Monday, April 30, 2012

Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday is hosted today by Gathering Books.

My selection is "Basketball belles : how two teams and one scrappy player put women's hoops on the map" written by Sue Macy with illustrations by Matt Collins.




The first women basketball players faced two opponents: their competition on the court and the code of conduct expected of a lady.  Macy does an admirable job of immersing his audience in the first women's intercollegiate basketball game played in 1896 between Stanford and the University of  California at Berkeley.  He uses Stanford guard, Agnes Morley, to tell his story through invented dialogue which creates an immediate connection with the reader.  Agnes, the daughter of a New Mexico rancher, introduces readers to a game very different than the one played by the WNBA.  There was no dribbling, players didn't travel up and down the court and because it was considered improper for a lady to perspire in the presence of gentlemen -- the game was played before an all-female audience.  Nevertheless, these ladies had plenty of hustle.

Collins' illustrations offer a dynamic play-by-play look at this historic game from often unexpected angles and carries the reader through every exciting moment right down to the cheering exuberance of Stanford's team in celebrating their win.








1 comment:

GatheringBooks said...

Oh wow, look at all those absurd rules a long time back. Now we have the benefit of perceiving those things in hindsight, but it must have been tough for the female players at the time to do what they could to win yet at the same time be mindful of what is appropriate and what isn't. I should find this book. Thanks for sharing.

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