Welcome to SPORTY GIRL BOOKS. At SPORTY GIRL, we want to give all girls the chance to love, watch, play, read, and write about any sport that interests them. We look forward to the day when the words, "You play like a girl," is the biggest compliment anyone can receive.

Friday, October 14, 2016

Book Review: Level the Playing Field

I am always looking for interesting nonfiction for my third grade classroom so I was very excited to see this new book for kids about the past, present, and future of women's pro sports.

Here's the blurb from IndieBound:

The experience of being a professional athlete is very different for men and women. While men's pro sports command throngs of fans, media attention, and money, many of the world's top professional female athletes aren t valued or recognized equally for their talent even though female athletes prove time and time again that they have all the skill, drama, and rivalries of their male counterparts. 
Level the Playing Field examines the root of these issues by taking readers through the history of women's pro sports, exploring how far we have come in a relatively short time and exposing what ground is left to gain. The book provides first-person insight through exciting interviews with professional female athletes, including Canadian hockey player Cassie Campbell, American MMA fighter Miesha Tate, and WNBA star Elena Delle Donne. Along the way, author and sports journalist Kristina Rutherford covers important topics like opportunity, female role models, and stereotypes. Drawing on examples from a wide range of sports, and complete with sidebars, photographs, sources, and an index, this is an informative and authoritative book that makes an important contribution to the movement for women's acceptance in professional sport. 

I enjoyed many things about this book. It had a clear and concise way of explaining the history and current experience of women in sports. The layout was easy to follow and there was a good mix of sports (even though I would have loved to see more baseball). Throughout the book were interviews with sports stars, which give a first hand look at the experience. Last, I liked that even when discussing the difficulties and inequities, the book still has a very positive outlook and makes sure to detail all the strides that have been made. Overall, I think this book is a perfect addition to any classroom or school library.

No comments:

Post a Comment