TRAILBLAZER

Not even a ban on women’s soccer could stop Lily Parr from playing.

Born in England in 1905, Lily Parr, a white woman, learned how to play growing up with her brothers and is credited with being one of the first stars of women’s soccer. A left winger with the Dick, Kerr Ladies team, Parr had the strongest kick in the country, helping to power her team in competition against men’s teams—whom they often beat. Throughout World War I, women’s teams played against one another and sent their profits to aid soldiers. After the war, in 1921, the Football Association (this British import assumes readers’ familiarity with the organization) banned women from playing on their fields, a ruling that would stay in place until 1971. Despite these restrictions, Parr played soccer for 31 years, and in 2019, the National Football Museum in England erected a statue in her honor. Dale’s book provides an initial glimpse into Parr’s life yet leaves many holes. Readers who want to know more about what drove her or her life off the field will be left wondering. Coroa’s cartoonlike illustrations are vibrant and match Dale’s pacing. Facts about soccer and Parr cover the endpapers, respectively, and basic facts are interspersed throughout the illustrations as well. An author’s note ends the book, but no backmatter or sources are included.

A gesture toward perseverance that feels more like a bullet-point pamphlet than a story.