9.10.2012

Play Ball, Jackie!


This post is part of Nonfiction Monday hosted today by ...
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at Teacher Mentor Texts

(pub. 4.11.2011) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Stephen Krensky
      Illustrator: Joe Morse
    
haracter: Jackie Robinson

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "April 15, 1947, is a big day for ten-year-old Matty Romano. His dad is taking him to see his favorite team - the Brooklyn Dodgers - on opening day!
        It's also a big day for the Dodgers' new first baseman, Jackie Robinson. Many white fans don't like the fact that an African American is playing in the major leagues. By putting Jackie on the team, the Dodgers are breaking the color barrier. How will Jackie respond to the pressure? Is he the player who can finally help the Dodgers make it back to the World Series?

T antalizing taste: 

   "Matty remembered hearing his grandfather's stories around the kitchen table. Everyone deserved a chance for a better life - his grandfather and Jackie Robinson too."

and something more:  As I'm writing this, my son is watching a San Francisco Giants baseball game. When I ask him about baseball commissioner Bud Selig, my son reminds me that in 2002 he got a baseball signed by him at a Giants' World Series Game. The reason I ask him about the commissioner is because the Author's Note of Play Ball, Jackie ends with this quote by Bud Selig made on April 15, 2004: "[B]aseball's proudest moment and its most powerful social statement came on April 15, 1947, when Jackie Robinson first set foot on a Major League Baseball field."

8 comments:

Linda B said...

Good to hear about-thanks.

Tara @ A Teaching Life said...

I love any book about Jackie Robinson....this one looks like a winner. Thanks for sharing.

Jeff Barger said...

First of all, San Francisco is THE best place to watch a baseball game. Saw one in 2002 and hope to go back one day. Jackie Robinson is one of the most important figures of the 20th century so this is a good find.

Jeanne Walker Harvey said...

Thanks for stopping by, Linda!

Jeanne Walker Harvey said...

Yes, Tara, I think you'll like PLAY BALL, JACKIE

Jeanne Walker Harvey said...

Hi Jeff! Yes, the SF ballpark is quite fun! And the best way to arrive there is by ferry. Hope you make it back here, too! I agree that Jackie Robinson was an important figure, and the focus of this book will help children just that.

GatheringBooks said...

Hi Jeanne, you really are the person to go to when it comes to picture book biographies. I have visited San francisco several times but we never got to watch a baseball game yet. Maybe someday soon. :)

Jeanne Walker Harvey said...

Thanks, Myra! I love reading picture book biographies and I love writing them :)