Billie Jean! How Tennis Star Billie Jean King Changed Women’s Sports

“Anything Billie Jean did, she did it ALL THE WAY.” This intensity is a recurring motif in Rockliff’s tale of the early life of tennis player Billie Jean King, born in 1943. From a childhood in which tennis was presented as the only sport for girls, to her ultimate triumph in the legendary “Battle of the Sexes” against Bobby Riggs in 1973, King’s career was shaped by defying sexist expectations. By centering these many obstacles, Rockliff reveals the pervasive dimensions of the prejudices King faced, heightening her continued perseverance and eventual victories. And the firmly defined lines of Baddeley’s illustrations aptly evoke King’s steely determination through frustrations and joys. Though the book ends with the match against Riggs, an author’s note delves further into King’s activism for women’s sports, Title IX, and LGBTQ communities. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)