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Summary
Summary
"We can all be heroes" is the message entertainingly told in this New York Times Bestselling picture-book biography series, with this title focusing on groundbreaking baseball player, Jackie Robinson (Cover may vary)
Jackie Robinson always loved sports, especially baseball. But he lived at a time before the Civil Rights Movement, when the rules weren't fair to African Americans. Even though Jackie was a great athlete, he wasn't allowed on the best teams just because of the color of his skin. Jackie knew that sports were best when everyone, of every color, played together. He became the first Black player in Major League Baseball, and his bravery changed American history and led the way to equality in all sports in America.
This friendly, fun biography series inspired the PBS Kids TV show Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum. One great role model at a time, these books encourage kids to dream big. Included in each book are:
* A timeline of key events in the hero's history
* Photos that bring the story more fully to life
* Comic-book-style illustrations that are irresistibly adorable
* Childhood moments that influenced the hero
* Facts that make great conversation-starters
* A virtue this person embodies: Jackie Robinson's bravery led him to make his mark in baseball history.
You'll want to collect each book in this dynamic, informative series!
Author Notes
Brad Meltzer was born on April 1, 1970 and grew up in Brooklyn, NY. He graduated from the University of Michigan and Columbia Law School. His first published title was called The Tenth Justice. His other works include Dead Even, The First Counsel, The Millionaires, The Book of Fate, The Zero Game, The Inner Circle and The Fifth Assassin. He is the Eisner Award-winning author of the critically acclaimed comic book, Justice League of America. He also wrote the non-fiction books, Heroes for My Son and Heroes for My Daughter. He has written speeches for former President Clinton's National Service Program and played himself as an extra in Woody Allen's film, Celebrity. In 2013, his title History Decoded: The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time.
In 2014 his titles, I Am Abraham Lincoln, I Am Amelia Earhart and I am Rosa Parks made The New York Times Best Seller List.
In 2016, Meltzer's title's The House of Secrets, I Am George Washington, and I Am Jane Goodall made the New York Times Bestseller list.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Horn Book Review
In this entertaining picture-book biography, a chatty first-person narration relates events, both traumatic and triumphant, in the life of the first African American player in all-white Major League Baseball. Comic stripstyle illustrations extend the story and add to the book's reluctant- and struggling-reader appeal. Archival photographs are included on the end pages. Reading list, timeline. Bib. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
The latest installment in the Ordinary People Change the World series profiles Jackie Robinson, the baseball player who famously broke the color barrier in 1946. In a strange quirk, young Jackie tells his own story but appears throughout as a child, even when wearing his eventual Brooklyn Dodgers uniform. And while it looks a little odd to see little Jackie playing against a field of adult players, the singular perspective speaks directly to the book's child audience. Indeed, with an eternally young narrator, comic-style illustrations, word-balloon dialogue, and a compact trim size, this immediacy is the key to the success of the whole series. The story concludes with Jackie holding his plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame and telling other children of the mantle that comes with power and the power that comes from bravery. A brief time line with photos concludes.--Barthelmess, Thom Copyright 2015 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-This title highlighting events from baseball star Jackie Robinson's life is a preachy, moralistic account of courage. Its sentimentality and sugary-sweetness are a throwback to motivational tales of a century ago. Meltzer is highly selective in his presentation. Facts, including names, dates, and places, are few and far between, and the theme of bravery overrides all else. Meltzer assumes readers have a basic knowledge of baseball, and many terms are not defined. Eliopoulos's cartoonish illustrations are corny and, as Jackie is always shown as a small child (a characteristic of this series), border on disrespectful. This book isn't complete or thorough enough for use as a biography, and the perky tone will likely cause eye-rolling among readers and listeners. There are many other more informative, better written books on Robinson that also emphasize the themes of courage and racial equality, such as Cathy Goldberg Fishman's When Jackie and Hank Met (Marshall Cavendish, 2012), a picture book that parallels the lives of Robinson and Jewish baseball star Hank Greenberg, and April Jones Prince's easy reader Jackie Robinson: He Led the Way (Penguin, 2007).-Ann W. Moore, Schenectady County Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Baseball's No. 42 strikes out.Even as a babe in his mother's arms, Robinson is depicted wearing his Brooklyn Dodgers baseball cap in this latest entry in the Ordinary People Change the World series. He narrates his childhood alongside cartoon panels that show him as an expert runner and thrower. Racism and poverty are also part of his growing up, along with lessons in sharing and courage. Incredibly, the Negro Leagues are not mentioned beyond a passing reference to "a black team" with a picture of the Kansas City Monarchs next to their team bus (still looking like a child in the illustration, Robinson whines, "Gross! Is this food or goo?"). In 1946, Branch Rickey signs him to play for the Dodgers' farm team, and the rest, as they say, is history. Robinson concludes his story with an exhortation to readers to be brave, strong and use their "power to do what's right. / Use that power for a cause that you believe in." Meltzer writes his inspirational biography as a first-person narrative, which risks being construed and used as an autobiographywhich it is not. The digitally rendered cartoon illustrations that show Robinson as a perpetual child fall sadly short of capturing his demeanor and prowess. A memorable lifea forgettable presentation. (photographs, timeline, sources, further reading) (Picture book/biography. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.