Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America

Can girls play softball? Can girls be school crossing guards? Can girls play basketball or ice hockey or soccer? Can girls become lawyers or doctors or engineers?

Of course they can...

today. But just a few decades ago, opportunities for girls were far more limited, not because they weren't capable of playing or didn't want to become doctors or lawyers, but because they weren't allowed to. Then quietly, in 1972, something momentous happened: Congress passed a law called "Title IX," forever changing the lives of American girls.

Hundreds of determined lawmakers, teachers, parents, and athletes carefully plotted to ensure that the law was passed, protected, and enforced. Time and time again, they were pushed back by Þerce opposition. But as a result of their perseverance, millions of American girls can now play sports. Young women make up half of the nation's medical and law students, and star on the best basketball, soccer, and softball teams in the world. This small law made a huge difference.

From the Sibert Honor-winning author of Six Days in October comes this powerful tale of courage and persistence, the stories of the people who believed that girls could do anything -- and were willing to fight to prove it.

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Customer Reviews:

A great overview of a law that changed womens' lives

By L. Blumenthal "lynn" - June 12, 2005

Karen Blumenthal'a latest young-readers' book, LET ME PLAY is a behind-the-scenes look at how Title IX changed the cultural landscape for American women.

Just because this book is intended for a younger audience does not make it simplistic reading. I consider myself pretty informed about political and social topics, yet I had little idea that Title IX does not just cover equality in sporting opportunities. Title IX, the brainchild of late Congresswoman Edith Green, actually mandates that schools may not limit the educational opportunities of students based on gender--and that includes admissions policies and access to classes. Title IX is the reason that half of all law students and medical students today are women.

What a huge change from the early 1960s, the era in which Blumenthal opens the book with a description of swimmer Donna De Verona. The 13-year-old swimmer, long denied opportunities to participate in other sports she loved, finally decided to become a... read more

Absolutely imperative if you are a woman

By Joseph P. Eccleston - October 17, 2006

I consider myself quite well informed about current women's issues, but had always wondered what the impetus was behind Title IX. I had no idea that the law we hear about that applies to women's equal access to sports, was aimed at equal access to college admissions and financial assistance. I cried several time while reading this book; I was mad at the earlier treatment of women, I was saddened by the personal stories of disappointment suffered by the women who were shut out of playing games they loved only because they were girls. I was also proud of the triumphs of the recent past, but mostly I was moved to buy another copy and pass it around to as many women as I can. ANY WOMAN WHO HAS PLAYED SPORTS OR GONE TO COLLEGE IN THE LAST 30 YEARS, OWES IT TO THEMSELVES TO READ, APPRECIATE, AND SHARE THIS BOOK WITH THE NEXT GENERATION OF GIRLS. Laurie in Utah

Richie's Picks: LET ME PLAY

By Richie Partington "Richie's Picks" - June 13, 2005

"Female admissions to colleges and graduate programs picked up speed, driven by female ambition, the law, and a growing acceptance that it was simply wrong to reject someone just for being a girl. Between 1971 and 1976 the number of women attending college jumped 40 percent. By the fall of 1976 one in every four law students was a woman, up from fewer than one in ten in 1971; likewise, a quarter of first-year medical students were female, up from about one in seven just five years before."

Recently at this year's Book Expo in New York City, I had the pleasure of meeting and conversing with Patricia Macias. At publishing conventions, Patricia is known as the wife of author Ben Saenz. But back home in El Paso, she is more frequently referred to as "Your Honor."

As I wandered the exhibition halls at Book Expo, I frequently got the chance to catch up with old friends in the publishing industry. Many of the women I've known for years who are employed by the large... read more