"Skate tough or go home," says pro-skating legend Tony Alva in this follow-up to the authors'
Skateboarders' Start-Up (2000), which is geared toward beginning and intermediate skaters.
New Levels aims at advanced, experienced riders. Badillo, a professional skating veteran, begins with a section of pros' opinions on a range of topics, from dealing with risks and recovering from accidents to preferred terrain. The following chapters (the book's bulk) show 25 advanced skating tricks in step-by-step photographs and commentary. Closing chapters offer advice on building a skate park and a list of the favored skate parks, oddly focusing only on Colorado and Oregon. Many readers may skip the opening interviews, with their vague motivational quotes, and flip straight to the well-presented and specific technical advice or to the extensive resource section at the end. Adults offering this to teens should know that safety is generally not emphasized; most pictures feature helmetless riders, for example. Still, it is a useful resource for larger collections in which skating materials are in demand.
Bill OttCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-This book, the follow-up to Werner and Badillo's Skateboarder's Start-Up (Tracks, 2000), is aimed at advanced enthusiasts looking for tips on performing sophisticated tricks. The book is divided into four chapters; the first queries a group of professional skateboarders on how they deal with fear, what equipment they use, where they like to ride, and more. Riders will enjoy reading quotes from pros such as Tony Alva that encourage a nonconformist image. The following section features 25 advanced skateboarding tricks, illustrated by numerous black-and-white photographs. The captioned instructions offer step-by-step guidance. Despite the fact that many of these photos are poorly reproduced, skateboarders will be able to follow the tricks presented. The remaining chapters deal with building skate parks and skateboarding in Colorado and Oregon, but they offer minimum detail. Despite flaws, this title will augment heavily used skateboarding collections.
Michael Giller, South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, GreenvilleCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
