She Plays Softball

April 1, 2023

K-Gr 2-This series is aimed at evolving readers and focuses on sight words and repetition. Told from the perspective of a fictional player, the text takes readers through the steps as she prepares for her game. The female-identifying athlete describes the gear she needs, as well as the uniform and equipment she wears to play with her team. Photos are labeled clearly, and some of the unfamiliar or uncommon words are shown again in the picture glossary at the back of the book. Since the story is told by one narrator ("I"), it would be helpful for all the photos to include the same character performing all the activities, rather than a collection of stock photos assembled to illustrate the concepts. In spite of that shortcoming, the books are inclusive, with a welcome range of diversity. The writing is concise, and while some of the words are more difficult than others, they are decodable or understandable with context clues. VERDICT A fine supplemental purchase for most libraries.

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