Mighty Jackie: The Strike-Out Queen [Hardcover]

Marissa Moss (Author), C. F. Payne (Illustrator)

Book Description

For as long as she could remember, Jackie Mitchell's father had told Jackie she could be good at whatever she wanted, as long as she worked at it. Jackie worked at baseball. She worked hard. And before long Jackie could outplay anyone in her neighborhood -- even the boys.

She had one pitch -- a wicked, dropping curve ball. But no seventeen-year-old girl could pitch against Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. It was unthinkable. Then on April 2, 1931, the New York Yankees stopped in Tennessee for an exhibition game against the Chattanooga Lookouts. And on that day Jackie Mitchell made baseball history.

Marissa Moss tells a true story of determination and heroism, a gem of baseball history sure to inspire ballplayers of all ages. And C. F. Payne's vibrant, glorious illustrations make the golden age of baseball come alive.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3--When Jackie Mitchell was a pitcher for the Chattanooga Lookouts, she made baseball history on April 2, 1931, by striking out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. Moss begins this brief chronicle of the young woman's moment in the sun by setting the scene at the stadium that day, quoting the skepticism expressed by sports reporters. She then moves back to Mitchell's childhood and describes her early interest in the game and the support and encouragement offered by her father. When the scene returns to the big day, the author indulges in some minor fictionalizing as she imagines the teen's thoughts and feelings when she faced the baseball giants. The narrative captures the tension and excitement, and has the air of an experience remembered. Payne's mixed-media illustrations with their judicious use of sepia increase the nostalgic feel. Pair this title with Shana Corey's Players in Pigtails (Scholastic, 2003) or Doreen Rappaport and Lyndall Callan's Dirt on Their Skirts (Dial, 2000) for a close look at a previously neglected piece of history.--Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 1-3. On April 2, 1931, in Tennessee, the New York Yankees played an exhibition game against the Chattanooga Lookouts. Their pitcher was a 17-year-old young woman named Jackie Mitchell, and that day she struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. In cadenced prose, Moss tells the story of the girl who was taught to play--and to win--by her father and Dazzy Vance, the Brooklyn Dodger. Moss sketches Jackie's background so that when she's on the mound, we know the talent and determination that go into each pitch. Payne has well and truly captured the tone with his wonderful pictures. Slightly exaggerated forms and vintage colors echo Thomas Hart Benton and 1930s newspaper photography. This is a powerful read-aloud. Use it alongside Deborah Hopkinson's Girl Wonder (2003), about the real pitcher Alta Weiss, and Shana Corey's Players in Pigtails (2003), about the fictional Katie Casey, the girl in "Take Me out to the Ball Game." It's another book that makes you wonder, "How come we didn't know about her?" GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books; 1 edition (January 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689863292
• ISBN-13: 978-0689863295
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #669,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( R ) > Ruth, Babe

More About the Author

Marissa Moss has been telling stories and drawing pictures to go with them for as long as she can remember. She sent her first book to publishers when she was nine, but it wasn't very good and it never got published. She didn't try again until she was a grown-up, but since then she hasn't stopped.

The idea for the first Amelia's Notebook came from the notebook Moss kept when she was a kid. Amelia is a lot like her and the things that happen to Amelia really happened to Marissa (mostly).

Along with Amelia, Moss has created many characters and is especially drawn to history. Historical books allows her to imagine what it's like to be alive in a different place at a completely different time. And then there are the Max Disaster books which allow her to play with scientific experiments, inventions, and comic strips.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Girls Can Play Ball, January 21, 2005

By 

Meggie (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mighty Jackie: The Strike-Out Queen (Hardcover)

Amazing story of a seventeen year old girl with incredible talent who struck out Babe Ruth. Her reward - she was banned from playing major and minor league baseball. Large realistic beautiful paintings dress the pages. Text is an easy read. Jackie's photo is included at the back of the book. This all happened in 1931 and girls did not play professional baseball. Seventy four years later, girls still do not play professional baseball. Buy this for your sons and daughters who love sports.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Girl with the Dreams, November 7, 2005

By 

Meghan K. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mighty Jackie: The Strike-Out Queen (Hardcover)

Jackie Mitchell set high goals and dreams to become a professional major-league baseball player. Even though there were the stereotypes about girls not playing baseball, she didn't let that hinder her determination in becoming her very best. Through hard-work and lots of training, she became a major league pitcher. On April 2, 1932 she carved her name into history by becoming known as the "Girl Who Struck Out Babe Ruth." This book depicts that the support of family and the determination of a girl, dreams are possible. This book does a fantastic job to portray the history of Jackie Mitchell in her major-league debut, but also gives information pertaining to her minor-league career and also baseball's formal ban of women from major and minor league. The illustrations make the reader feel that they are sitting in all different areas of a baseball field from right behind home plate to the outfield. I would definitely recommend this book when studying about influential females in history.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read Aloud Honor Book, June 3, 2005

By 

Carol H. Sibley (Dilworth, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mighty Jackie: The Strike-Out Queen (Hardcover)

April 2, 1931 was an important day in baseball history. On this day the Chattanooga Lookouts played the New York Yankees in an exhibition game. Thousands packed the stadium to see Lookouts' pitcher, seventeen-year-old Jackie Mitchell, pitch against the Yankees using her "lefty pitch with a low dip." Jackie made baseball history because she was the first professional female pitcher. This slice-of-life biography explains how Jackie grew up playing ball with her father and how at age eight she learned to pitch from Dazzy Vance, a star pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The mixed media colored illustrations show movement and emotion. The full-page close-ups captures the intensity of players when the umpire yells "strike three." Jackie, surrounded by male players, looks undaunted and determined.

Just the cover of the book alone excited eight to twelve year olds. Children listened intently to the story and talked about the book with excitement. They thought it was great to have a female pitcher and yelled "strike three!"