Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge: The Baseball Edition

Each year, I try to do on baseball post.  This year I have been waiting semi-patiently for Audrey Vernick's new book, The Kid from Diamond Street: The Extraordinary Story of Baseball Legend Edith Houghton. My idea was to combine a baseball post with a Women's History post. The challenge: Would I be able to find a copy of the book on release day in order to be able to read and post it for the last Wednesday of Women's History month? Thank you to Vroman's Bookstore for having a copy of the book in-store on release day. 

Here are the links to my previous baseball posts: 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2013 | 2013 | 2012 

The Kid from Diamond Street: The Extraordinary Story of Baseball Legend Edith Houghton
by Audrey Vernick; Illustrated by Steve Salerno
Clarion Books (March 29, 2016)
Nonfiction * Biography * Baseball * Women in Sports
Audience: Ages 7 to 10 years old
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads: 
Audrey Vernick and Steven Salerno have again collaborated to bring us a captivating picture book about a compelling but little-known piece of baseball history. Beginning in 1922, when Edith Houghton was only ten years old, she tried out for a women’s professional baseball team, the Philadelphia Bobbies. Though she was the smallest on the field, soon reporters were talking about “The Kid” and her incredible skill, and crowds were packing the stands to see her play. Her story reminds us that baseball has never been about just men and boys. Baseball is also about talented girls willing to work hard to play any way they can.

My thoughts on the book:
The creative team of Vernick and Salerno are back with another wonderful biography featuring a less commonly known player, Edith Houghton. 

Edith was all of ten years old when she decided to try out for a local women's baseball team. Though small in stature, and in spite of her age, Edith made the team and played against local men's teams in the Pennsylvania vicinity.  Three years after joining the team, and only age 13, Edith went on a trip with the Philadelphia Bobbies to Japan to play baseball. 

Maybe because I have a fondness for baseball or maybe because I really enjoy Vernick's biographies, or maybe a little of both, I was excited to learn of this book. It immediately went on my highly anticipating book list. I love learning about women athletes and how they excelled at a sport that was dominated by men. I wonder what it would have been like to play on the same team and to travel with them?  Can you imagine being 13 in the 1920's and barnstorming across the country playing baseball and then sailing across the ocean to Japan to play ball in a foreign country? This isn't like present day. No cell phones or internet or easy communication with families. Travel to another country took weeks and months. The average person stayed close to home. Yet, a young girl with a dream to play ball did much more than play a man's sport. 

May every girl grow up to dream big dreams and dare to do the unexpected and live to be nearly 101 years old. 

Check out this video of Edith Houghton on her 100th Birthday: 

More books about Women and Baseball:

Queen of the Diamond: The Lizzie Murphy Story by Emily Arnold McCully (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2015)

She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story by Audrey Vernick; Illustrated by Don Tate (Balzer & Bray, 2010)

Mighty Jackie: The Strikeout Queen by Marissa Moss; Illustrated by C.F. Payne (Simon & Schuster, 2004)

Players in Pigtails by Shana Corey; Illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon (Scholastic, 2003)

Check out these and other titles at your local library or independent bookstore.

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews: 

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Women's History Month Continues

My celebration of Women's History Month continues with a collection of books about amazing women who took risks, worked hard, and were outstanding in their field. I also threw in one historical fiction title that seemed relevant in an election year. I can't believe that I only have one more week of Women's History Month. I have only begun to scratch the surface of fantastic books on women. Hopefully, this will encourage everyone to seek out more stores about dynamic women who have changed history for the better.

Miss Mary Reporting
by Sue Macy; Illustrated by C.F. Payne
Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman (February 16, 2016)
Nonfiction * Biography * Women's History
Audience: Ages 7 to 10
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads: 
While sitting in the bleachers of a Soap Box Derby in the 1950s, Mary Garber overheard two African-American boys in the following exchange: “See that lady down there?” asked one boy. “That’s Mary Garber. She doesn’t care who you are, but if you do something good, she’ll write about you.”

