Let Me Play

Starred review from July 1, 2005
Gr 7 Up -A fascinating look at the birth, growth, stagnation, and final emergence of Title IX. While acknowledging the controversy surrounding this law, the author is unwaveringly supportive of its passage and implementation. 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. Human-interest stories personalize the issues, and photographs of congresswomen fighting for equal opportunities for girls, women demonstrating, and the ultimate victory -a woman on the cover of "Sports Illustrated" -show how challenging, yet ultimately rewarding, the battle has been. Charts depict amazing statistics about the increase in athletic participation by females from 1970 to 2001. Cartoons show the humorous but painfully true attitudes of our culture toward women as they have strived to achieve equality in this country. The book closes with a -Then and Now - section highlighting the changes Title IX has brought about. Lynn M. Messina's "Sports in America" (H. W. Wilson, 2001) and Victoria Sherrow's "Encyclopedia of Women and Sports" (ABC-CLIO, 1996) both offer bits of information, but nothing out there comes close to Blumenthal's portrait of the emergence of women athletes in our society." -Julie Webb, Shelby County High School, Shelbyville, KY"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2005
Gr. 6-9. As in " Six Days in October "(2002), a compelling overview of the 1929 stock market crash and a financial primer, " Wall Street Journal "editor Blumenthal uses specific facts and fascinating personal stories to give readers a wide view of history. 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. The dull paper stock diminishes the many black-and-white photos, but the images are still gripping, and relevant political cartoons and fact boxes add further interest. Few books cover the last few decades of American women's history with such clarity and detail, and this comprehensive title draws attention to the hard-won battles, the struggles that remain, and the chilling possibility that rights, if not fiercely protected, can easily be lost.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)

September 1, 2005
Blumenthal's complex discussion of equal opportunity in athletics and education focuses on a pivotal piece of legislation enacted more than thirty years ago and contested year after year right into the new century. Title IX forbids discrimination by gender in schools and colleges receiving federal funds, and Blumenthal follows its political support and opposition decade by decade, interweaving the parallel increases in sports participation and accomplishment. Civil rights and women's history are part of the larger context here, and the busy but richly layered presentation includes inset essays on key events and individuals as well as statistical tables demonstrating changes in athletic participation and enrollments in colleges and professional schools. A generous selection of captioned photographs and political cartoons is also included. The political history becomes heavy at times but is also intriguing, and many of the legislators and sports figures are well worth meeting. Adults who care about developing the full potential of all young people should count themselves among the audience for the book, with its sobering conclusion on continuing and new inequities for boys and girls. Appended materials include a timeline, source notes, photo credits, bibliographies for young readers and adults, and an index.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2006
Blumenthal's complex discussion of equal opportunity in athletics and education focuses on a pivotal piece of legislation enacted more than thirty years ago and still contested today. In a busy but richly layered presentation, Blumenthal follows Title IX's support and opposition decade by decade. A generous selection of captioned photographs and political cartoons is included. Reading list, source notes, timeline. Bib., ind.

(Copyright 2006 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)