This powerful and inspiring collection features 21 female trailblazers in their sport, perfect for fans of Women in Sports and Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls ! Before girls wore pants or women were permitted to swim in bathing suits at public beaches, who paved the way for women in sports? And who's breaking new ground today? This anthology introduces 21 trailblazing women who have broken through the boundaries set for female athletes. From basketball slam-dunker Lisa Leslie to tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, whose father had onlookers jeer at and taunt the girls as they practiced, to Paralympian Tatyana McFadden, who was a speed demon even at her Russian orphanage before she was adopted, to Olympic gold medalist Ethelda Bleibtrey, who was led off to jail when she shed her shoes and stockings to swim in public, Not Playing by the Rules inspires, informs, and illustrates the strength, determination, and accomplishments of women athletes both yesterday and today. With powerful photographs and hand-lettered, inspirational quotes from the athletes themselves, this is a collection every young girl should own. The featured athletes include Ethelda Bleibtrey, Bobbi Gibb, Althea Gibson, Gabby Douglas, Flo Hyman, Lisa Leslie, Mia Hamm, Tatyana McFadden, Mo'ne Davis, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Diana Golden, Constance Applebee, Lizzie Arlington, Babe Didrikson, Alice Coachman, Joy Johnson, Nancy Lieberman, Nadia Comăneci, Venus and Serena Williams, and Yusra Mardini. Lesa Cline-Ransome is the author of many award-winning and beloved picture books. Her picture-book biography titles include Before She Was Harriet; Satchel Paige; Major Taylor, Champion Cyclist; Young Pelé: Soccer's First Star; Helen Keller: The World in Her Heart; Before There Was Mozart; Words Set Me Free: The Story of Young Frederick Douglass; and Light in the Darkness: A Story About How Slaves Learned in Secret. Originally from Malden, Massachusetts, Lesa has worked as a proofreader, fashion copywriter, publicist, and teacher in the New York City schools, and has taught writing for adults. She has a BFA in Merchandising and Management from Pratt Institute and an MA in Education from NYU. She lives in Rhinebeck, New York, with her husband and frequent collaborator, illustrator James Ransome, four children, and a St. Bernard, Nola. Constance Applebee  Field Hockey  June 4, 1873–January 26, 1981  When Constance Applebee booked round-trip passage from England to America in 1901 to take a summer course at Harvard University, she never imagined it would be decades before she used her return ticket. But then Constance, a graduate of the British College of Physical Education, discovered that musical chairs and drop the handkerchief were the main sports offered for female students at American colleges. She took a stand.  “We play those games at parties,” she told her hosts. “For exercise, we play hockey.” Gathering up makeshift supplies and willing volunteers, Constance demonstrated the sport she played in her home country. One guest, Vassar athletic director Harriet Ballintine, insisted she demonstrate the sport at her school. From 1901 to 1902, Constance traveled with her equipment from Vassar to Smith to Wellesley to Mount Holyoke to Radcliffe to Bryn Mawr to teach female college students the sport of field hockey and the importance of physical activity. With each school she visited, the popularity of field hockey began to spread to women on college campuses throughout the country.  In 1904, she was hired to coach Bryn Mawr’s first field hockey team. As a coach, Constance demanded that her players exercise daily. Those who missed practice were required to pay a fine, which helped cover the cost of equipment, and she often shouted her signature insult from the sidelines: “Put your claws on your stick, you one-legged turnip!”  Instead of rebelling, her players adored her and insisted her methods made them stronger women. And it was Constance’s hope that their newfound strength in sports would translate into strength in fighting for women’s rights and in the voting booth.  In the 1920s, she founded the Sportswoman, the first magazine devoted entirely to women’s athletics, and opened a field hockey camp in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, serving one thousand girls taught by the best players and coaches from around the world. She retired from coaching in 1929 but continued to advise teams and coach her players informally, playing on the fields until she was ninety-seven years old.   Lizzie Arlington  Baseball  1876 (?)–1917 (?)  A woman had to be strong if she wanted to play baseball in the 1800s. Bats weighed nearly three pounds, and a woman, clad in a heavy wool dress, had to hit the ball, drop the bat, drape her skirt over her arm, and run to first base. Most people agreed with major league pitcher Albert Spalding that baseball was just “too strenuous for womankind.” But Lizzie Arlington was one woman who disagreed.  Lizzie didn’t mind bei