The Girl Who Changed Little League Subtitle: The True Story of Maria Pepe and Her Battle to Play Ball

Gr 2-4–The Girl Who Changed Little League Grades 2-4 In 1972, young Maria Pepe loves playing baseball with friends, but is daunted to try out for the all-boy Little League Team. Encouraged by Coach Jimmy, she gives it a go, and is successful. At practice and during her first game she excels, but is met with opposition when an official bluntly states that girls aren’t allowed to play. Coach Jimmy is supportive, but when the league threatens to cut the team’s funding, Maria quits. Shortly after, a “group of strong, smart women” (an unnecessarily vague description, gleaned from the various authors’ various notes, of the National Organization for Women—NOW) calls Maria’s parents and offers to take her case to court. Maria becomes a media sensation, and perseveres even when she’s shouted at, teased, and a friend’s daughter is forbidden to play with her anymore. Two years later, the New Jersey Supreme Court rules on Maria’s case, allowing girls to play Little League. The artwork features a deep blue-black, inky color palette that anchors the story. It also includes a clever use of spacing, size, and perspective to communicate distance, mood, and various power structures, such as when readers must turn the book a quarter to view and read the frame-breaking vertical spreads.