She Loved Baseball

By Audrey Vernick http://www.audreyvernick.com/
Illustrated by Don Tate http://devast.blogspot.com/ (blog)
Published by Harper Collins, New York, 2010
Oil Paint
Annotation
Effa Manley was an essential part of not only creating the Negro Legue, but helping baseball intrigue, and eventually inducting Negro League players into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Personal Reaction
This book brought tears to my eyes. Effa was such a tireless organizer for equal rights. She organized her Harlem community to fight for blacks to be hired by the white owned businesses. She co-owned the Negro Leagues Newark Eagles, and worked tirelessly for equality and fairness for her players. This is a story I knew nothing about. I felt so proud and enthusiastic about her strength as a black women in a white male world. This book celebrates the struggle and the positive change one person can make by simply standing up and saying things need to change. The illustrations really feel like they are from the 1930's, with a perspective that closes in on our main character while panning the surrounding area with a panoramic view.
Starred review
Curricular connections 
African American History
American History
Negro Baseball League
National Baseball Hall of Fame
Harlem Renaissance
Equal Rights, Integration