The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

Rena Glickman, Queen of Judo by Eve Nadel Catarevas, illustrated by Martina Peluso Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner Publishing Group), 2022 Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Shanna Silva   Buy at Bookshop.org Rena “Rusty” Glickman was a scrappy Coney Island teenager in the 1950’s. As a young girl, Rena’s interests leaned toward conventionally male pursuits, including weight lifting and judo. There was no space for women in the world that interested her. Disguising herself as a man, she won a judo competition only to have the trophy revoked upon her gender revelation. Still, Rena refused to bend to societal norms. Her innate strong sense of self and persistence led her to become a judo master, no small feat for a woman in a men’s sport. Her trailblazing story lays out her path to what became her life’s work: creating a space for women in judo and developing it as a legitimized Olympic sport. Throughout her life, Rena was unconventional and fierce, never wavering in her mission des