A league of their own: Junior fiction about girls and sport

Following the success of the inaugural AFL women’s league, Meg Whelan explores the recent spate of junior-fiction books about girls and sport.

TV and radio presenter and now children’s book author Jo Stanley first had the idea for her ‘Play Like a Girl’ series when the AFL women’s league was announced in 2016. Aimed at football fans aged seven and up, the series launched in September with four titles—Totally Epic!, Dream Team!, Bring it On! and Smashing It! (Five Mile)—featuring a diverse cast of girls playing on the Flyers football team.

Stanley says she was inspired to write the series by her passion for football, support for representations of gender equality, and desire ‘to inspire girls to believe they can be anything they want to be’.

Five Mile publishing director Niki Horin and marketing and publicity manager Kirstin Corcoran believe the series ‘reflects something new and exciting happening in the world’. ‘It stands on the shoulders of the bold trailblazers who have led women’s Aussie Rules footy to where it is today—fun, spirited women bound by friendship, competition and a love of sport.’

Five Mile isn’t the only publisher harnessing the excitement of the AFLW. In February, Black Inc. released A Footy Girl’s Guide to the Stars of 2017, written by two hosts of the Outer Sanctum football podcast, Nicole Hayes and Alicia Sometimes. The book introduced young readers to the league’s inaugural players and teams.

‘We were just so excited about the announcement of the AFLW competition,’ says Black Inc. publisher Aviva Tuffield. ‘We wanted to produce a book that would inform and interest young girls (and boys).’

There will be no 2018 edition from Black Inc., however, as Five Mile now has the official AFLW publishing licence. Horin and Corcoran confirm that there is ‘a full program of publishing planned’ around this partnership, with AFLW-themed books for both children and adults in the pipeline.

Competitive spirit

Why are books that focus on girls in sport so important? ‘The mid- to late-primary-aged girl is at a time in their lives when they’re forming a sense of self. I feel like that is such a crucial time to be reading stories about strong female characters,’ says Stanley.

‘Growing up, I had few opportunities to participate in competition in a healthy and nurturing way. That’s why the team environment is so crucial for all children—to learn assertiveness, leadership, team support and, yes, a healthy ambition. I’m proud that my books might play a small part in showing girls that being a strong, clever, hard-working, competitive player is healthy and something to be proud of.’

Stanley is now working on books five and six in the series, which explore what it’s like to be the worst player on the team—a position, Stanley points out, she always occupied.

There is a similar motivation behind Black Inc.’s forthcoming title Grace on the Court by netball star Maddy Proud (February 2018), which is aimed at nine- to 13-year-olds. ‘This is often the age when the participation numbers for girls who play team sports drop significantly,’ says Black Inc. publisher Caitlin Yates, citing reasons such as puberty, peer pressure and a lack of value placed on team sports for girls compared to boys. ‘This can set up an unhealthy relationship with sport as the girls become adults.’ Grace on the Court features boys, music and friendship, but at its heart is a love of netball.

For Tuffield, publishing books with sporty girls is about making Australian sporting culture more gender equitable. ‘Sporting culture in Australia is very male in terms of what gets the most media and broadcast attention,’ says Tuffield. ‘It’s so important to celebrate the fact that so many young women do partake in sports and to make that visible to them, reflecting their experiences back to them, as well as encouraging more girls to take up sport and provide them with role models.’

Category: Features Junior Magazine feature story