illustrated by Steven Salerno
Clarion (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
From the author and illustrator of Brothers at Bat, a historical baseball picture book about a female baseball phenomenon who won spectators' hearts in the 1930s: Edith Houghton, who joined the professional women's team the Bobbies at the age of ten.
March 29, 2016
"From the time she was a very young girl, Edith Houghton was an incredibly talented and dedicated player on the local Philadelphia sandlots ... Vernick offers plenty of details about Edith’s life on the baseball circuit, telling the tale in a conversational tone that brings the events to life and indicating that the concept of women playing alongside and against men was, if not common, perfectly acceptable ... A forgotten star shines anew." --Kirkus Reviews
"Audrey Vernick takes up the story of a Jazz Age ballplayer so talented that she was playing on a professional eam at the age of 10. Illustrator Steven Salerno uses strong lines and rich colors to bring a sense of fun and nostalgia to Edith Houghton's remarkable story." --The Wall Street Journal
"Edith was just ten years old; her uniform was too big, her pants kept falling down, and her too-long sleeves encumbered her play. But she was god, and the older players took 'The Kid' under their wing ... An engaging story that reminds readers that 'baseball isn't just numbers and statistics, men and boys. Baseball is also ten-year-old girls, marching across a city to try out for a team intended for players twice their age.'" --The Horn Book
"The team behind Brothers at Bat returns with another exuberant story drawn from baseball history. Choice quotations from Houghton bring her personality and love of baseball to vivid life, while Salerno's mixed-media artwork channels the footloose energy of the Jazz Age." --Publishers Weekly
"This entertaining picture-book biography documents the adventures of Edith Houghton, a shortstop with the Philadelphia Bobbies, an all-girl exhibition baseball team from the 1920s and ’30s. Droll illustrations and brief, well-chosen anecdotes help readers appreciate the early-twentieth-century novelty of women’s professional sports ... This timely message about playing simply for the love of the game, as opposed to personal glory or celebrity, comes through loud and clear." --Booklist
