Blumenthal, Karen. 2005. LET ME PLAY. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division. ISBN 0689859570
2. PLOT SUMMARY/CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This book is a true story of Title IX, which is a law allowing girls to have equal rights when it comes to sports and education. Over the course of this book the reader is taken back to 1848 and leads to present day. Title IX will forever change the thoughts, dreams, and achievement of American girls. It is hard to imagine there was a time when girls could not play sports or become doctors, lawyers, engineers, and other such professionals. If a girl was good at math and wanted to be an engineer or a mathematician she was urged to be a teacher instead. Also those who had a passion for science and wanted to become veterinarians or doctors were instead told to become nurses. However this all changed with the civil rights movement which then inspired women to pursue equal rights in education and at the workplace.
Until 1972 women struggled for equal pay, education, faced discrimination, and in many other aspects of life. Many people such as teachers, lawmakers, parents, and athletes banned together in order to assure the law was passed, enforced, and upheld. Many times they had to withstand the backlash and opposition of non-supporters. Their efforts paid off in the end when girls were allowed to attend colleges and universities, play sports, and have the opportunity to be whatever they wanted to be.
This is an inspiring true story of determination and preservation that every young adult as well as adult should read. Girls should have a sense of pride knowing others fought for the equal rights we have today. If it were not for the generations before us who knows we might still not be able to play sports or achieve our dreams. This book is full of history from past to present involving this law. It also incorporates stories of successful women such as Doris Brown Heritage a cross-country champion, Sally Ride the first female astronaut, and Mia Hamm a soccer superstar. All of these stories will encourage all girls alike from those with dreams of being a professional athlete to those who dream of becoming an astronaut.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
* BOOKLIST: “Here, the author looks at American women's evolving rights by focusing on the history and future of Title IX, which bans sex discrimination in U.S. education. Profiles of groundbreaking female athletes and legislators deftly alternate with highlights of the women's movement, from the early twentieth century through today.”
*Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Interesting and easy-to-follow chapters highlight the process of creating, revising, fighting for, and ultimately passing this legislation that gave girls and women equal access to physical-education classes, gymnasiums, universities, and graduate schools.”
*SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Book of the Year
*ALA Notable Children’s Book
*Printz Award
5. Exemplary or Favorite Lines
*"No longer would females accept “No Girls Allowed” attitudes.” (91)
*"Give women a “Sporting Chance.” (72)
*"A growing number of Americans were ready to see women fully participate in society for the first time.” (22)
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