Emily Arnold McCully | Children's Books Heal

Queen of the Diamond: The Lizzie Murphy Story

Emily Arnold McCully, Author and Illustrator

Farrar Straus Giroux Books, Biography, Feb. 17, 2015

Suitable for Ages: 5-8 years

Themes: Lizzie Murphy, Baseball, Women baseball players

Opening: “In 1900, baseball was America’s national pastime…In Warren, Rhode Island, there were several amateur teams and Lizzie Murphy followed all of them. Her father had played on one as a young man. Her brother, Henry, was a shortstop on one of the best boys’ teams. To sharpen his game, he played catch with Lizzie.”

Book Jacket Synopsis: Lizzie Murphy was good at baseball. In fact, she was better than most of the boys. But she was born in 1894, and everyone said baseball was not a game for girls.

Lizzie practiced with her brother anyway, and then she talked her way onto the local boys’ team, first as a batboy, then as a player. Everyone was impressed by her hard catches and fast pitches. By the time she turned fifteen, she playing for two different amateur boy’s teams. When she turned eighteen, Lizzie did something else that women didn’t do, she signed with a professional baseball team determined to earn her living playing the game.

Why I like this book:

It’s time to play ball and I can’t think of a more inspiring story to share than Emily Arnold McCully’s Queen of the Diamond. Lizzie Murphy’s true story can only happen in America. It is historically accurate to the 1900 time period.
The story is definitely character-driven with Lizzy, a strong, self-confident and determined eight-year-old, who believes in herself, her abilities and follows her dream to play a boy’s game. Lizzy defies the social mores of the time. Her father is supportive, her mother says “It’s not a game for girls.”
McCully also shows the inequality that Lizzie faces when she is signed with a major league team. Even though Lizzie is a phenomenon, draws large crowds and fans, the manager won’t pay her. She confronts him, demands equal pay and her team supports her. Professional baseball is her job for the next 17 years and she’s paid the same as men.
The narrative is a bit wordy, but it doesn’t feel inappropriate for the time period. In fact I wanted to know the detail. I loved baseball as a girl and could catch a mean hardball. I would have worn out the pages in this book if I had a copy.
McCully’s acrylic pen and ink drawings are warm, expressive and emotive. She captures the attire worn during the early 20th Century. Lizzie plays baseball in dresses and wears high-topped laced shoes.

Resources/Activities: There is a very interesting Author’s Note at the end about Lizzie and women playing baseball. Take children to a baseball game, if they’ve never attended a game. If they are interested in playing, sign them up for local Little League team. More girls are showing interest in playing Little League. There are also Softball Little Leagues for girls. Visit Emily Arnold McCully at her website.

Every Friday, authors and KidLit bloggers post a favorite picture book. To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books (PPB) with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Books.

The Escape of Oney Judge

Emily Arnold McCully, Author and Illustrator

Farrar Straus Giroux, Historical Fiction, 2007

Suitable for: Ages 6 and Up

Themes/Topics: Slavery, African-American, Freedom

Opening/Synopsis: “Oney! Come here, child.” It was Mrs. Washington! Oney ran to her and curtsied, as the house slaves did. Had the mistress caught her doing something wrong? “Oney, I’ve had my eye on you,” the great lady said. I see a bright girl who can learn. Tomorrow you will take up a needle and sew alongside your mother in the Mansion.” “Oh, thank you, ma’am.” Oney cried. “I’ll be glad to work with Mama!” Oney knows why she was selected to work in the big house at Mt. Vernon. It was because her father was white and she was light-skinned. But, she’s also very bright and loved learning new things.

After the Revolutionary War ended, Oney was puzzled that liberty meant freedom for people, but not for slaves. Mrs. Washington treated Oney like one of her own children, but she wouldn’t allow Oney to learn how to read or write. Oney was especially close to the Washington’s daughter, Nelly. After the general was elected president, Mrs. Washington chose Oney to be her personal maid at the first capital in New York City. Oney studied ladies’ gowns to see how they were cut and sewn, and designed all of Mrs. Washington’s clothing and caps. But, she never allowed Oney to earn money when she sewed for other women.

When the capital was moved to Philadelphia, Oney learned about slaves who were free. Mrs. Washington told Oney one night that after she died, she would give Oney to her newly married granddaughter. Oney knew the husband would sell her to a stranger, so she began to plan her escape. While the Washington’s were preparing to return to Mount Vernon, Oney saw her opportunity to leave. She ran to a white friend’s home where she hid until arrangements could be made for her escape. She didn’t know where she would end up. The Washington’s didn’t give up their search for Oney, even after she married a free black slave and had a child. They tracked Oney for years. McCully shows how very determined this young woman was to be free.

Why I liked this book: Little is written for children about the slaves of President George Washington and our Founding Fathers. Emily McCully gives kids a realistic understanding of that period in our history. She did an excellent job of researching Oney Judge Staines. Her illustrations capture the mood of that revolutionary time. George Washington was a good president, but he never took a public stand against slavery. Washington hoped for its end, and he freed his own slaves upon his death. Oney ended up in New Hampshire where she lived with her husband and three children. I ran across a series of letters George Washington wrote trying to track Oney. They are preserved in the Weeks Public Library and are very interesting. She died in 1848, and her death certificate read “domestic servant.” The Escape of Oney Judge is a 2008 Bank Street – Best Children’s Book of the Year, and a Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Winner. Activity: Click on Oney Judge for classroom activities.

To see a complete listing of all the Perfect Picture Books with resources, please visit author Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Books. Or click on the Perfect Picture Book Fridays badge in the right sidebar.