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.
The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo
Vernick and Salerno…bring enthusiasm and a boatload of historical detail to the story…The emphasis is on Edith's experiences navigating her unusual opportunities and seeing the world, sans parents, at such a young age…Salerno's appropriately lively illustrations are chockablock with observant historical detail…
Publishers Weekly
12/14/2015
The team behind Brothers at Bat (2012) returns with another exuberant story drawn from baseball history. As a child in the 1920s, Edith Houghton wouldn’t let the fact that she was 10 keep her from trying out for the all-female Philadelphia Bobbies: “Edith was so good she made the team. Edith was so good she was named starting shortstop.” At 13, Houghton traveled with the Bobbies to Japan, where they held their own against male, college-level teams. 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, especially during the Bobbies’ trans-Pacific trip, as the players jitterbug in the ocean liner’s ballroom and practice on its deck “under a sky of endless blue.” Ages 4–7. Author’s agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
2017 ILA -CBC Children's Choice List "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."–Horn Book "Salerno's illustrations, variously rendered in charcoal, ink, and gouache, as well as digital color, lovingly evoke the time period and the settings. Much fascinating information about Edith's long and adventurous life is added in an author's note. A forgotten star shines anew."–Kirkus Reviews "[The Kid from Diamond Street] should especially appeal to those who enjoyed Vernick and Salerno’s Brothers at Bat: The True Story of an Amazing All-Brother Baseball Team. The compelling story and energetic illustrations make this an excellent addition."–School Library Journal "Salerno’s mixed-media illustrations are a lively amalgam of action and scenic panorama..."–Bulletin "Choice quotations from [Edith] 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 timely message about playing simply for the love of the game, as opposed to personal glory or celebrity, comes through loud and clear."–Booklist
Children's Literature - Barbara L. Talcroft
Born in Philadelphia in 1912, Edith Houghton started playing baseball almost as soon as she could walk. Though a baseball career was hardly normal for a girl, Edith loved the game and played with her brothers in sandlot games. When she was ten, she tried out for a women’s team, the Philadelphia Bobbies. Her talent was so impressive that she made the team. The uniforms were too big for her, but it did not matter. Edith attracted attention from reporters, while her proud father kept a scrapbook about “The Kid,” as newspapers were calling her. When Edith was thirteen, the team was invited to play in Japan. Young readers will see the players’ train crossing the continent, the team boarding a huge liner in Seattle, and, on the ship, Edith and a teammate teaching the nattily-dressed Earl of Gosford to dance the Charleston. Japan is a revelation: reporters photograph their baseball shoes, crowds greet them, and chopsticks are bewildering! By the time they sail for home, the players are thoroughly bonded; having sung together, celebrated Halloween, and even mixed up passengers’ shoes set out for polishing on the ship. Back home on Diamond Street, Edith is more determined than ever to make baseball her career. Salerno’s wide, cartoon-style spreads are full of action, saturated colors, and details to pore over. Kids will enjoy his witty depictions of Edith and her teammates, period fashions, views of playing fields from many perspectives, and the sense of camaraderie and fun that pervades the trip. An endnote offers details of Edith’s later achievements and photographs of her at several ages. Baseball fans may also like Emily Arnold McCully’s Queen of the Diamond (Farrar Straus, 2015) about Lizzy Murphy, another female baseball star. Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft; Ages 6 to 9.
School Library Journal
03/01/2016
PreS-Gr 3—Vernick provides another entertaining and informative introduction to a little-known baseball legend. Edith Houghton, born in 1912 in Philadelphia, became a female baseball player at the age of 10. Playing with women who were older than herself, she traveled as far as Japan. Later, she became the first woman hired as a scout for a professional baseball team. While the story itself is fascinating, Vernick excels at highlighting the more noteworthy aspects of the athlete's life with her attention to detail. When describing the team's sea voyage to Japan, she points out the fun the teammates had dancing and socializing, once they overcame their seasickness. However, the heart of the story is Houghton's recollections of her youthful experiences. Appended is a postscript of Houghton's later life along with photographs—a satisfying touch. Created from charcoal ink and gouache, the colorful and lively illustrations complement the text. Especially well done is Salerno's occasional use of the contrast between sepia and color tones, which accentuates the more important aspects of the page. This book should especially appeal to those who enjoyed Vernick and Salerno's Brothers at Bat: The True Story of an Amazing All-Brother Baseball Team (Clarion, 2012). VERDICT The compelling story and energetic illustrations make this an excellent addition.—Margaret Nunes, Gwinnett County Public Library, GA
Kirkus Reviews
2016-02-17
A remarkable young woman plays baseball with tremendous skill in the early days of the 20th century. From the time she was a very young girl, Edith Houghton was an incredibly talented and dedicated player on the local Philadelphia sandlots, where she was valued by her male counterparts. When the Philadelphia Bobbies, an all-female (and all-white) professional team of young women, held tryouts, she made the team even though she was only 10 years old. Wearing a uniform that was so large that it had to be pinned and rolled up, she nevertheless proved herself on the field and at bat. Playing mostly against men's teams, the Bobbies first barnstormed locally and then through the American West and on to Japan. Throughout it all, large, admiring crowds and the press had nothing but praise for Edith. 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. Salerno's illustrations, variously rendered in charcoal, ink, and gouache, as well as digital color, lovingly evoke the time period and the settings. Much fascinating information about Edith's long and adventurous life is added in an author's note. A forgotten star shines anew. (author's note, photographs) (Picture book/biography. 5-10)
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