Ennis-hill missed a trick with her books of magic
Young girls are lacking sporting role models when it comes to the printed word, writes Vicki Hodges
There is no shortage of female sporting superheroes in real life
Even before his playing days were over, and long before he took his first steps into management with Derby, Frank Lampard’s second career was in full swing.
Since 2014, the former Chelsea and England midfielder has helped to write the Frankie’s Magic
Football series. With 20 books aimed at children aged five and over, Lampard has become one of the leading sportstarturned-authors in the country, although he is far from alone.
David Beckham and Theo Walcott have dipped their toes into the world of literature – albeit not straying from their footballing backgrounds – while six-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy’s Flying Fergus range tells the story of a nine-year-old boy who is given a magical bike for his birthday. And then there is Mo Farah’s picture book, Ready
Steady Mo, designed to encourage children to start reading and running.
All of which leads us to another London 2012 hero in Dame Jessica Ennis-hill, who this summer published the seventh and final book of her self-penned series. You can understand why her publishers wanted seven books from the world’s most famous heptathlete, but that is where the parallels with her career seemingly end.
Ennis-hill’s series is called Evie’s Magic Bracelet, with titles including The Silver Unicorn and The Clocktower Charm. She spoke at the 2016 launch of her “great memories of being a little girl” and “having adventures where my imagination used to run riot”. She added: “I hope the books inspire and encourage girls to look for the magic in everyday life.” Without taking anything away from the quality of the storytelling or Ennishill’s motives, it is disheartening that one of the greatest sportswomen this country has ever produced – with one Olympic title and three world championships – has not retold her illustrious career through her writing.
True, there is a loose sporting theme in the series and a reference to her leading character living on Javelin Street. Yet, at a time when young girls are crying out for female sporting role models, Ennis-hill and her publisher, Hachette, surely scored an own goal in opting to plunder the saturated magical fairies market rather than teaching girls about the inspirational qualities of sport.
Yes, there are a few sporting heroine books for the primary-school ages if you look hard enough, provided you wade through the abundance of footballers’ biographies first.
The anti-princess Good Night Stories for Rebel
Girls, written by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo, profiles 100 extraordinary women from past and present. It features 10 sporting figures, from former Formula One driver Lella Lombardi to swimmer Yusra Mardini, and is one of my seven-year-old’s favourites.
But with two girls in key stage one and two, it has been striking to discover so few fictional female sports characters. My seven-year-old has noticed it, too. After reading a (very dated) book on sporting heroes given to her by school, she pointed out that it contained a ratio of one sportswoman – Serena Williams – to six men.
The sports media industry more widely is in urgent need of addressing the disproportionate coverage of women’s sport. But, given there is no shortage of female sporting superheroes in real life, it seems particularly demoralising that the situation is no better in the world of make-believe.