Inspired by a true story, this graphic novel about the ongoing battle of women striving for equality in sports follows the Wilkins Regional High School girls’ basketball team in 1975 Indiana, as they push through to improbable victory after improbable victory despite their disadvantages. Simultaneous. - (Baker & Taylor)
Graphic novel inspired by a true story in 1975 Indiana, dramatizing the historic struggle for gender equality in high school sports. - (Baker & Taylor)
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A work of fiction inspired by a true story, Matt Tavares’s debut graphic novel dramatizes the historic struggle for gender equality in high school sports.
It is 1975 in Indiana, and the Wilkins Regional High School girls’ basketball team is in their rookie season. Despite being undefeated, they practice at night in the elementary school and play to empty bleachers. Unlike the boys’ team, the Lady Bears have no buses to deliver them to away games and no uniforms, much less a laundry service. They make their own uniforms out of T-shirts and electrical tape. And with help from a committed female coach, they push through to improbable victory after improbable victory. Illustrated in full color, this story about the ongoing battle of women striving for equality in sports rings with honesty, bravery, and heart. - (Random House, Inc.)
Matt Tavares is the author-illustrator of the New York Times best-selling picture book Dasher, as well as Red and Lulu and several sports biographies, including Becoming Babe Ruth and Growing Up Pedro. He is also the illustrator of Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld, The Gingerbread Pirates by Kristin Kladstrup, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, and Over the River and Through the Wood, among many other picture books. Matt Tavares lives in Maine. - (Random House, Inc.)
Booklist Reviews
Tavares' debut graphic novel is a historical fiction inspired by true events, following a girls' high-school basketball team in Wilkins, Indiana, as they defy expectations on their way to a state championship. Judi always dreamed of being a basketball star, though her best friend assumes they'll be star cheerleaders instead. When, thanks to Title IX, the school announces a new girls' basketball team, Judi jumps at the chance. We follow the team as they find early success despite the lack of support from their school, and the tension comes less from their on-court competitions—which are brief but nonetheless enjoyable—and more from the question of whether or not they'll change the patriarchal perspectives of their peers and administrators. The story is delivered with a wonderfully light touch, mirrored by Tavares' soft, inviting illustrations and their simplified features; clean, bold linework; and solid color fills. Although it's technically set in high school, grade-school readers will have no problem connecting to the friendship drama or rooting for Judi, her dream, and her epic '70s bowl cut. Highly recommended. Grades 3-6. Copyright 2023 Booklist Reviews.
