Wonder Up How To Run Like A Girl

Wonder Up! How to Run Like a Girl is an illustrated picture book meant to empower girls to find confidence in the sport of running.

Run Like A Girl is about the impact that participating in sports has on women—how the confidence and strength that it helps to build makes us stronger and better prepared for life's many challenges. In this inspiring book, Mina Samuels uses the personal stories of women and girls of all ages and backgrounds—as well as her own—to take a broad look at the power sports have to help us overcome obstacles in all arenas of life. Run Like A Girl includes the stories of a US-ranked amateur triathlete who's raising an autistic son; a thirteen-year-old girl who falls in love with cross-country running; a woman who runs her first marathon at age sixty; an investment banker who quit her job to become a yoga teacher and adopt a daughter on her own; a young mother with scoliosis who cycled her way back to health and became a jewelry designer along the way; and countless other women—including Kathrine Switzer, Rebecca Rusch, and Molly Barker—who have been changed by their experiences with sports. Run Like A Girl argues that physical strength lends itself to psychological strength, and that for many women, participating in sports translates into leading a happier, more fulfilling life.

Wonder Up! How to Run Like a Girl is an illustrated picture book meant to empower girls through a love of running.

"In her twenties, Alexandra Heminsley spent more time drinking white wine than she did in pursuit of athletic excellence. When she decided to take up running in her thirties, she had high hopes for a blissful runner's high and immediate physical transformation. After eating three slices of toast with honey and spending ninety minutes on iTunes creating the perfect playlist, she hit the streets--and failed miserably. The stories of her first runs turn the common notion that we are all "born to run" on its head--and exposes the truth about starting to run: it can be brutal. Running Like a Girl tells the story of getting beyond the brutal part, how Alexandra makes running a part of her life, and reaps the rewards: not just the obvious things, like weight loss, health, and glowing skin, but self-confidence and immeasurable daily pleasure, along with a new closeness to her father--a marathon runner--and her brother, with whom she ultimately runs her first marathon"--

Large print.

Winner of the 2017 Eisner Award in the Best Academic/Scholarly Work category 2017 Prose Awards Honorable Mention, Media & Cultural Studies Over the last 75 years, superheroes have been portrayed most often as male, heterosexual, white, and able-bodied. Today, a time when many of these characters are billion-dollar global commodities, there are more female superheroes, more queer superheroes, more superheroes of color, and more disabled superheroes--but not many more. Superwomen investigates how and why female superhero characters have become more numerous but are still not-at-all close to parity with their male counterparts; how and why they have become a flashpoint for struggles over gender, sexuality, race, and disability; what has changed over time and why in terms of how these characters have been written, drawn, marketed, purchased, read, and reacted to; and how and why representations of superheroes matter, particularly to historically underrepresented and stereotyped groups. Specifically, the book explores the production, representations, and receptions of prominent transmedia female superheroes from their creation to the present: Wonder Woman; Batgirl and Oracle; Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Star Wars' Padmé Amidala, Leia Organa, Jaina Solo, and Rey; and X-Men's Jean Grey, Storm, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, and Mystique. It analyzes their changing portrayals in comics, novels, television shows, and films, as well as how cultural narratives of gender have been negotiated through female superheroes by creators, consumers, and parent companies over the last several decades.

Through a celebration and critique of the comics character of Wonder Woman, this collection takes up the historical trends that have changed the world of comics, American popular culture, and feminism. In honor of the 75th anniversary of the comic book super heroine Wonder Woman in 2016, Kent State University and the Cleveland Public Library partnered to celebrate the intersections of public literacy, comics, and feminism in a jointly sponsored symposium. Centering on the figure of Wonder Woman, the special issue of the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics that this volume is based on collected the presentations and interviews from the event. This book will fortuitously appear in honor of Wonder Woman’s 80th anniversary and pays respect to "herstory" while recognizing her perpetual relevance to our present day, and beyond. Like its progenitor, it reflects the historical trends that have changed the world of comics, American popular culture, and feminism so relevant to our current moment. It also highlights an interview with Mariko Tamaki, the current writer of Wonder Woman comics, as well as new editorial reflections in a Foreword and an Afterword.

No matter how hard it is to get out the door, it's on the road that we meet our strengths and weaknesses, have the space to contemplate our hopes and dreams and ultimately find what makes us happy. Not every workout is an epiphany. Instead, each time out on the road—no matter how much of a battle it was to get there—is an exercise in getting to know ourselves a little bit better. It’s on that road that we learn our strengths and weaknesses, ponder our hopes and dreams, and ultimately discover what makes us happy. For women who draw even a portion of their strength from being active, Run Like a Girl 365 Days a Year serves as a Book of Days. It's practical, inspirational, and personal, with a dash of the existential and neurotic, it’s a fresh take on the popular thought-a-day books, geared toward women athletes. Containing 365 entries for a full year of running inspiration, Run like a Girl 365 Days a Year revels in the joys we discover as we greet our athletic selves each new day, and confront the obstacles thrown in our way by the world, by our bodies and, most importantly, by our minds. Some of the topics include balance, body image, the battle of the sexes, sisterhood, and aging. Light-hearted, honest, and authentic, Run Like a Girl 365 Days a Year is an inspiring daily reminder of every woman’s strength and potential.