(Review) Terry Fox: A Story of Hope

TITLE: Terry Fox: A Story of Hope
AUTHOR: Maxine Trottier
PUB DATE: July 2010
PUBLISHER: Scholastic
PAGES: 40

SOURCE: I received this book from Scholastic Canada. Thank you Scholastic for sending it to me.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
“Anything’s possible if you try. Dreams are made if people try.”

From the time he was very young, Terry Fox liked to finish what he started. He always wanted to do his best. So at the age of 18, when his right leg was amputated, he worked hard to recover. Right from the beginning, he was determined to find a way to beat cancer –- for all the children he had met who were fighting the disease. And right from the beginning, he had a dream –- to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. This is Terry’s story of hope.

The year 2010 marks the 30th anniversary of the Marathon of Hope! This new edition includes extra photographs and updates on Terry’s legacy.

The author is donating all royalties from this book to the Terry Fox Foundation. Scholastic Canada is matching that donation.

MY THOUGHTS:
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Terry Fox, Marathon of Hope run. To honor this special occasion Scholastic Canada is releasing this special edition that includes 8 pages with updated information about his legacy.

What I discovered before reading this book is that its the very first authorized biography of Terry Fox that is written specifically for young readers. It was created in cooperation with The Terry Fox Foundation and his family.

I was ten years old the day Terry began his Marathon of Hope in St. John’s NFLD on April 12, 1980. I remember watching it on tv and was in awe of him and what he had planned to do. Terry Fox was always a hero to me and still to this day he is.

I have to admit that reading this book was hard to read without crying because this was a person who wanted to make a change and he did. He has raised millions of dollars for cancer research. It was nice to read more about him and to see all the great photos of him growing up.

He went through alot and not once did he ever give up. No matter how bad things got he persevered. He fought until the day he died. He is a Canadian hero that will never be forgotten.

This is a great book and one that will be on our book shelves forever. Its filled with a ton of great pics of all parts of Terry’s life. Which was really nice to see. Its written in a simple form suitable for the younger reader.

My favorite quote is:

‘Anything is possible if you try. Dreams are made if people try.’