G is for Gold Medal: An Olympics Alphabet

By Brad Herzog and Illustrated By Doug Bowles

G is for Gold Medal is part of the Sleeping Bear Press collection of alphabet books. Each book in the collection focuses on an educational, non-fiction theme. Each letter of the alphabet is used in the description of one of the components in the specified theme. All of the letters contain a detailed description of the component being represented. The description sections of each book are what make this collection so appealing to teachers (and students!). Every reader will walk away from each book having learned at least a few new facts on the subject of the book. 

G is for Gold Medal provides a vast amount of information about the history, background, athletes, and countries competing in the Olympic Games. The first page/the letter 'A' represents Ancient Greece where the very first olympics was held. The reader learns how the Games originated and the sporting events that took place (chariot racing was one of the most popular sports during this time!).  The information section also reveals that women were not allowed to compete in the Olympics (or even watch) for hundreds of years! 

Both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games are featured in this book. The letter 'C' stands for all the countries that unite together and also for Chamonix, France, where the first Winter Olympics was held. Winter traditions and sports (ice skating, skiing, hockey, and snowboarding to name a few) are included and described in great detail. Many people only think of the Summer sporting events when they think about The Olympics. I was glad that the book offered as much information on the Winter Games as the Summer. 

The last page of the book provides the reader with a list of dates and locations of where and when each Summer and Winter Games was held. There is also a side note explaining the reasons for the cancellation of the Games on certain years (World War I and II).  This book would be an excellent resource to use in a classroom of all grade levels. I personally bought this book recently with the intention to use it with my students during the first semester this Fall during a "Look back on Summer" lesson.  I would not read ALL of the information pages to the class (this would be far too time consuming) but would choose the most important ones that coincide with my lesson objective.