Challenges and triumphs underscore Dirt on Their Skirts: The Story of the Young Women Who Won the World Championship. Set in Racine, Wisconsin, in 1946, the story is told from the point of view of young Margaret, who goes with her parents and brother to the final game of the 1949 season of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The Racine Belles are playing the Rockford Peaches. The story opens at the beginning of the 14th inning when the score is tied at zero to zero. Margaret, who aspires to be a professional baseball player, is rooting for her home team. An avid fan, Margaret idolizes her favorite players, Sophie “the Flint Flash” Kurys and Betty “Moe” Trezza. Plenty of play-action description will satisfy today’s young sports enthusiasts. Although the story is fictionalized, the details are drawn from press clippings and personal accounts of an exciting game that went into extra innings. Authors Rappaport and Callan include as an endnote the actual box scores for the game, as well as photographs of the some of the players, then and now. (Ages 5-9)