This is the last day of our blogiversary. There is still a chance to win prizes if you comment on our previous posts, follow @sportygirlbooks on twitter, become a fan on Facebook, tweet about the giveaway, or join our site. And most important, introduce our blog to a sporty girl and tell us about her on our Your Story page.
Now for our look back!
In February we enjoyed watching the Superbowl and the Olympics. We posted a list of books for each event that any sporty girl would enjoy. Our athlete of the month was Noelle Pikus-Pace, an Olympic Hero. We also reviewed Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley.
In March we reviewed two books, Podium Finish by Beth Pond and Skinny by Donna Cooner. Anna shared her experience finding a new baseball glove waiting for her on the dinning room table.
April was the start of baseball season and the discovery that Take Me Out to the Ball Game was written for not one, but two female baseball fans. We introduced you to Go! Go! Sports Dolls (one of the fantastic prizes of this year in review), and to two sporty girl book readers, Hailey and Hannah. We also gave some tips for starting the new Spring sports season without injury.
In May we had a guest blogger and author, Katie Van Ark. We interviewed two more sporty girl book readers, Rachel and Jessica.
And that was our year. Come back next month for the winners of our giveaway, many more interviews and book lists, and lots of other fun and thoughtful Sporty Girl things.
Do you have a book you like or a topic you'd like to see us cover? Send us an email or leave a note in the comments.
For anyone who loves to watch, play, read, and write about girls in sports.
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Looking back: October, November, December, January
Welcome to week three of our blogiversary. This we are looking back at our second four months. Comment on any previous posts for more points towards prizes.
October brought us three great sporty book reviews and a look into the connection between fantasy and sporty girl books. Not all of the books scored points with our reviewers. Sporty Girl Books bloggers don't mind a little romance but we want believable sports (and world building), with female protagonists who learn and grow, and plots that surprise and engage. Check out these posts:
October brought us three great sporty book reviews and a look into the connection between fantasy and sporty girl books. Not all of the books scored points with our reviewers. Sporty Girl Books bloggers don't mind a little romance but we want believable sports (and world building), with female protagonists who learn and grow, and plots that surprise and engage. Check out these posts:
WILD CARDS: a Sporty Book Review
Does Fantasy Have a Place in Sporty Girl Books?
In November, our bloggers reported on star lacrosse player Erin Kenedy from Cary, NC. She's dedicated and competitive and one to watch. Everyone in the ballet world is watching Misty Copeland. Read about her Black Girls Rock Award and Debbie Allen's picture book, DANCING IN THE WINGS. Whether or not you're a golfer you'll want to learn about The First Tee organization and their Nine Core Values for young (and young at heart) athletes. I'm a big fan of our Girls in Sports News Roundups and would love to see more of these. How about you?
If I had known then, that December was going to be the start of the winter from... well you know, I would have bought a lot more books, and I would have started with Racing Savannah which, after our posting, went on to get a lot of great press. We interviewed one of the top steeplechase runners of her generation, and a pre-med student at Yale University, Kira Garry. Later in the month we got more philosophical with an essay on why role models are so important to young female athletes. Finally, we published holiday wishes for our readers.
January may have been one of my favorite months because we had five (5) great blog posts. BEING SLOANE JACOBS, is a freaky Friday switch between a figure skater and a hockey player-- both named Sloane. Justine Siegal, baseball pioneer, graced us with an interview about the importance of allowing girls to play. Agent, Julia A. Weber talked about why publishing sporty girl books can be life changing for readers. Finally, we posted awesome videos and information about Women to Watch during the Sochi Olympics. Take a look! How did your favorites do?
Remember, you can help us celebrate our blogiversary all month long and enter to win either a sporty girl book we featured this year, a doll and book from Go!Go! Sports, or a copy of the July 2014 The Writer Magazine (that has a Sporty Girl Book blog shout out!). Take a look at the Rafflecopter widget to the right and enter early and often!!!
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Looking Back: June, July, August, and September
Welcome to week two of our blogiversary. This we are looking back at our first four months. Comment on any previous posts for more points towards prizes.
In June we launched the blog by interviewing four of our favorite Sporty Book authors, Karen Day (No Cream Puffs), Catherine Murdock (The Dairy Queen Series), Maria Padian (Jersey Tomatoes are the Best), and Liz Fichera (Hooked). We also celebrated the 41st anniversary of Title IX with a book giveaway.
In July we kicked off the summer by sharing what we like to do at the beach. Our athlete of the month was Maddy Paige, a girl fighting to be allowed to play football on her school team. We shared a list of sporty girl picture books for your summer reading list, and looked back on all the stories we'd shared on twitter since our launch. We also interviewed writer and editor Taryn Albright.
