The Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: (Women Athletes in History, Gift for Teenage Girls and Women)

The love for the subject drips from the page, Orrock has a wonderful style and the joy just jumps off the page. Buy it now - for yourself or someone you love- it'll be a gift that keeps giving.

Incredible Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League by Anika Orrock is a free NetGalley ebook that I read in mid-December.The writing and illustrations both done by Orrock in a very chin-up, motivated documentarian, yet alive and kicking voice. She pulls quotes from newspapers and periodicals of that time, plus insight from the women themselves on making money, living in boarding houses, rewriting the rules as games went on (using a smaller ball, greater distance between bases), emphasis on femininity, no helmets, sliding bases in a skirt, really going to charm school and taught to apply makeup (i.e. wearing lipstick to avoid fines), the spread of teams over time into 1954, living and traveling with chaperones, summer training in Cuba, stereotypes back home in the off-season related to working and going to school, and a summary of impressive stats.

I had high hopes and was really looking forward to reading this book, but it didn’t reach the heights I had hoped it would.Author Anika Orrock’s two- to three-paragraph blurbs tie the book together, giving us a quick idea of the subject the next group of quotes will loosely address. I had hoped for more substance, and Ms. Orrock’s brief passages, while possessing a few pieces of knowledge, didn’t share enough to engage me. The best part of the book are the quotes from the players. We are treated to firsthand personal accounts of what the league was like, and what it was like to be part of the league.If you are looking for more details about the league, there are a few books listed in the sources. I may check out one of them to find what I didn’t find with this book. To be fair, the title does say “The Incredible Women” and the quotes are the home runs of this book. Unfortunately, the rest of the book did not measure up, and essentially struck out. Three stars.My thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for a complimentary electronic copy of this title.

Having heard that Mary Pratt, a pitcher for the Rockford Peaches in the AAGPBL had just passed away at 101 - the last surviving member of that team; and having just watched again "A League of their Own", the movie she and the team inspired; the timing was perfect to read this book. These women were incredible. At a time when the nation was at war and men were called to lay down their bats and pick up arms, the nation needed this distraction. What I love about the book is that it is a true flashback - using quotes and images of the time, along with fun cartoons, it educates the reader to the value of these ladies at this time. These ladies were not just fun to watch play - they used their fine talents to convince the nay-sayers they had something legitimate to offer. It is really sad that the league did not continue, and there are some ladies playing today who can hopefully rise to the level they deserve in this sport. If they can play softball - not to confuse it as some of the men did back during this time - why can't they play baseball? This book is very empowering for women to anyone who takes the time for this quick and fun read.

This might be the perfect gift for tweeners or young teens to introduce them to the AAGBL particularly if they’ve never watched “A League of Their Own.” Most of the story is told using caricatures of the players interspersed with a few photographs. It seems to follow in the footsteps of the movie.The entire time I was reading the book, I couldn’t decide whether I found the book delightful or whether it was insulting to the players because they are reduced to being cartoon characters. Using this format prevented the author from delving deeply into the history of the incredible women of the AAGBL. So we miss out knowing more about how it felt to have men they didn’t know running their lives, from the clothing they wore to being told how to comport themselves, to being yelled at by men in the stands, to women demeaning them for playing ball in short skirts, to having male coaches.It would have been incredible if the author had gone beyond the outline of the movie and given her readers, regardless of age, fewer cartoon characters and more substance.My thanks to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for an eArc.

Beautiful stories and illustrations. Amazing book for anyone who likes good art and a good story. It’s amazing that the author also illustrated this book. Bought a copy for me and one for my nieces. Great book.

This book is absolutely wonderful and inspiring, Anika captures the spirit of these incredible women with her incredible illustrations.

This book grabbed my attention right from the beginning. I was in high school when A League of Their Own came out and happened to play softball, so I absolutely loved the movie. This book reminded me of that love. It also reminded me that I am really grateful to have been born in the era I was born in and not when these great women were born. I highly recommend!**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book