Girl Wonder : A Baseball Story in Nine Innings

By Deborah Hopkinson

Book Overview

Did you ever hearthe storyof theGirl Wonder?Alta Weiss was born to play baseball, simple as that. From the age of two, when she hurls a corncob at a pesky tomcat, folks in her small Ohio town know one thing for sure: She may be a girl, but she's got some arm.When she's seventeen, Alta hears about a semipro team, the Independents. Here's her big chance! But one look at Alta's long skirts tells Coach all he needs to know -- girls can't play baseball!Faster than you can say "strike out!," Alta's convinced him to give her a chance. And so with the crowd buzzing and the big game up to her, Alta steps up to the pitcher's mound, determined to prove everybody wrong.Inspired by the life of pioneering female baseball player Alta Weiss, and dramatized by Terry Widener's bold illustrations,Girl Wondertells the unforgettable story of a true American original.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689833008
• ISBN13: 9780689833007
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 12.0" x 0.3" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

A wonderful book for kids!

"Whoosh!" ."Bonk!" . . "Meow!!" When Alta Weiss was two she threw a corncob at a cat that was bothering her favorite hen. When Alta grew older, she used her strong arm to play baseball. She hoped to become a baseball champion. Some people doubted her because she was a girl, and wouldn't let her play on the men's baseball team. But that didn't stop her from dreaming. Then Alta had a sneaky idea to get on a baseball team. This picture book tells the true story of Alta Weiss, the girl wonder. We recommend this book for readers of all ages, and especially for baseball lovers!

Inspiration for girls

Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings is a fictional story based on the life of Alta Weiss. Alta played baseball from the time she was a little girl, and in 1907, at the age of 17, she proved that girls could play baseball when she became the pitcher of the semipro all-male team, the Vermillion Independents. The author's note tells readers some details about Alta's life and the final page of the book outlines highlights of women in baseball from 1866 to 2001. This book would be appropriate for children ages 8 and 9. Children in this age group are beginning to develop an interest in history and biographies, as well as an interest in sports books, and they will enjoy hearing a story about this element of the history of baseball. I would read this book to children in a school setting as part of a section either on women's history, the history of women in baseball, or general baseball history. The illustrations, rendered in acrylic paint, are simple but enjoyable. They show children the types of outfits people would wear to play baseball almost a century ago. Each stage of the story is marked with a bat and ball image displaying innings one through nine. The endpapers feature drawings of the entire Vermillion Independents team. The back cover of the book has an original photo of Alta Weiss playing baseball. Children will enjoy being able to see this real image of the hero they are reading about.

My third-grader picked this one out herself!

My daughter was attracted to the cover and title of this book. She immediately read it to herself, then asked to read it aloud to me. She loved the story (as well as the adorable pictures) of how a girl was born to play baseball...even though she was the only female on the team. I would highly recommend this book to any girl or boy who would enjoy reading about one smart and determined young lady.

Parents Choice Award Winner

Girl Wonder is the winner of a 2003 Parents Choice Gold Award. As a teacher and parent, I rely on the Parents Choice award books. This is a great book to read aloud. If your daughter plays ball, read her this book. The photograph of the real Alta Weiss on the back cover is awesome.

A Wonderful Book for Girls and Boys

My daughter began playing ball in third grade. She loves this book. The illustrations are fun yet convey a sense of the time period. And the story is great for reading aloud. The best part is seeing a photograph of the real Alta Weiss, the Girl Wonder, on the back cover. That seems to make it real for kids. I am a teacher and I do a unit on women's history every March and will definitely include Girl Wonder on my list of books to read to my students.