In August we interviewed Sue Macy (Wheels of Change) and Keri Milkuski (multiple titles). We also interviewed self-published author Karen Avivi (Shredded), who has had quite a year. Karen went on to win the Spark Award, the first self-publishing award ever given by SCBWI. We interviewed her again after we got news of the award. We also just learned that Karen was interviewed in this month's (July 2014) The Writer magazine. Congratulations Karen and thanks so much for your shout out to Sporty Girl Books!
In September we got the amazing news that our own Sporty Girl Books blogger, Kristine Asselin, received her first sporty girl book contract. Here's the announcement:
Young Adult Contemporary
coming from Bloomsbury Spark in Fall 2014
Kristine Carlson Asselin's ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT, pitched as MYSTIC PIZZA meets THE CUTTING EDGE, in which the pizza business is all a fifteen-year-old knows until a chance meeting with a hockey player and a lucky shot opens her up to a new world on the ice, far away from the responsibilities and pressures of the family restaurant, to Meredith Rich of Bloomsbury Spark, by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
We also shared 5 things that physical therapists want you to be aware of as you start a new sports season.
That's it for our first four months. Come back next week to look back at October - January. And don't forget to let us know you've been here! New prizes are added every week.
In June we launched the blog by interviewing four of our favorite Sporty Book authors, Karen Day (No Cream Puffs), Catherine Murdock (The Dairy Queen Series), Maria Padian (Jersey Tomatoes are the Best), and Liz Fichera (Hooked). We also celebrated the 41st anniversary of Title IX with a book giveaway.
In July we kicked off the summer by sharing what we like to do at the beach. Our athlete of the month was Maddy Paige, a girl fighting to be allowed to play football on her school team. We shared a list of sporty girl picture books for your summer reading list, and looked back on all the stories we'd shared on twitter since our launch. We also interviewed writer and editor Taryn Albright.
In August we interviewed Sue Macy (Wheels of Change) and Keri Milkuski (multiple titles). We also interviewed self-published author Karen Avivi (Shredded), who has had quite a year. Karen went on to win the Spark Award, the first self-publishing award ever given by SCBWI. We interviewed her again after we got news of the award. We also just learned that Karen was interviewed in this month's (July 2014) The Writer magazine. Congratulations Karen and thanks so much for your shout out to Sporty Girl Books!
In September we got the amazing news that our own Sporty Girl Books blogger, Kristine Asselin, received her first sporty girl book contract. Here's the announcement:
Young Adult Contemporary
coming from Bloomsbury Spark in Fall 2014
Kristine Carlson Asselin's ANY WAY YOU SLICE IT, pitched as MYSTIC PIZZA meets THE CUTTING EDGE, in which the pizza business is all a fifteen-year-old knows until a chance meeting with a hockey player and a lucky shot opens her up to a new world on the ice, far away from the responsibilities and pressures of the family restaurant, to Meredith Rich of Bloomsbury Spark, by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
We also shared 5 things that physical therapists want you to be aware of as you start a new sports season.
That's it for our first four months. Come back next week to look back at October - January. And don't forget to let us know you've been here! New prizes are added every week.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Sporty Girl Books Turns One!
One year ago we sent out this message to the world:
We are so excited to start this new blog for girls who love sports. Whether you love to play sports or are just a huge sports fan, we hope you will come back and take a look at our content and book lists. Over the next months we will be adding stories about girls in sports, book lists, and interviews with authors who write sports books about girls. Please let us know how we are doing by leaving comments in our posts and sharing your own stories as a sporty girl.
Since then we have gotten the chance to interview some amazing writers, agents, and athletes.
Our book list for teens has been viewed over 900 times, our middle grade list 400, and our leveled list for teachers has been used over 100 times!
People all over the world have viewed the site, from the United States to Canada, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Russian, UK, France, China, and Latvia!
Our Athlete Spotlight with Star Lacrosse Player Erin Kenedy was viewed 1447 times and many of our other posts are also in the 1000 pageview range.
We have 50 likes on Facebook, 352 followers on Twitter, and this blog has been joined by 33 people.
But we're not done! Our goal is to reach as many people as possible to make sure that these amazing sporty books are getting into the hands of readers and that girls who love sports know that they are not alone. Please join us this month as we review the past year with Sporty Girl Books. Earn points for prizes by liking our Facebook page, following us on Twitter, tweeting about our site, and joining this blog or signing up for our email list. You can earn 10 extra points (per day) for each sporty girl you introduce to this site and five points (per day) for commenting on past blog posts.
We hope you have had a great year with Sporty Girl Books! Keep coming back for more!
All Our Best,
Stacy, Robin, Anna, and Kris
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