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Summary
Summary
Young Steve Satlow is thrilled when his hero Jackie Robinson moves onto his block. After the famed second baseman invites Steve to a Dodgers game, the two become friends. So when Jackie hears that the Satlows don't have a Christmas tree, he decides to give them one, not realizing the Satlows are Jewish. But Jackie's gift helps these two different families discover how much they have in common.
Written by the daughter of baseball legend Jackie Robinson and illustrated by a Caldecott Honor winner, Jackie's Gift is a holiday tale-based on a true story-about friendship and breaking barriers.
Author Notes
Sharon Robinson is the author of several children's books, as well as an educational consultant for Major League Baseball and the Vice Chairman of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. She lives in Apollo Beach, Florida.
E. B. Lewis has illustrated almost fifty picture books since 1993, many of them award winners. He teaches illustration at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He lives in Folsom, New Jersey.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Robinson, Jackie Robinson's daughter, adds to her oeuvre with this Christmas anecdote, based on family history, about cultural differences and common ground. Young Steve Satlow's Jewish family welcomed the Robinsons to their Brooklyn neighborhood, while others protested their arrival. Befriending his baseball hero, Steve mentions that his family doesn't have a Christmas tree and, not realizing that the Satlows don't celebrate Christmas, Jackie brings them one. It's a wonderfully human moment, the awkwardness of which is eased by laughter and the spirit in which the gift was given. A tender and nuanced holiday story, all the more moving because it's true. Ages 3-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
In this holiday book based on a true story, young baseball fan Steve Satlow is thrilled when Jackie Robinson moves into his 1940s Brooklyn neighborhood. When a misunderstanding arises over why Steve doesn't have a Christmas tree (the Satlows are Jewish), it results in a lasting friendship between the families. While the prose is labored, the story, accompanied by soft watercolors, is heartwarming. Copyright 2010 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Beginning with Stealing Home (1996), the author has introduced children to her father, Jackie Robinson, in a series of warmhearted picture books that humanize the legend. Based on actual events, this latest title begins with the Robinsons' move to Brooklyn, where the community petitions against the African American family's arrival. Robinson tells the story from the perspective of a young Jewish boy, Steve Satlow, whose mother reminds him of the persecution that forced his Russian grandparents to seek religious freedom in America. Steve is thrilled when his family befriends the Robinsons, and he gets to watch the famous second baseman in action. In December, he helps the Robinsons decorate their Christmas tree, which starts a series of miscommunications between the two families that ends warmly. The realities of the racial prejudice that the Robinsons faced are a strong undercurrent in this story, which reaches for larger themes of cultural and religious tolerance, and Lewis' sensitive watercolor portraits capture the family dynamics and further showcase Robinson as both a great athlete and as the neighbor next door who makes mistakes like anyone else.--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-Jackie Robinson's daughter tells a story that takes place during the family's first Christmas in Brooklyn. Not everyone was happy to see a black family move in to the neighborhood. Young Steve Satlow, an avid Dodger fan, and his parents are exceptions; they welcome the Robinsons and become friends. On Christmas Eve, Steve is helping the Robinsons decorate their tree when Jackie learns that the Satlows don't have one. He shows up at their home with a tree for Steve, and his wife comes later with extra ornaments. They then learn that the Satlows are Jewish. What could have been an awkward moment becomes a lesson in tolerance and friendship. Lewis's lovely paintings do a fine job of conveying the time and place in this heartwarming story.-Virginia Walter, UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Young Steve Satlow is a big baseball fan living in Brooklyn in the late 1940s, and he can scarcely believe his good fortune when Jackie Robinson and his family move in nearby. Steve is delighted to help the Robinson family decorate their Christmas tree, and when he says that his family has no tree of their own, Jackie delivers a tree to their house, not realizing that the family is Jewish. After some awkward moments as the two families get to know each other better, Mr. and Mrs. Satlow decide that for that one year, their family will have both a menorah and a Christmas tree. The true story, retold by Jackie Robinson's daughter, presents some valuable lessons about friendship and acceptance in a gentle way, well-matched with understated watercolor illustrations that capture Jackie's famous smile. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-9)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
