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Summary
Summary
It is 1947 and Yankee fever grips the Bronx. Nine-year-old Joey Sexton joins the neighborhood kids who flock to the park to team up and play. However, Joey is of mixed race and his skin is lighter than the other kids#146;. He is seldom picked.
When Joey#146;s mother dies, he is sent to live with his mother#146;s estranged family. Joey is whisked away to Brooklyn. Though it#146;s just across town, it might as well be a different world. His grandfather, his aunt Frieda, and his ten-year-old cousin Roberta are not only white, they are Jewish. Joey knows nothing about Brooklyn or Judaism. The only thing that#146;s constant is the baseball madness that grips the community. Only this time, the heroes aren#146;t Joey#146;s beloved Yankees. They are the Brooklyn Dodgers, especially Jackie Robinson, a man whose struggle to integrate baseball helped set the stage for black America#146;s struggle for acceptance and civil rights.
Joey#146;s story takes readers to a time when America#146;s favorite pastime became a battleground for human rights.
Author Notes
Ellen Schwartz is the author of nonfiction for teens and numerous works of fiction. With Tundra she has published I'm a Vegetarian and I Love Yoga , and is also well-known for her critically acclaimed Starshine series, and her picture book, Mr. Belinsky's Bagels . Ellen Schwartz lives with her family in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-There's just too much going on in this unevenly told, short novel. In 1947, Joey is a recently orphaned nine-year-old; his mother had a drug problem and her death leaves him on his own. He is of mixed race and knows little about his family. Then he learns that his African-American father is dead, but that he has relatives on his mother's side who live in nearby Brooklyn and are willing to take him in. Joey finds out that his mother was Jewish, and after she eloped, her family severed all ties with her. He has some trouble fitting into his new home, but gradually he finds a place. He enjoys learning about Jewish customs and finds a close companion in his cousin Bobbi, a fellow baseball fan. A Yankees aficionado, he can't help but be impressed with the Dodgers' star rookie, Jackie Robinson. Unfortunately, Joey is not a fully realized character and the supporting characters are one-dimensional. The plot follows an all-too-predictable course. Also, Schwartz writes that in the opening game of the 1947 World Series, Robinson stole home, then admits in an afterword that this is untrue. Even with this admission, baseball fans will find this distortion of the facts unacceptable: Robinson's achievements, both on and off the field need no elaboration. Steer young readers toward Dan Gutman's Jackie and Me (HarperCollins, 1999) for a readable and accurate story featuring Jackie Robinson.-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Joey, an orphaned, mixed-race 10-year-old isn't the only one who has to make adjustments after he's taken in by Jewish relatives he never knew he had. Wondering why his mother never told him about her side of the family, Joey moves to Brooklyn--to find a warm welcome from Aunt Frieda, an instant ally in baseball-loving cousin Bobbie, and a decidedly cold shoulder from his grandfather, who is still angry and hurt by his daughter's choices. Joey also discovers that he has exchanged one set of racial prejudices (and epithets) for another; skin too light for some in his old neighborhood is too dark for some in his new one. Although he arrives with a startlingly fresh mouth, ready fists, and total scorn for the Brooklyn Dodgers (despite rookie Jackie Robinson), by the end Joey has begun to put his hostility aside, found ways to win over his grandfather, Zeyde, and even come around to being a Dodger fan. Keenly felt internal conflicts, lightened by some sparky banter, put this more than a cut above the average. A historical note is appended. --John Peters Copyright 2006 Booklist
