Queen of the Diamond : The Lizzie Murphy Story
Author(s): Emily Arnold McCully
Lizzie Murphy was good at baseball. In fact, she was better than most of the boys. But she was born in 1900, and back then baseball was not a game for girls. Lizzie practiced with her brother anyway, and then she talked her way onto the local boys' team, first as a batboy, then as a player. Everyone was impressed by her hard catches and fast pitches. By the time she turned fifteen, she was playing for two different amateur boys' teams. When she turned eighteen, Lizzie did something else that women weren't supposed to do: she signed up with a professional baseball team, determined to earn her living playing the game.
Review(s):
“McCully shows a keen eye for the attire and social mores of the era in a rousing story of a girl's dedication to the sport she loves.” —Publishers Weekly
“Using the classic struggle between the underdog and the powerful, McCully introduces Lizzie Murphy, who, at the beginning of the twentieth century, parlays her love for baseball into a successful career.” —The Horn Book
“Caldecott medalist McCully tells this compelling story skillfully . . . A rewarding sports biography.” —Booklist
“McCully's book is both a good all-round baseball story and an inspirational story about believing in oneself and overcoming opposition. An excellent choice.” —School Library Journal
Long-listed CCBC Choice (Univ. of WI), Long-listed Booklist Editors' Choice (2015), Long-listed Amelia Bloomer Project/Feminist Task Force (2016)
ISBN: 9780374300074