Mary Katherine Jackson (Children's Literature)
A little boy who grew up in Brooklyn in the 1940s loves the Dodgers and their new first baseman, Jackie Robinson, the first African-American major league baseball player. One day, the boy's father, who is deaf, brings home baseball tickets for a Dodgers game. During the game people call Jackie horrible names. The boy learns about discrimination and respect through what Jackie endured while playing baseball, but he also learns about prejudice from having a deaf parent. As the boy's father yells for Jackie during the game, the boy notices stares from other fans. At first he is embarrassed, but as time goes on he gains respect for his father's disability, as well as respect for his father's support of this prominent minority. This experience sparks the father's interest in baseball, and every day when the boy's dad comes home from work they play baseball together. They soon bond because of their shared love of baseball and Jackie Robinson. Together they see the hardships of being different, whether that means having a physical impairment or being a racial minority. The illustrations in the book are watercolor paintings, but the beginning and end of the book show newspaper clippings about Jackie Robinson. These endpapers give the book historical legitimacy, as they present facts about the real Jackie Robinson. Although the book is fiction, the newspaper clippings show how the author intertwines fact and fiction to create an effective story. 2005, Peachtree Publishers, $16.95. Ages 4 to 8.

Sharon Salluzzo (Children's Literature)
On Opening Day of the 1947 baseball season, the narrator was glued to his radio, listening to the play by play of his beloved Brooklyn Dodgers and their amazing new player, Jackie Robinson. How excited he was when his father came home from work and announced, or rather signed, “We’re going to Ebbets Field.” His father wanted to meet Robinson. Throughout the summer, they attended games and he taught his father to play catch. Because he was deaf, his father had never played baseball. The narrator’s embarrassment was turned to joy when his father’s presence at Ebbets Field was acknowledged in a most interesting way by Jackie Robinson. This is much more than just another book about the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues. It combines a nostalgic look at the Brooklyn Dodgers with an uplifting story about overcoming prejudice, whether it is the color of one’s skin or a physical disability. The author’s note at the end of the book explains that this is a work of fiction that is based on his own childhood. Bootman’s watercolor illustrations work beautifully in conjunction with the text to bring to life the 1940s neighborhood and Ebbets Field. He has successfully captured the emotions of the story and the action on the baseball diamond. This is a fine book for fathers and sons to share together, and a thought-provoking piece for a middle school or a high school class to share together. Readers can glean an interesting perspective on history from the newspaper clippings and the photographs that comprise the scrapbook end papers. 2005, Peachtree, $16.95. Ages 5 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 5))
When Jackie Robinson signs with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 as first baseman, the historic event captures the imagination of one middle-aged man in Brooklyn-the author's father. This genuinely affecting, fictionalized story reveals how Uhlberg's father, who is deaf, personally relates to the first African-American player in major league baseball as someone who also has to overcome discrimination. The shared excitement of father and son during a Giants vs. Dodgers game at Ebbets Field is contagious, as readers experience the tension of the game as well as that generated by racist Giants fans. The boy's embarrassment as his father chants Jackie's name as "AH-GHEE, AH-GEE, AH-GEE!" vanishes by the season's last game when Robinson throws the ball straight to his father and, amazingly, he catches it in his bare hand. Bootman's realistic, wonderfully expressive watercolor paintings capture the fashions and flavor of 1940s New York in muted browns and greens. The endpapers, an actual scrapbook of old newspaper articles about Robinson, provide a satisfying context for this ultimately upbeat, multi-dimensional story. (author's note) 2005, Peachtree, 32p, $16.95. Category: Picture book. Ages 7 to 10. © 2005 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Pamela Ott (Library Media Connection, October 2005)
This picturesque fiction book based on legendary baseball hero Jackie Robinson is informational as well as poignant. From its first page covered with actual Brooklyn Dodgers newspaper clippings to the watercolor pictures throughout, the book captures the realistic details of the 1940s. The author, Myron Uhlberg, created the story based on his own boyhood experiences while attending the baseball games with his deaf father. The discrimination shown to Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player, as well as the prejudices against his hearing impaired father are sensitively written. Robinson's determination to overcome thoughtless intolerance in order to prove himself worthy parallels the life of the author's father in his everyday trials. This is a great read-aloud and discussion starter for its historical information and emotional treatment of inequality. Highly Recommended. 2005, Peachtree Publishers, 32pp., $16.95 hc. Ages 7 to 11.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, May 2005 (Vol. 58, No. 9))
has never shown the slightest interest in baseball until now, in 1947, when Jackie Robinson enters the majors. Suddenly Dad's inviting himself in on awkward games of catch with his son, keeping a copious scrapbook of Robinson clippings, noting and remarking on every act of hostility and abuse Robinson faces from players, and dragging his son to the home games. At first the boy is embarrassed by his father's crowing "AH-GHEE, AH-GHEE, AH-GHEE!," his version of his idol's name ("He had no way of knowing what the words should sound like"), but Dad's enthusiasm soon blends in with that of the crowd. In the last game of the season, Dad's sidewalk practice pays off; when Robinson tosses a ball into the stands, "my dad did something he had never done before. He reached up and caught the ball in his bare hand!" Uhlberg, who explains in a closing note that his own father was deaf (and a Jackie Robinson fan), presents a restrained narrative unencumbered by any overt parallels between prejudices experienced by Robinson and Dad. Listeners will readily infer, however, that Dad's sudden enthusiasm for baseball springs directly from his discovery of a kindred spirit in the dignified, determined Robinson. Although Bootman indulges in a hyperbolized facial expression here and there, his rich watercolors evoke the deep shadows of summer afternoons at the ballpark and the easy camaraderie between father and son. Adults seeking "values education" materials without the ham-fisted approach will welcome this title. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2005, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2005, Peachtree, 32p, $16.95. Ages 6-8 yrs.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2005)
It's 1947, and a boy and his deaf father love going to Brooklyn's Ebbets Field to watch Jackie Robinson play. Bootman's watercolors keenly re-create the sights and sensibility of 1940s Brooklyn, and Uhlberg, who based this story on a real-life incident, wisely underplays the parallel he draws in his author's note between Dad and Robinson, both victims of prejudice. Category: Picture Books. 2005, Peachtree, 32pp, 16.95. Ages 4 to 9. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Linda H. Bishop (The Kutztown University Book Review, Spring 2006)
A father and son follow Jackie Robinson's baseball career by attending games whenever they can and reading up on the games and statistics. The topics of discrimination against Jackie and deafness of the father are also addressed. An author's note states the historical and fictional aspects of the book. The author's note is an especially nice addition to this story. He further addresses the topic of discrimination for older readers. I recommend this book for public and elementary libraries, and for historical fiction studies. Category: Picture Book, Fiction, Baseball. 2005, Peachtree, $16.95. Ages 7 to 11.