Mary Garber was a pioneering sports journalist in a time where women were rarely a part of the newspaper business. Women weren’t even allowed to sit in the press boxes at sporting events, so Mary was forced to sit with the coaches’ wives. But that didn’t stop her.

In a time when African-American sports were not routinely covered, Mary went to the games and wrote about them. Garber was a sportswriter for fifty-six years and was the first woman to receive the Associated Press Sports Editors’ Red Smith Award, presented for major contributions in sports journalism. And now, every year the Association of Women in Sports Media presents the Mary Garber Pioneer Award in her honor to a role model for women in sports media.

Sure to inspire future journalists, athletes, and any child who has a dream, this illustrated biography of Mary Garber captures her feisty and determined spirit and brings her story to life.

Quick comments on this book:

I have read a number of Macy's books and I always find myself learning about new facts involving women and sports. This biography on Mary Garber is no exception. 

Dorothea's Eyes: Dorothea Lange Photographs the Truth
by Barb Rosenstock; Illustrated by Gerard DuBois
Calkins Creek (March 1, 2016) 
Nonfiction * Biography * Art
Audience: Ages 7 to 10
Indiebound | World Cat

Description from GoodReads: 
After a childhood bout of polio left her with a limp, all Dorothea Lange wanted to do was disappear. But this desire not to be seen helped her learn how to blend into the background and observe others acutely. With a passion for the artistic life, and in spite of her family’s disapproval, Dorothea pursued her dream to become a photographer and focused her lens on the previously unseen victims of the Great Depression. This poetic biography tells the emotional story of Lange’s evolution as one of the founders of documentary photography. It includes a gallery of Lange’s photographs, and an author’s note, timeline, and bibliography.

Quick thoughts:

Rosenstock provides readers with a fascinating biography including the significant factors and life experiences that influenced Dorothea Lange's decision to become a photographer.  

One of Lange's most famous photographs from her Migrant Farm Families series. 

The House That Jane Built
by Tanya Lee Stone; Illustrated by Kathryn Brown
Henry Holt & Co. (June 23, 2015)
Nonfiction * Biography * Social Activists
Audience: Ages 7 to 10
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads:
This is the story of Jane Addams, the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, who transformed a poor neighborhood in Chicago by opening up her house as a community center.

Quick comments on this book:

This book about Jane Addams came out too late to feature last year for Women's History Month. As a fan of Smith's work, I knew I needed to include this biography in this year's round-up. 

And one Historical Fiction New Release:

Elizabeth Started All the Trouble
by Doreen Rappaport; Illustrated by Matt Faulkner
Disney-Hyperion (February 23, 2016)
Audience: Ages 7 to 10
Fiction * Historical * Women's Rights
Indiebound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads: 
She couldn't go to college.
She couldn't become a politician.
She couldn't even vote.
But Elizabeth Cady Stanton didn't let that stop her.

She called on women across the nation to stand together and demand to be treated as equal to men-and that included the right to vote. It took nearly seventy-five years and generations of women fighting for their rights through words, through action, and through pure determination . . . for things to slowly begin to change.

With the help of these trailblazers' own words, Doreen Rappaport's engaging text, brought to life by Matt Faulkner's vibrant illustrations, shows readers just how far this revolution has come, and inspires them to keep it going!

Quick comments on this book:

I have been a fan of both Rappaport and Faulkner and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. it made me realize how even today we need to still protect the rights we, as women, have worked so hard to gain. 

All four are worth adding to your classroom or school library. Look for each one of these books at your local indie bookstore or public library.

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews:

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday: Hillary Rodham Clinton

For March, in celebration of Women's History Month, I am featuring books about strong women who have made a significant impact in their field.  I have been holding off on reviewing these two biographies since I received them in January because I was waiting for the right time.  Both books feature an overview of the life and work of Hillary Rodham Clinton. One a picture book biography that is a beautiful introduction to Hillary Clinton and the other is a long-form biography written for for students in 5th grade and up. 

I will freely admit that I admire Hillary and appreciated each of these books for how they introduce readers to this amazing woman. However, I do recognize that some readers may want books that are more "objective". If you are looking for books that point out or focus more on Hillary's flaws, then you don't need a book. All you need is to look no further than the news.  So many are eager to try and discredit Hillary.

