Marilyn Kratz

This is a delightful telling of the story of Amanda Clement, the first female umpire in professional baseball. Starting with her introduction to the game, it continues on to reveal an astonishing list of her accomplishments. How have I never heard of Amanda Clement? While reading, I kept wondering how I can find out more about her life and other early sportswomen like her, so I was happy to see that the book ends with a bibliography, followed by a list of questions designed to take younger readers further in their comprehension of the story, and a link to the South Dakots State Historical Press website (www.sdshspress.com) for more links to information about women and baseball.

The text was age-appropriate without being condescending, and managed to touch lightly on the issue of gender discrimination in sports - neither ignoring or dimissing it, nor letting it dominate the story of Ms. Clement. A nicely done story, which should encourage young readers to look more into the untold stories of sports figures! The South Dakota State Historical Society Press was also kind enough to send along a box of Cracker Jacks to put me in the baseball frame of mind...I promise that the did not influence my review, but they did influence my mood! Thank you!… (meer)