The Trove’s 2021 Black History StoryWalk

Mamie on the Mound: A Woman in Baseball’s Negro Leagues
By Leah Henderson Illustrated by George Doutsiopoulos

Starting January 28th, 2021

Get ready to step back in time as you take a walk along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the Library Plaza. Follow the panels and read Mamie on the Mound by Leah Henderson and illustrated by George Doutsiopoulos.  The StoryWalk is up and ready to view on the Library's windows through 2/23.

Mamie on the Mound tells the real-life story of Mamie “Peanut” Johnson who did not let her “two strikes” – being a girl and being black – prevent her from playing professional baseball. Small in stature, but confident in nature, Mamie's powerful fast ball was renowned in her time. Follow along the StoryWalk to see how the six-year-old baseball fan became a professional player in the Negro Leagues. And, in the book’s afterward, learn that Mamie got pitching tips from Major League Baseball Player, Satchel Paige.  Before her death in 2017, Mamie Johnson was interviewed about her extraordinary life, and if you’d like to hear her speak about joining the Negro Leagues try this link: Mamie “Peanut” Johnson: Joining the Negro Leagues.

To coincide with the StoryWalk, we will also have kits that contain a list of suggested STEAM activities, and also a take-home craft. Families can pick up these kits from the front of the first floor Library entrance while supplies last.

If you'd like to learn more about the history of Negro League Baseball and the life of pitcher, Leroy “Satchel” Paige, be sure to turn into the historical magic show Satchel Paige and Negro League Baseball available for viewing as often as you would like from February 13 – February 20.  More information and access to the show here.

Recommended Reading

If you’d like to read the book itself, or try out other great baseball books – you will enjoy these:

The Negro Leagues: Celebrating Baseball’s Unsung Heroes by Matt Doeden
eBook / Library Catalog

Mamie on the Mound: A Woman in Baseball’s Negro Leagues written by Leah Henderson & illustrated by George Doutsiopoulos
eBook / Library Catalog
Who was Jackie Robinson by Gail Herman
eBook / Library Catalog
Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream by Crystal Hubbard, illustrated by Randy DuBurck
eBook / Library Catalog
What Were the Negro Leagues? by Varian Johnson
eBook / Library Catalog
Down to the Last Out: the Journal of Biddy Owens, the Negro Leagues, Birmingham, Alabama, 1948 by Walter Dean Myers
Library Catalog
Something to Prove: The Great Satchel Paige vs Rookie Joe DiMaggio by Rob Skead, illustrated by Floyd Cooper
eBook / Library Catalog
Stars in the Shadows: The Negro League All-Star Game of 1934 by Charles R. Smith, Jr., illustrated by Frank Morrison
eBook / Library Catalog
We Are The Ship: the Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson
Library Catalog
Jackie Robinson: Baseball Great & Civil Rights Activist by Charles E. Pederson
eBook / Library Catalog
Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow by James Sturm and Rich Tommaso
eBook / Library Catalog
Baseball’s Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues by Andrea Williams
eBook