Dust Bowl Girls: The Inspiring Story of the Team That Barnstormed Its Way to Basketball Glory by Lydia Reeder
Reviewed by: Melissa Friedlund, Reference Assistant
Genre: Sports History, Non-Fiction
Suggested Age: Teen, Adult
What is This Book About? The women’s basketball team from Oklahoma Presbyterian College for Girls, the Cardinals, did something amazing during the 1931-32 school year. Their winning streak was unprecedented. This book follows the story of young women who would otherwise not have been able to afford a college education during the Great Depression if not for basketball. In a time when there was debate about whether women should participate in competitive or non-competitive sports, these ladies played to win, and win, and win.
My Review: This is a heartwarming tale of women who were able to pursue a sport they loved during a time where women who played competitive sports were often seen as too manly. These young women were plucked out of poor communities and awarded college scholarships that helped them breakaway from poverty during the Great Depression. I enjoyed learning about this not-so-well-known bit of history. Interspersed among the main storyline were detailed backstory components about people, locations, and even local politics. Sometimes this broke up the main story a bit more than I’d like, but it was still interesting. Listening to the narrative portions of the games could have easily been mistaken for a radio broadcaster calling the shots. I listened to the audio version of this book that is available on hoopla, and it felt more like I was listening to historical fiction: an entertaining story and not just a regurgitation of facts. Considering the author is a relative of the Cardinals’ coach at the time, Sam Babb, I think she must have been able to access some little-known tidbits to fill in what might have been awkward gaps.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Interesting, Endearing, Underdogs
Give This a Try if You Like… Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly, Fly Girls by Keith O’Brien, or the movie A League of Their Own
Rating: 4/5
About FDL Reads
FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.
