about a deaf woman driver who became a hero.
— Waking Brain Cells