Mountains (Extreme Sports)

Grade 4-8-Quick overviews of some alternative (mostly referred to as extreme) sports. Mountains includes information on trekking, mountain biking, rock climbing, mountaineering, extreme hiking, extreme trail running, and adventure racing. Readers may recognize some of the non-team sports as those depicted in ESPN's X Games and also adventure team sports such as the Eco-Challenge. Each title starts off with an apt disclaimer: "Warning: Extreme sports can be very dangerous. Mishaps can result in death or serious injury. Seek expert advice before attempting any of the stunts you read about in the book." All of the titles have colorful action photographs on every page as well as some archival black-and-white pictures. The graphic sidebars (such as the "Xtreme Fact" boxes) will have great appeal to young readers. A full page of jargon, defined and used in context, appears opposite the glossary. The gear needed for some of the activities is introduced (photo diagrams of a person using the equipment). This series is for reluctant readers and for collections needing basic introductions to these activities. For further information on specific sports see the "Extreme Sports Collection" series (Rosen), "Radical Sports" series (Heinemann Library), and Shelly Youngblut's Way Inside ESPN's X Games (Hyperion, 1998).
Diane Olivo-Posner, Long Beach Public Library, CA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.