American Sports Legends: Your Turn to Score

From the compelling and lovely cover by Victoria Jennings to the book’s hint section towards its end, the entire enterprise that is the book American Sports Legends: Your turn to score seems tailor-made for both private readings and family game nights. Described as a sports-based poetry challenge that will engage your family’s poetry lover and sports junkie, the book has something for everyone.

I can say with great certainty that sports lovers will enjoy every single topic found within this history packed book’s pages, and fans of poetry will love each section’s meaningful prose. The hint section provides the reader with guidance on which athlete and their respective sport is being portrayed in each poem. For the book to effectively serve as an engaging introduction to both sports and poetry, each poem is filled with cryptic and insightful details of the mentioned players. The book’s end section contains an answer listing, which will prove an inseparable addition for any sports junkie’s personal library.

While the vast majority of the brief poems are excellent there are a few that seem truly outstanding — in particular the epilogue Bear Witness, speaking to our communal need as a society to preserve our past and our national enjoyment for sports, Picture this about the rise of basketball’s greatest hero Michael Jordan, and Palindrome man about the leg amputation of Jim Otto. The book makes great visual use of nearly every modern sporting event. Jennings weaves together several lesser-known moments, creating a compelling narrative, giving both a historical and cultural footing for both football and baseball championships alongside Dancing with the Stars, golf, and the Winter X games.

This is a book for the entire family–one that you can turn to for quick review time and time again. This book engages with the reader and allows them to have an active conversation with the material. A fast-paced and exciting journey through poetry and sports.