Customer Reviews

Girl Wonder : A Baseball Story in Nine Innings

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4 star:		(2)
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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.

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.

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.

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.

"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!

We must read this book at least once a week before bed time. We got it in a book swap and were a bit dubious at first but now it's a firm favorite of all the family. I especially like the positive message it givers my daughter about sport and not giving up. Great book!

This is the picture book version of the true story of Alta Weiss, an Ohio girl, daughter of a country doctor. Alta grew up playing baseball in the very early 1900s. She was a pitcher on her high school baseball team and after she graduated her father bought her a semi-pro baseball team. Alta and the Weiss All-Stars traveled throughout Ohio, with Alta such an attraction that she drew standing-room-only crowds as she struck out male batters left and right. She even pitched in Cleveland's major league stadium.

Hopkinson and Widener combine to make this wonderful story even more fun than it actually was. Hopkinson tells the story in Alta's first-person voice, capturing her youthful outlook. And Widener portrays Alta, her surroundings, and the male players beautifully. A Must Read Book for girls and for boys.