Queen of The Diamond: The Lizzie Murphy Story

Reviewed by: Carla McAllister - New Gloucester Public Library, New Gloucester, Maine, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: August 4, 2015

Review

In 1900, young Lizzie Murphy was a natural at baseball and fought to become the first female to play on a major league level. When still quite young, she had to fight many obstacles to get on a semi-pro team, among them the assumption that girls simply could not play baseball, that they were not physically able to 'keep up with the boys' and the manager's hesitation to pay her as the other players were paid. He assumed she would quit and would not wish to make baseball her job. Additionally, her mother feared that playing baseball would preclude her from ever getting married. Well, Lizzie would not take no for an answer and ended up playing professional baseball for seventeen years and she also got married. This will make a good choice for children in their first years of elementary school who are searching for a biography for a report. This is a simple telling of Murphy's struggles to do what she loved and to be recognized for her athletic talent no matter that she was a woman. The illustrations are true to the era in which this story transpired and complement the text well. An author's note at the end of the book offers further interesting information about Lizzie and a picture of her in her baseball uniform.

Overall Book Score: very good