The Kid from Diamond Street by Audrey Vernick

Imagine, at thirteen, Edith didn’t know anyone who had been to Japan-most people she knew hadn’t ever stepped foot outside of Pennsylvania-and here she was! The story is told in a delightful style (with charming illustrations) that really made everything come alive for me – I love this era and personalities of Edith and her teammates felt very vivid. I love the account of Edith’s trip across the continent by train, across the ocean by ship, and finally exploring the incredible sites of Japan. (Baseball has long been popular in Japan.) Edith’s parents allowed her to go and even the teachers and principal at her school said that she’d probably get more education out of the trip than being in class, and Edith found that to be true. In 1925, the Bobbies were invited to Japan to play mostly against college-level male teams there.

The Bobbies were the only female team around so they played against men’s teams-and they were quite popular, whether because people really supported women players or because they were a “spectacle” is debatable, probably some of each. The players were all in their teens and twenties but Edith was so good she made the team and began playing professional baseball. When she was ten years old, she heard about the Philadelphia Bobbies, an all-female baseball team that was looking for new players. She loved baseball and was always out playing with the boys. I participate in the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge at Kid Lit Frenzy.Edith Houghton, born in Philadelphia in 1912. The Kid from Diamond Street : The Extraordinary Story of Baseball Legend Edith Houghton by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Steven Salerno. Vernick and Salerno teamed up for another great baseball book about unlikely players, Brothers at Bat. This one is a great book for baseball fans, for gutsy women, and for passionate kids. (I did wish that the quotes had been attributed in the back matter.) Vernick chooses wonderful quotes that keep the point of view strictly Edith’s. I was floored that I had never heard of this remarkable girl. This book tells the story of how Edith Houghton began playing ball and then the great adventure of her trip abroad with her teammates. In fact, she played so well, when she was 13 she was invited to be part of an exhibition team representing the US playing in Japan. She was by far the youngest and tiniest member of the team, which required her to find ways to alter her uniform so it wouldn’t fall of of her.

She kept playing, and when she was 10 years old (ten!) she joined a professional team. But in the 1920s there were no Little League teams for girls. Here’s a book about both–a gutsy girl.Įdith Houghton loved baseball.

The Kid from Diamond Street by Audrey Vernick