Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story

By Paula Yoo
Illustrated by Dom Lee
Lee &Low Books Inc. (2005)
Interest level: grades 1-5

Awards:
Asian-Pacific American Award for Literature, honor
mention, 2004-2005.
New Voices Award, Winner, 2003
Comstock Book Award, honor book, 2006

Category: Multicultural Biography
Type: Picture Book

Summary: In this multicultural picture book Paula Yoo tells the story of Sammy Lee an Asian American boy who lived in the USA and dreamed of nothing else but of becoming an olympic diver. In this book Yoo, along with Dom Lee's realistic illustrations portrays this young boys struggles with racial discrimination, adversity and his determination to fullfill his father's dreams for him to become a doctor while still achieving his own personal goals. This story will inspire readers to work hard to
overcome obstacles as they see Sammy Lee achieve his goals and become the first Asian -American diver to win an olympic gold medal.

Online Connections:

1. Authors Website: http://paulayoo.com/
2. Illustrator Website: htpp://www.domndk.com/dom.html
3. Sammy Lee story: http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia-761582332/sammy-lee.html.

Book Connections

1. Good Enough by Paula Yoo


2. Baseball saved us by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom LeePassage to Freedom: The Sigihara Story by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Dom Lee
   
3. Not Without Honor: The Story of Sammy Lee By Molly Frick Wampler.

Keywords: olympic diver, perseverance, Asian americans , Biography.