A Girl Named Dan (Picture Books) [Hardcover]

Dandi Daley Mackall (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: Picture Books

Ten-year-old Dandi (affectionately called “Dan” by family and friends) lives and breathes baseball. She may not be a fence buster but she can “hit ‘em where they ain’t” in the neighborhood pick-up games. The boys know she’s a contender. And there’s no bigger fan of the 1961 Kansas City A’s. So when Charlie Finley, the A’s new owner, announces an essay contest to get batboys, there’s no doubt Dandi will enter the contest.

Dandi not only enters the contest--her essay wins! However, her joy is short-lived when the contest officials enforce the For Boys Only rule. Long before the boundary-breaking ruling of Title IX, young women across the country used grit and determination to prove that barriers of gender have no place on a level playing field. Dandi Daley Mackall’s true-life story gives voice and testament to the spirit of these young sports pioneers.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2–4—In this fictionalized picture-book account of an incident from Mackall's childhood, it is 1961 and Dandi's dreams center on baseball. She roots for her local pro team, the Kansas City A's, and she's a solid player who can get on base when it counts. She's bitterly frustrated when the boys ban her from their pick-up games because she's a girl. Then she hears about an essay-writing contest that the A's are holding; the winner will get to be batboy. Although the rules state "for boys only," Dandi enters and wins, only to be disqualified. Instead, the A's send her a consolation prize, a bat. She announces to the boys that she's batting, hits the ball out of sight, and walks away, purposely leaving the bat behind. She stops rooting for the A's, her passion for writing and baseball unabated, and her spirit strong and undaunted. Mackall seamlessly weaves a good deal of baseball trivia and slang into her tale, and Graef's folksy paintings add detail and character. Dandi is an engaging and sympathetic heroine, and her story will resonate with many readers.—Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press (October 31, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585363510
• ISBN-13: 978-1585363513
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,374,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dandi won her first writing contest as a 10-year-old tomboy. Her 50 words on "Why I Want to Be Batboy for the Kansas City A's" won first place, but the team wouldn't let a girl be batboy. It was her first taste of rejection.
Since then, Dandi Daley Mackall has become an award-winning author of over 400 books for children of all ages, with sales of 4 million copies in 22 countries. Recent picture books with Sleeping Bear Press include Legend of Ohio, Rudy Rides the Rails: A Depression Era Story (Notable Book 2008 - Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People National Council of Social Studies & Children's Book Council; winner of the Angel Award, 2008; Winner of the "Award of Excellence" from Chicago Book Show 2007) and 2008 release, A Girl Named Dan (her own "batboy" story, and a lesson on Title IX), 2 Mom's Choice Awards & Amelia Bloom Award. Eva Underground, Harcourt young adult novel, nominated ALA Best Book 2007, starred Kirkus review, awarded a Top Teen Read by New York Public Library, finalist for Ohioana Award, was based on the author's experiences behind the Iron Curtain. Love Rules was awarded Romantic Times' Top Pick. Middle-grade fiction, Larger-than-Life Lara, Dutton/Penguin, which teaches how to write, while tackling the problem of bullying, is on the KY Bluegrass Award List 2007-8; William Allan White Award list, 2008-9; KS and KY Children's Choice lists. Her Winnie the Horse Gentler series has sold over half a million books and Starlight Animal Rescue is a Gold Medallion finalist. Dandi received the 2009 Helen Keating Ott Award for distinguished contribution toward promoting high moral and ethical values in children and young adult literature. She also received the Distinguished Alumna Award in 2008 from the University of Missouri. Dandi is a national speaker, keynoting at conferences and Young Author events, and has made dozens of appearances on TV, including ABC, NBC, and CBS. Visit Dandi at www.dandibooks.com, winniethehorsegentler.com, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85oaIUbJ8j8

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children, August 14, 2008

By 

Yana V. Rodgers "econkids.rutgers.edu" (New Brunswick, NJ) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Girl Named Dan (Picture Books) (Hardcover)

Dandi, an athletic and competitive girl growing up during the early 1960s in Hamilton, Missouri, is a talented baseball player and a devoted fan. She knows all the baseball jargon and wants nothing more than to play ball with the boys during recess and after school. But at a time when the U.S. legal structure and social norms still did not give girls and women equal opportunities in sports, Dandi has little recourse when the boys decide they don't want her to join them in the ball field.

Determined to stay in the game, Dandi uses her other strong skill in writing to enter an essay contest held by the Kansas City A's to recruit batboys. In an attempt to bypass the "for boys only" requirement, she signs her submission with her nickname Dan. Dandi's experience teachers her that it takes more than a simple trick to be a winner and feel like a winner in any competition.

Although A Girl Named Dan focuses on baseball, parents and teachers can use this interesting book to teach children a powerful set of lessons about discrimination and how legal reforms have helped to change discriminatory practices. In this case, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits unequal treatment by sex in all education-related activities that receive federal financial assistance. The book provides a valuable opportunity to talk with children about the barriers that girls used to face within and outside of school, and the extent to which those barriers have changed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing and Encouraging...and true!, May 23, 2008

By 

Grateful Reader "Grateful Reader" (rural, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Girl Named Dan (Picture Books) (Hardcover)

This is a fantastic book for girls AND for boys. Girls will see what was like before Title IX, and they'll be challenged to dream. And boys need to see what it's like to be denied on the basis of gender. The baseball slang and story are terrific, but don't miss the author's letter in the front. It gives such a nice flavor and picture of what the world was like in 1961.

5.0 out of 5 stars Her story reminds young girls to handle their defeats with strength, courage and optimism, March 23, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Girl Named Dan (Picture Books) (Hardcover)

In 1972, 37 words that made up the Title IX of the Educational Amendment ended sex discrimination under federally financed educational programs. For one author that law hit close to home plate, it meant girls were given a chance - to play ball! Author, Dandi Daley Mackall, shares her spirit of determination in this historical account of her own childhood experience. Illustrator, Renee Graef, captures the emotional challenges of the characters in expressive realistic illustrations that compliment Mackall's voice as she retells her young tale. The raw grit of this narrative and baseball lingo will excite any Sports - man or woman. A Girl Named Dan, highlights one girl's desire to play baseball in a world that had not yet accepted female participation in boyish sports. After being shunned from the playing field by her schoolmates, Dan turns her attention to securing her place on the field, as a batboy, for the Kansas City A's. Though this girl named Dan faced major league disappointments, she found herself left with a surprising gift that led her down another path to a new field. Dandi Daley Mackall really is A Girl Named Dan, and her story reminds young girls to handle their defeats with strength, courage and optimism.

Sara Hassler
Reviewer