From the time, Hillary became First Lady, I remember being shocked and amazed at how she was criticized for things that men would never have been criticized for. As if the bar for women was set much higher than it has ever been set for men.  And, well frankly it has been set higher.

Enough of my rambling, let's talk books.  

Hillary Rodham Clinton: Some Girls Are Born to Lead
by Michelle Markel; Illustrated by LeUyen Pham
Balzer & Bray (January 5, 2016)
Audience: Kinder to 3rd
Nonfiction * Biography * Politics * Women's History
Indiebound | WorldCat

About the book:
In the spirit of Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope and Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride comes an inspiring portrait of Hillary Rodham Clinton: a girl who fought to make a difference—and paved the way for women everywhere—from Michelle Markel and LeUyen Pham.

In the 1950s, it was a man’s world. Girls weren’t supposed to act smart, tough, or ambitious. Even though, deep inside, they may have felt that way. And then along came Hillary. Brave, brilliant, and unstoppable, she was out to change the world.

They said a woman couldn’t be a mother and a lawyer. Hillary was both. They said a woman shouldn’t be too strong or too smart. Hillary was fearlessly herself.

It didn’t matter what people said—she was born to lead.

With illustrations packed full of historical figures and details, this gorgeous and informative picture book biography is perfect for every budding leader. Includes a timeline, artist’s note, and bibliography.

A few thoughts on this book:
In November, I had a chance to hear illustrator, LeUyen Pham talk about the research that she did for this picture book biography written by Michelle Markel.  I was in awe of the attention to details and effort she put into this book. 

Markel provides young readers with an engaging overview and introduction to Hillary Rodham Clinton's life and work and especially Hillary as the leader she was born to be. The text flows well and though not comprehensive, it provides readers with many important events in Hillary's life.

Pham's illustrations support the text and provides another layer of richness to the book due to the incredible attention to detail. The end of the book provides readers with a timeline and an artist's note with several pages of references. 


Hillary Rodham Clinton: Do All the Good You Can
by Cynthia Levinson
Balzer & Bray (January 5, 2016)
Audience: 4th to 9th grade
Nonfiction * Biography * Politics * Women's History
Indiebound | WorldCat

About the book: 
An inspiring and meticulously researched middle grade biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton—First Lady, senator, secretary of state, and Democratic candidate for president in 2016.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is a true leader. Growing up in Park Ridge, Illinois, Hillary was inspired by the philosophy of John Wesley, who urged his followers to "do all the good you can." Rising to prominence in 1992 as the First Lady of the United States, Hillary captured the world's attention with her bold ideas and political forcefulness.

From her time at Wellesley to her life at the White House and beyond, Hillary has been at the forefront of huge change—and despite setbacks and political scandals, she has worked for good in the world.

Acclaimed author Cynthia Levinson creates a compelling and personal portrait of Hillary's historic journey from her childhood to her service as secretary of state and beyond. Includes a timeline of Hillary Rodham Clinton's life and an eight-page photo insert.

A few thoughts on this book:
Cynthia Levinson provides readers with a glimpse of Hillary that may not always be evident in the media. The Hillary that is "warm, funny, thoughtful, and humanly flawed person of faith". As I read through this biography, I gained a better understanding for what events and experiences shaped and influenced her. How both the political and cultural changes of her teen and young adult years left such a deep impact on her and would permeate her life's work. 

Though I realize that there will be individuals who will never want to recognize Hillary Rodham Clinton for the incredibly bright and skilled woman and talented leader that she is, other readers will find Levinson's portrayal of Hillary as insightful, and may even change how they view Hillary.  

Other books on Hillary Rodham Clinton to consider:

Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight by Kathleen Krull; Illustrated by Amy June Bates (Simon & Schuster, Updated in August 2015) 

Hillary by Jonah Winter; Illustrated by Raúl Colón (Schwartz & Wade, January 2016)

Hillary Rodham Clinton: A Woman Living History by Karen Blumenthal (Feiwel & Friends, January 2016)


Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews: