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Ping-Pong Shabbat

The True Story of Champion Estee Ackerman

Illustrated by Abigail Rajunov
Published by little bee books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

POP POP KERPOW!
Eleven-year-old Ping-Pong phenom Estee Ackerman must make a difficult choice. When her championship match is scheduled on the Jewish Sabbath, will she go for the gold medal, or honor her faith? Read the true story of how a young girl struggled to uphold her beliefs while pursuing her passion.

Tournament after tournament, Estee kept winning.
She beat all sorts of players. Some were older. Some were younger.
She even beat tennis star Rafael Nadal!
She became one of the best Ping-Pong players in the United States.

Estee Ackerman loved Ping-Pong more than anything. But she also loved and honored the Jewish tradition of the Sabbath. At age eleven, she began to rise in the ranks of tournament players, making it all the way to the finals of the US National Table Tennis Championships. She only had one player left to beat to win a gold medal--but the final match was set during Shabbat, and the judges said they couldn't change it. How could Estee choose between her passion and her faith? This is the true story of a girl's struggle between her love for her religion and her love of the game.

About The Author

About The Illustrator

Product Details

  • Publisher: little bee books (September 10, 2024)
  • Length: 32 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781499816105
  • Ages: 4 - 8

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Raves and Reviews

Filled with swirling stars, the Shabbat scenes shine with familial warmth. . . . A noteworthy tale of a young Jewish athlete taking a personal stand.

– Kirkus Reviews

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