More Than a Game: Race, Gender, and Politics in Sports
by Matt Doeden, 64 pages. NON-FICTION. Millbrook, 2020. $26.
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS
– ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Divided into three chapters as suggested by the subtitle,
this book introduces the reader to some historical and current events that
illustrate how sports in the U.S. intersect with race, gender, and politics. The
first chapter moves from the Great White Hope to Black Lives Matter, and
includes some American Indian and Muslim stories too. The second chapter covers
the fight for equality for women athletes, and also touches upon fights for
equality for gay and transgender athletes, and issues related to the MeToo
movement. The last chapter includes examples of sports being used as a platform
both to protest against war as well as to express patriotism.
Current events can be challenging to understand. By using
the lens of sports, a subject that many kids are familiar with and interested
in, this author encourages readers to reflect on some complicated issues in our
society. Though this volume is relatively thin, and thus only lightly touches
upon some very complicated issues, it provides a place for students to begin.
Some of the book’s topics may make it more appropriate for a middle-school
setting. Interspersed among the text are many engaging full-page photos, and
the back matter includes source notes, glossary, selected bibliography, and
index.
P.K.Foster, MLS, school librarian
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