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Girl Wonder

A Baseball Story in Nine Innings

Illustrated by Terry Widener

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About The Book

Inspired by the life of pioneering female baseball player Alta Weiss, and dramatized by Terry Widener’s bold illustrations, Girl Wonder tells the unforgettable story of a true American original.

Alta Weiss was born to play baseball, simple as that. From the age of two, when she hurls a corncob at a pesky tomcat, folks in her small Ohio town know one thing for sure: She may be a girl, but she’s got some arm.

When she’s seventeen, Alta hears about a semipro team, the Independents. Here’s her big chance! But one look at Alta’s long skirts tells Coach all he needs to know—girls can’t play baseball! But faster than you can say “strike out,” Alta proves him wrong: Girls can play baseball!

About The Author

Photo Credit:

Deborah Hopkinson is the author of numerous award-winning children's books, including Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, winner of the International Literacy Association Award; Girl Wonder, winner of the Great Lakes Book Award; and Apples to Oregon, a Junior Library Guild Selection. She received the 2003 Washington State Book Award for Under the Quilt of Night. She lives in Oregon. Visit her online at DeborahHopkinson.com.

About The Illustrator

Terry Widener is an award-winning illustrator whose picture books include Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man by David A. Adler, a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Book and an ALA Notable Book, and America's Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle, also by David A. Adler, a Junior Library Guild Selection. He is also the illustrator of Peg and the Whale by Kenneth Oppel and If the Shoe Fit by Gary Soto. Mr. Widener lives with his wife and three children in McKinney, Texas.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Aladdin (March 1, 2006)
  • Length: 40 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781416913931
  • Grades: K - 3
  • Ages: 5 - 8
  • Lexile ® 570L The Lexile reading levels have been certified by the Lexile developer, MetaMetrics®
  • Fountas & Pinnell™ P These books have been officially leveled by using the F&P Text Level Gradient™ Leveling System

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Awards and Honors

  • CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book
  • Nick Jr. Family Magazine Best Books of the Year
  • Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award
  • Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner
  • North Carolina Children's Book Award Nominee

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this author: Deborah Hopkinson

More books from this illustrator: Terry Widener