Blog 7: Mama Played Baseball- another social issue children's book

David A. Adler's Mama Played Baseball has the potential to bring about discussions surrounding woman's roll in history during World War 2.  Woman obviously played an important role as the men went off to fight in the war.  MLB players even served in the Army.  This story is a narative of that specific point in history in 1943, the All American Gilrs' Professional Baseball team was formed for the enjoyment for the people at home. According to the author, this lasted until 1954 in many countries throughout the United States.  This centers on the gender roles in the early 20th century.  This creates some important discussions for children reading the book because this is a case where a woman plays a sport typically played by males as a full time job. Males play a minor role in the story.  The father comes home at the end and the family quietly celebrates his homecoming. (They kept their welcome signes out of sight from their neighbors as not everyone came back from the war).  This highlights some of the subtle difficulties of that time period.