When you read Anybody’s Game, I think you should start with its back matter. There, waiting patiently at the end of the book, is a wonderful essay that contextualizes the story.

In 1950, Kathryn Johnston loved playing baseball, but no girls played on Little League teams. She sneaked her way onto a team. But the next year, as the back matter tells us, probably at least partly in response to her, Little League explicitly banned all girls from their teams. And that’s the way it remained until a lawsuit forced Little League to make space for girls in 1974.

I also learned from the back matter that Heather Lang interviewed Johnston for this book and had her review the manuscript. All of which made me glad to embrace the lively dialogue that peppers the biography.

The book is the story of how Johnston finagled her way onto the baseball team in 1950 and about her experience playing with the boys. It’s an inspiring story that’s made even better once you know the stuff in the back.

Anybody’s Game: Kathryn Johnston, the First Girl to Play Little League Baseball by Heather Lang, illustrated by Cecilia Pugliesi. (Whitman: 2018).

Alyson Beecher hosts the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge at kidlitfrenzy.com. Visit there for more great nonfiction picture books!