Chomping on the Edge

March 18, 2021

The dog in the above photo looks innocent. Don't be fooled.

The most-read article of my 20-year KOAA publishing career is my review of a cookbook called Eat Your Math Homework. With fabulous illustrations, the book is so fun and effective that kids don't realize that while they're chomping on the Variable Pizza Pi and Fibonacci Snack Sticks they've made themselves, they're also learning math.
 
I was excited to learn recently that the author, Ann McCallum Staats, was about to publish a new book, this one for somewhat older readers. Whereas Eat Your Math Homework provides step-by-step instructions to the small personal thrill that comes from conquering a recipe, her new book, Thrill Seekers: 15 Remarkable Women in Extreme Sports, connects readers with the step-by-step real-life stories of 15 contemporary women whose childhood dream has fueled a life of pushing the physical boundaries of what's possible for humans.
 
I was pleased to receive my review copy a few weeks ago, and I purposefully left it on a table the next day when I went to work so that any random member of the Ross family could leaf through it if so compelled. When I got home, it had already been sampled, but unfortunately by the wrong Rosses. "You chose the wrong book!" I said to our four-legged household members, one of whom had eaten my homework, though fortunately not so thoroughly that it was unreadable. Then I quickly became absorbed in the stories of a skydiver, a Mount Everest climber, a cave diver, a parkour athlete, a mountain bike champion, and other women who seek thrills one thoughtful step at a time.

Whenever I hear about something as remarkable as climbing inside an iceberg in Antarctica, my first thought is I could never do that. But Staats's gift with Thrill Seekers is to help us understand how the extreme dream is different for everyone, and that it always starts with a small spark. In most ways, the thrill seekers she writes about are ordinary people. But something quirky piqued their curiosity when they were young, which led them to a dream of a life lived on the edge. Staats writes in a manner and with a pace that could make even my accomplishments seem exciting, but it's a lot more interesting to read about the first hijab-wearing contestant on American Ninja Warrior. Thrill Seekers is a perfect out-and-about-in-your-imagination read that will have ages 12 and up thinking: Hey, maybe I CAN!

The official launch of Thrill Seekers is TODAY, March 18. To celebrate, there will be a free online book launch party at 6:00 pm Eastern, and you and your kids are invited! We'll meet many of the women whose stories you can read in the book, and also hear from Staats in person. Click here to sign up to get your free ticket to today's event, and they'll email you the secret link. Get ready to be inspired!

Penny and Skye will be next to me on the couch, practicing extreme napping.

—Deb