Audrey Vernick
HarperCollins (2010)
ISBN 9780061349201
Reviewed by Zoey Crane (age 6) and her Nana for Reader Views (09/10)
Effa Manley grew up in Philadelphia at a time when black people weren’t allowed to work in white stores or use restaurants the white people used. Even in her school, she got into trouble for playing with black kids; even though she was black herself. When she got older she moved to New York and loved going to see baseball. But she didn’t understand why blacks couldn’t play baseball so she and her husband created the Eagles. As time went by, she became very good about managing the team and started a campaign to have black players paid like other baseball players.
Zoey: “This book was a little harder to read, but I liked it because a girl owned a baseball team and she fought for the rights of black people who weren’t treated fairly. She even got her players to get paid like other players. That’s only fair. It was a very colorful book, but the people had strange looking faces. It shows you that girls can do anything they want if they put their mind to it.”
Nana: I really enjoyed this book as it talked about discrimination, and how everyone thought a woman couldn’t run a baseball team. It also teaches young readers that you can do anything you want to do if you put your mind to it. In addition, “She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story” shows that regardless of your color or culture you should be treated fairly.
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