The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane

girl who threw butterfliesMolly Williams doesn’t mean to shake things up when she goes out for the boys baseball team during eighth grade.  She just misses baseball, that she played and watched with her dad before he died in a freak car accident.  She may not be the biggest jock, but she does have a secret weapon:  She can pitch a knuckleball.  Will it be enough to impress her coaches and new teammates? 

While not dealing with the guys on the baseball field.  Molly is trying to negotiage the relationship with her mother, who has become irritable and withdrawn.  Thank goodness her best friend Celia is ready with loyal support and witty remarks.  Then there is the new relationship with artistic Lonnie, who becomes her catcher.

Mick Cochrane weaves a story of baseball, loss, and love in The Girl Who Threw Butterflies (A Yearling Book 2009). I learned lots of baseball lore.  Did you know that knuckleball pitchers often wear the number 49 in honor of Hoyt Wilhelm, a great knuckleball pitcher who retired at age 49?  Did you know knucklball pitchers often have their own personal catcher (with a specially designed mitt) because the pitch is hard to catch as well as hit?  Did you know Jackie Mitchell struck out Babe Ruth in an exhibition game before the commissioner of baseball banned her from professional baseball because it was too strenuous for a woman?  I didn’t know any of it, but I do now.

There is plenty of  baseball play and lore for fans in this book, but there is much more, too.  It is a heartwarming story that is at times humorous, touching, and surprising. 

What are your favorite baseball stories?

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