|
Books make the best gifts! Track down these gems for family, friends, or yourself if you need a good read and want to stay connected with skateboarding during the winter months. With love and best wishes for the New Year! From your skater librarian, Natalie.
I always buy this adorable picture book for friends who are new parents. You can’t go wrong with skateboarding and motorcycling rabbits who attend Skateboard Camp! The book includes an encouraging message to persevere when trying new things and the importance of friendship.
The details:
Published by Page Street Kids
ISBN: 9781624146602
8.84" x 10.59"
Pages: 32
There Goes Patti McGee!: the story of the first women’s national skateboard champion (2021) by Tootie NienowA beautiful tribute to the late, great Patti McGee (Rest in Peace). Encourage the young skaters in your life to learn about skateboarding history and this incredible woman who became a true ambassador, traveling across the U.S. to advocate for skaters in the
1960s.
Street Angel: deadliest girl alive
(2019) by Jim RuggThis title is my favourite in the graphic novel series about Jesse “Street Angel” Sanchez, an orphaned ninja skater girl living in the city streets, rescuing stray dogs, fighting gangs, and saving Christmas.
The details:
Published by Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 9781534313507
8.9" x 11.3"
Pages: 240
Skate for Your Life (2021) by Leo BakerA great addition to the Pocket Change Collective series, this is the story of Leo Baker and his journey to create space and find personal power through skateboarding by being authentic to himself. Elissa Steamer says, “Wow! Leo’s vulnerability and authenticity allowed me to experience his pain and triumph.”
Skate the World: photographing one world of skateboarding (2015) by Jonathan MehringSkateboard photographers work hard, but sometimes there’s a few perks, like traveling the world, meeting interesting people, and documenting the scene. Mehring captures the adventure in this coffee table book, published appropriately by The National Geographic.
A thorough account of how skateboarding is being transformed and is transforming communities thanks to
individual change-makers, activists, and industry leaders who combat racism, colonialism, sexism, and homophobia, often through creative means and radical empathy.
Four Wheels and a Board: the Smithsonian history of skateboarding
(2022) by Betsy Gordon and Jane RogersThe Smithsonian is an epic institution and it’s pretty dang cool that their rich collection includes skateboarding paraphernalia. The book also includes the perspectives of a wide range of skateboarders throughout history.
The details:
Published by Smithsonian Books
ISBN: 1588347214
9.26" x 11.25"
Pages: 240
Chipped: writing from a skateboarder’s lens (2024) by José VadiA fine collection of essays that incorporates memoir, pop culture, 90s vibes, and descriptive prose. Vadi welcomes all readers into this very specific, sometimes exclusive world that we inhabit as skateboarders with skill, humour, and wisdom.
Who’s putting this together, and why?John Freeborn & Natalie Porter
John Freeborn began skateboarding in 1986 and still tries to do tricks today. He is the publisher of Tails Of… an art and skateboarding zine that features a rotating curator for each issue. In the early days, John published The Media Locals Zine, The Kill Rocco Zine, Milkcrate Digest, and several others. During college, he founded Good&Evil skateboards. Later, he co-founded the artist co-op SPACE1026 in Philadelphia. In 2012, he self-published Big Kids/Little Kids which showcased the emerging art scene in Philadelphia.
Natalie Porter began skateboarding in 1995 and continues to skate today. She is a public librarian and founder of the Womxn Skate History archive and Instagram account @womxnsk8history. In 2003, she wrote the thesis, Female Skateboarder and their Negotiation of Space and Identity and has been collecting resources on women’s skate history ever since. Natalie also contributed to the skate zines Armpit (2002-2004) as an OG member of
the Skirtboarders crew in Montreal, and Idlewood (2009-2014) with Michelle Pezel of Antisocial skateshop in Vancouver. ECW Press will publish her book Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides: a history of badass women skateboarders in Fall 2025.
|
Tails of...
