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Reviewed by: Taylor Coonelly, Elementary School Librarian Title: Swinging into History: Toni Stone: Big-League Baseball's First Woman Player
Author: Karen L. Swanson
Illustrator: Freeman, Laura
Publisher: Calkins Creek
Year: 2024 Good for Grades: K-5 Genre/Type of Book: Biography
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: Racism and sexism mentioned
Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book:
Nominated for the CYBILS award for Elementary and Middle Grade Nonfiction
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be:
With fighting spirit and a love of the game of baseball, this biography features the story of the first Black woman Big-League player Toni Stone.
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Review:
With fighting spirit and a love of the game of baseball, this biography features the story of the first Black woman Big-League player Toni Stone.
Marcenia Stone, nicknamed Tomboy, knew from an early age that her dream was to play baseball, and that nothing would stop her from playing - though many would try. Her mother wanted Tomboy to be like other girls and enrolled her in figure skating, and after winning a citywide competition, she handed her mom the trophy and kept on practicing with her mitt and bat. Her mother forbade Tomboy from baseball, and Tomboy considered running away. It was with the help of her family's priest that Tomboys parents were convinced to let her play on the church's baseball team. Even with her skills, the coach refused to teach a Black girl and her peers insulted her nonstop. She knew that she wouldn't make it to where she wanted to be without a coach willing to teach her, so she signed up for a summer baseball school with major leaguer Gabby Street - a camp for white boys only. At first Coach Street shrugged her off, but after she continued to show up, he gave her a chance to play and show the boys up. And she DID. Coach Street made Tomboy feel like a player worth coaching, and after the camp, encouraged her to try out for a barnstorming team. She changed her name to Toni, and began working her way up the ladder until being signed on a minor league team. Even still she faced being pulled from games and being underestimated by other teams, but made it to the Indianapolis Clowns. Toni had achieved her dream of playing on a Major League team, showing girls everywhere that baseball was for them too.
I really enjoyed this biography, and think it is great for an elementary audience. The messages of racism, sexism, and history were woven into the text in a way that wasn't too overt/overwhelming for readers, but gave them opportunities for reflection. I really liked how on many pages, quotes from Toni were embedded in the illustrations, making the story feel more real and help readers connect to the story. The illustrations were wonderfully done, with a focus on primary colors and sports imagery. I think that this book would be checked out by students, because of the sports connection. I think that this biography could be used in a variety of ways, either as a read aloud about specific topics (racism, women's history month, black history month, etc.), or as a source of information for research projects.
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