Out of Left Field — Ellen Klages

A story about the fight for equal rights in America's favorite arena: the baseball field!

Katy Gordon is the best pitcher in her neighborhood. She's also a girl. Which shouldn't matter, except that the year is 1957, and the official Little League rulebook states that only boys are allowed to play baseball. It's not fair, and Katy, who's learning about the growing Civil Rights Movement in school, recognizes this as another sort of discrimination. With the help of well-stocked libraries and tenacious research skills, Katy sets out to prove that she's not the first or only girl ball player out there. But if there really are others, then where are they now? And how can one ten-year-old change so many people's minds about what girls can do?

Set in the world of Sputnik and Leave It to Beaver, saddle shoes and “Heartbreak Hotel,” OUT OF LEFT FIELD is both a detailed picture of a specific historical period, as well as a timelessly inspiring story about fighting for equality at any age.