Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl's Baseball Dream

Author(s) Crystal Hubbard
Illustrator(s) Randy DuBurck
Age Group 6-10
Publisher Lee & Low Books
ISBN 978-1600605727
Year 2005

Marcenia Lyle wants to be a professional baseball player, but her parents make clear that the only jobs available to African-American women in that time (the 1930s) are teacher, nurse and maid. When the St. Louis Cardinals manager forms a baseball camp, he denies admission to Marcenia because of her gender. However, Marcenia dazzles him with her skill until he agrees to let her join. An afterword reveals that Marcenia, under the name Toni Stone, became the first female member of an all-male baseball team, filling the spot vacated by Hank Aaron when he joined the Major Leagues.