This is BlackRaven reporting on Miss Mary Reporting: The True Story of Sportswriter Mary Garber by Sue Macy and illustrated by C. F. Payne. And I would like to say
READ THIS BOOK!
Okay, so you might want to know why. And the why is Because I said so! And it is a good book about a woman in sports that we do not know of and is (in my not so humble opinion) more important than the sports players themselves. Because if Mary Garber did not write about the people of sports, how would we know about them? Because you see, she wrote about the people that were not being written about in areas like college sports, the black community, and the little guy. Just like her. She was a small woman with granny glasses (as one person put it). She had a lot to overcome and thankfully she had people who were willing to help her. Of course, just as many were against her. After all she was a woman during a time women were not supposed to be that bold, and in that field (on or off it). She was not allowed into locker rooms, she had to overcome prejudices and had to be twice as good to be considered half as good.
She would meet sports legends, win awards, and would have the Mary Garber Pioneer Award named in her honor. She would inspire women to get into sports writing. And she would retire and still come to work most days. Not bad for a young woman that played sports when it was not considered lady like. Not bad for a young woman who knew more sports facts than about fashion (she once reported on the social event she was covering by placing the wrong dress on the wrong woman!). Not bad for the young girl who wrote a newspaper telling her daily life to her grandparents instead of the letters her sisters were composing.
And all of this is wonderfully illustrated by Payne. Their signature style of realistic comic goofy comes alive. The colors are not overly pushy, but you see them. The details work for each page and overall, they are comfortable and edgy. They are a clever way to help introduce the subject.
Due to length and the busy text, this picture book is for the older readers.