“Girls Play Volleyball”
by Anne Forest.
Power Kids Press, New York, 2017, 24 pages, Grades 3-5.
Volleyball is becoming widely popular throughout the world. The game is exciting, with continual ball movement and thrilling plays. Though men play volleyball in many leagues, the current national excitement is the women’s game.
Women’s volleyball is prominent in many states throughout the country. In Nebraska, the largest spectator event in women’s sports occurred in a volleyball match at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln in 2023. More than 92,000 fans attended the game, and national television networks covered the match.
Girls’ volleyball is growing rapidly throughout the United States and is developing devoted fan bases. When attending high school and college matches, it is easy to see why. Fans love to see their daughters, relatives and friends diving for balls and hitting overhead smashes. It is fun. Anne Forrest has written a short, excellent account of the sport. The name of the book is “Girls Play Volleyball.”
Forest gives a short history of the sport at the beginning of the book. Interestingly enough, volleyball began when a basketball coach found that his players were having a hard time making baskets. His solution was to build a net and have the players hit the ball back and forth across the net. From this humble beginning, volleyball was born. Soon, women began to play volleyball as well.
It took decades for the sport to develop a widespread following, but in the last 40 years, the popularity of women’s volleyball has exploded. It is avidly played and followed throughout the country. Many young girls begin playing volleyball in grade school, and become stars by the time they reach high school. In states such as Nebraska, girls volleyball is one of the most followed sports.
The author gives a glossary of volleyball terms for different plays in the sport. She describes both indoor volleyball and outdoor (sand) volleyball. The pictures are excellent throughout the text and give readers a feel for the sport. At the end of the book, Olympic volleyball greats and gold-medal-winning teams are shown. Forest packs a great deal of information and excitement into this short book.
I encourage you to go to the library and check out this interesting title. The glossary included at the end of the book depicts different types of plays and the names of the various positions during a match.
Forest demonstrates the inspiring effect this sport has on young girls. You will enjoy sharing this book with the younger members of your family. I enjoyed the book and hope you do, as well.
