Skip to main content

Miss Mary Reporting


Miss Mary Reporting: The True Story of Sportswriter Mary Garber
By Sue Macy
Illustrated by C. F. Payne
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016. Biography.

Mary grew up loving sports—watching, playing, and reading about them. After college she set her sights on becoming a newspaper reporter but as a woman in the 1940,s her options were limited and she had to work as a society reporter. It wasn’t until WWII when many of the women took on jobs that were previously held by men that her dream came true; she became a sportswriter for The Sentinel. After the war ended her boss moved her to the news desk but a year later, she was back covering sports, and she stayed there for more than fifty years. Her determination broke down barriers for women reporters in gaining access to the locker room and press boxes. She also broke down racial barriers, covering any sport no matter who played. Her hard work was honored shortly before her death in 2008 as she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Sportscaster and Sportswriters Association.

A great biography that brings up many discussion points like gender roles, segregation, and achieving goals. With the perfect complement of Payne’s mixed media illustrations, Miss Mary Reporting is one of my favorite biographies I have read this year.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Painting for Peace in Ferguson

Painting for Peace in Ferguson By Carol Swartout Klein Treehouse Publishing Group, 2015. Nonfiction. When the city of Ferguson was overrun with so much hate and despair that homes and businesses had to be boarded up to protect property, citizens of the community decided to bring a message of hope by painting the boarded windows. Klein’s rhyming text supports the photographs of the hundreds of artists and volunteers and their artwork as they bring the messages of peace, hope, love, and that by being united they can make a difference. A great book to show children how a community rallied to make a positive change and that even a small gesture can make a huge difference. A great discussion opener on how we should treat each other.

Books to Read... Inspired by Our Summer Reading Theme

I am very excited about the summer reading theme here at the library: Color Our World. From the first moment I heard what the theme was going to be, it has been on my mind, and I noticed I was seeing bright and vibrant colors in so many picture books. Here are a few colorful books that inspired me! I hope you enjoy reading all summer long. How Do You Eat Color? Written by Mabi David Illustrated by Yas Doctor Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2025. Picture Book. If you want a book full of vibrant colors, this one will definitely meet your expectations. Bold and eye-catching, the illustrations are a reminder that color is all around us, including in delicious foods that we eat. Even the endpapers are a deep and stunning shade that made me think of summer! I appreciated the tips the author included for why eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables is important for all of us. Inventions to Count On Written by Dana Marie Miroballi Illustrated by Sawyer Cloud New Y...

Review: The Bletchley Riddle

  The Bletchley Riddle By Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin New York: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2024. Fiction. 392 pages. It's spring of 1940, Hitler has swept through most of Europe, and people believe England will be next. Half Polish-Jewish, half American Jakob has been recruited from Cambridge to Bletchley Park where they are working on deciphering the enigma machine. Jakob's sister Lizzie, meanwhile, is being forced to move from London to Cleveland to live with her grandmother after her mother disappeared in a 1939 attack in Poland. Lizzie manages to escape the keeper her grandmother sent for her to bring her to America and makes her way to Bletchley, where she's eventually given the task of delivering messages between departments. When secret messages begin appearing with Lizzie's belongings, she must decipher them to find the truth about her mother's past and location, while keeping the secrets away from the MI5 agent that seems a little t...