Swinging Into History -- Review of Picture Book About Toni Stone

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Summer Olympics are still going on this week, so my focus is on sports! Today I get to share a new picture book (released this week) about Toni Stone. She was the first female to play big-league baseball! The book is Swinging into History by Karen L. Swanson and illustrated by Laura Freeman. It is recommended for ages 7 to 10.

From the Publisher:

Young readers will root for Toni “Tomboy” Stone, the first woman (and the first Black woman) to break into professional baseball—taking over Hank Aaron’s roster spot—in this nonfiction picture book biography.

Nothing could stop Toni “Tomboy” Stone from playing baseball—not even her parents. The only girl on a church team, she persevered as insults were hurled her way from the boy players. She caught the attention of former major leaguer Gabby Street, who gave her a chance at his summer baseball school. With Coach Street’s training—and the cleats he gifted her—Toni managed to earn a spot in the minor leagues. Though teams were hesitant to sign a woman, she pitched the idea that fans would pay to see a woman play—and it worked! But Toni’s persistence and optimism were not enough to win over the Jim Crow South crowds nor her male teammates. Coaches put her in the starting lineup and then benched her early, every game, no matter her results. But her talent got noticed and she was signed by the Indianapolis Clowns, becoming the first woman to break into the pros. “Toni arrives,” shouted newspaper headlines, and she delivered! In her first professional game she ripped a single and drove in two runs, and left the crowd chanting “TONI! TONI! TONI!”

From Me:

This is a wonderful book sharing the unique history of Toni Stone. Now we have been told for decades that baseball is for boys and softball is for girls. But what happens to the girls who want to play baseball. Afterall they are different sports besides the differences in the balls. You probably have heard of the Women's Baseball League. Afterall, it has a movie, The League of Their Own, that shares some of the story. The Women's Baseball League was started during the war when the male players were off fighting. Toni Stone however is different. She didn't play on the Women's Baseball League. She couldn't. She was Black. Jackie Robinson, the first Black man to play major baseball, didn't get on a team until 1947. So the baseball team owners that started the Women's Baseball League were certainly not going to let a Black woman play on their newly formed teams. Toni plays on several teams that are not big league. However, in 1953, Hank Aaron is traded from the Negro American League's Indianapolis Clowns to the Major League's Milwaukee Braves. This leaves an opening in the Negro American League and Toni Stone fills it. She becomes the first woman to play for a big league. This book shares a bit of Toni's history. It begins with her childhood and her mother's desire to have her ice skate and not play baseball. 

The book takes a look at the barriers she had to cross and how even her family made it difficult. Even when she made it the big league, they didn't let her play much. Toni Stone pushed boundaries. She fought racism and sexism. She persevered to make her own dreams come true. This book does a wonderful job of sharing her courageous story with young children. At the end of the book is the author's note with more information about Toni Stone as well as a timeline. The illustrations are well done and realistic. This book is a great way to share the history of Toni and show children that there were firsts even before this year's Olympics.